The Carboneras Beach archaeological site on Bioko Island (Equatorial Guinea): old data and new stories about a unique culture

ABSTRACT

Off the coast of Cameroon, Bioko Island was populated by the Bubi at an early stage of the Bantu expansion, although surprisingly they did not use iron until the arrival of the Europeans much later. Unfortunately, despite some research having been undertaken, mostly during the Spanish colonial period, the local archaeological sequence remains poorly known. On the basis of some short excavations carried out on Bioko, this paper evaluates the state of knowledge of the island’s archaeology. There is a pressing need for more research on the island, in contrast to the continent, where archaeological knowledge has made significant progress in recent decades. So far there are no clear archaeological connections between the two. However, some clues suggest that the Bubi’s ancestors may have inhabited the mainland in southwestern Cameroon before emigrating to the islands, perhaps 2000 years ago. In view of the rapid development of infrastructure on Bioko, as well as on the mainland of Equatorial Guinea, a major multidisciplinary research programme centred on archaeology should be launched without further delay.

RÉSUMÉ

L’île de Bioko située au large du Cameroun a été peuplée par les Bubi tôt au cours de l’expansion bantoue, mais de manière surprenante ils n’ont utilisé le fer que bien plus tard avec l’arrivée des Européens. Malheureusement, malgré quelques recherches menées surtout pendant la période coloniale espagnole, la séquence archéologique reste mal connue. A partir des résultats des fouilles limitées que nous avons pu mener à Bioko, cet article fait le point de nos connaissances de l’archéologie de l’île. Il existe un besoin pressant de nouveaux travaux sur l’île par rapport au continent où les recherches archéologiques se sont bien développées ces dernières décennies. Jusqu’à présent il n’y a pas archéologiquement de rapprochements possibles entre les deux. Cependant quelques éléments permettent de suggérer que les ancêtres des Bubi étaient d’abord établis dans le sud-ouest du Cameroun avant d’émigrer, peut-être il y a 2000 ans, sur l’île. Compte tenu du développement rapide des infrastructures tant à Bioko que sur le continent, un programme de recherches pluridisciplinaires basé sur l’archéologie devrait être lancé sans délais.

KEYWORDS:

• Central Africa
• Equatorial Guinea
• Bioko
• Iron Age
• archaeology
• excavations

Acknowledgements

Our 1987 fieldwork was organised from Libreville (Gabon) by the International Centre for Bantu Civilisations’ Archaeology Department. We had the help in Malabo of M. Jean-Claude Euxibie, head of the Cultural Service of the French Embassy. On this occasion, we studied how to transform the oldest standing building into a National Museum with the then acting Minister for Culture, Mr Carlos Arean (Clist and de Maret 1988). We thank Y. Paquay for producing Figures 7, 10 and 11. Figures 6, 10 and 15 were taken by de Maret, the other illustrations produced by Clist.

Funding and collection curation

Funds for our research were made available by the Centre International des Civilisations Bantu (CICIBA) in Libreville (Gabon), by the Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium) and by the Equato-Guinean Ministry for Culture. All the artefacts were deposited in the reserves of the Department of Archaeology of CICIBA in Gabon. However, the pottery and lithic tools illustrated in this paper were exported to Belgium for study and drawing, where they are currently temporarily deposited as a temporary collection at the AfricaMuseum in Tervuren, awaiting the development of appropriate facilities in Malabo.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Bernard Clist

Bernard Clist obtained his MA (1982) and PhD (2005) at the Université Libre de Bruxelles and has carried out and led archaeological research in several Central African countries, including directing historical archaeological research on the Kongo kingdom between 2012 and 2016. His main research interest lies in the earliest villages of Central Africa, their social and economic dynamics and the analysis of their pottery. He is currently a Research Assistant at Ghent University, Belgium, at the Institut des Mondes Africains in Paris, France and at the Centro de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnológicas in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.

Pierre de Maret

Pierre de Maret was previously Professor of Archaeology and Anthropology and Rector at the Université Libre de Bruxelles and is a member of the Belgian Royal Academy. His research interests have focused on the archaeology of Central Africa, rainforest conservation and cultural heritage management. He holds several honorary degrees.