“Egalitarian Revolution in the Savanna: The Origins of a West African Political System” is a new release in the “Approaches to Anthropology Archaeology” series from Equinox Publishing, Ltd.

Published in 2012 by Stephen Dueppen, a University of Oregon assistant professor in anthropology, the book offers new insights into the evolution of an ancient West African society.

The book is based on several years of field research in Burkino Faso.

Dueppen studied the Iron Age Bwa society at the village settlement of Kirikongo by exploring ancient sites and examining faunal remains. His book provides a deeper understanding of the social foundations for early sedentary life, emergence of craft specializations and the complex sociopolitical systems of the Bwa.

The book’s first chapter, “Decentralization and the Evolution of Egalitarian Behaviors in Sedentary Societies,” introduces the concept of egalitarianism even within social differentiation of “complex autonomous villages.” Dueppen argues that the structures of current African societies are not necessarily derived from slave trade disruptions in their evolution, but rather are “derived from long histories of negotiations between social segments ... which have led to the development of diverse social contracts.”

“Egalitarian Revolution in the Savanna” is an extension of Dueppen’s dissertation, and the manuscript was completed with the help of his American Council of Learned Societies New Faculty Fellowship.

Replete with maps and diagrams of archaeological digs and finds, the book thoroughly examines family life, community structure, food production, pottery making and likely interactions between the Bwa and their neighbors, as they worked to create a complex and viable social existence.

- by Aria Seligmann, UO Office of Strategic Communications