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Genetizing Bantu: Historical Insight or Historical Trilemma?

M. Eggert

Published 2016 in Medieval Worlds

ABSTRACT

This paper is devoted to the much debated problem of the expansion of Bantu languages over most of the southern half of Africa. Apart from being a major lingustic phenomenon it is a culture-historical and, more specifically, an archaeological topic as well. The reasoning focuses on three aspects: (1) Bantu languages; (2) rainforest archaeology; and (3) Bantu genetics. While the Bantu language dispersal and sub-Saharan archaeology are in some sense historically linked, Bantu genetics is a kind of ›newcomer‹ to the field. As the title indicates, the impact of molecular anthropology on finding an answer to the Bantu expansion – here epitomized by the term ›geneticizing Bantu‹ – claims some importance in this presentation. It has to be stressed, however, that human genetics is by no means the principal topic here. Rather, the emphasis lies on the interplay between Bantu linguistics, archaeology and Bantu genetics. Consequently, it is the combination of all three which is at stake. As the subtitle puts it: we may well ask whether this trinity leads jointly to historical insight or hides a historical trilemma. The paper tries to enumerate some basic points of each field. Likewise, it aims to assess each field’s strengths and weaknesses in order to arrive at an answer to the subtitle’s question.

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