Rachel Ama Asaa Engmann, an Associate Professor of Archaeology and Anthropology at The Africa Institute, delivered a talk on “Autoarchaeology at Ghana’s Christiansborg Castle” at the United Nations in Accra, Ghana on March 30, 2023. The talk focused on inclusive, participatory-oriented, collaborative research and fieldwork, critical heritage work in nation building, and heritage tourism to Ghana’s forts and castles.
A critical heritage scholar, practitioner, and direct descendant, Professor Engmann’s talk was well received at the United Nations in Ghana at a lecture for the United Nations agencies, diplomatic communities, the Ghana government, heritage organizations and scholars.
Professor Engmann’s project, “Enslavers in the Family: The Archaeology of the Enslaver in Eighteenth-Century Gold Coast,” studies the histories and legacies of the Danish transatlantic slave trade at Christiansborg Castle in Osu, Accra, Ghana.
Christiansborg Castle is Ghana’s most important heritage site. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is a former 17th-century trading post, Danish and British colonial seat of government, and, until recently, the Office of the President of the Republic of Ghana. An image of the Castle is featured on the Ghana Coat of Arms and Ghanaian currency.
As a Ghanaian descendant of Carl Gustav Engmann, Danish Governor (1752-7) and Director of the Guinea Company (1766-9), who married Ashiokai, a Ga Chief’s daughter, she collaborates with other direct descendants, hence she calls this work ‘autoarchaeology’.
“Speaking at the United Nations Ghana allowed me to share my work as a critical heritage scholar, practitioner, and direct descendant for I firmly believe that inclusive, collaborative, and participatory-oriented research and fieldwork is crucial for filling in the silences in public, official narratives surrounding the transatlantic slave trade. Our approach to collective responsibility for our ancestors’ role in the transatlantic slave trade strives to keep alive the memory of those who suffered as enslaved Africans during the transatlantic slave trade and slavery and offers possibilities for restorative justice on both sides of the Atlantic. Together, we are rewriting history and decolonizing archaeology, contesting scholars’ exclusive rights as stewards, interpreters, and narrators of the material past,” said Professor Engmann.
As the Director of the Christiansborg Archaeological Heritage Project at Christiansborg Castle, Professor Engmann has also created an educational outreach project called ‘Excavating Knowledge’, inspired by her archaeological work. She has created a community center and a library at the castle. Professor Engmann notes, “The Excavating Knowledge Project seeks to improve the quality and reach of education in the local community, other communities, and Ghanaian public schools through experiential learning pedagogies. The project uses the thrill and excitement of archaeology as a tool to prepare educated and engaged citizens, strengthen democratic values, promote civic responsibility, reinforce heritage stewardship, and encourage archaeology and heritage as a future study and career.”
Professor Engmann is interested in moving away from academia’s extractive models of research. “I am looking forward to learning from, and working with students at The Africa Institute, training a new generation of scholars that take seriously the needs, concerns and interests of the communities in which we work. Community engaged research and fieldwork should not be simply an ‘add-on’ but integral to our research agendas. It is time to move away from the way scholars have done things in the past. It is time to do things differently.”
Rachel Ama Asaa Engmann, an Associate Professor of Archaeology and Anthropology at The Africa Institute, delivered a talk on “Autoarchaeology at Ghana’s Christiansborg Castle” at the United Nations in Accra, Ghana on March 30, 2023. The talk focused on inclusive, participatory-oriented, collaborative research and fieldwork, critical heritage work in nation building, and heritage tourism to Ghana’s forts and castles.
Rachel Ama Asaa Engmann, an Associate Professor of Archaeology and Anthropology at The Africa Institute, delivered a talk on “Autoarchaeology at Ghana’s Christiansborg Castle” at the United Nations in Accra, Ghana on March 30, 2023. The talk focused on inclusive, participatory-oriented, collaborative research and fieldwork, critical heritage work in nation building, and heritage tourism to Ghana’s forts and castles.
A critical heritage scholar, practitioner, and direct descendant, Professor Engmann’s talk was well received at the United Nations in Ghana at a lecture for the United Nations agencies, diplomatic communities, the Ghana government, heritage organizations and scholars.
Professor Engmann’s project, “Enslavers in the Family: The Archaeology of the Enslaver in Eighteenth-Century Gold Coast,” studies the histories and legacies of the Danish transatlantic slave trade at Christiansborg Castle in Osu, Accra, Ghana.
Christiansborg Castle is Ghana’s most important heritage site. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is a former 17th-century trading post, Danish and British colonial seat of government, and, until recently, the Office of the President of the Republic of Ghana. An image of the Castle is featured on the Ghana Coat of Arms and Ghanaian currency.
As a Ghanaian descendant of Carl Gustav Engmann, Danish Governor (1752-7) and Director of the Guinea Company (1766-9), who married Ashiokai, a Ga Chief’s daughter, she collaborates with other direct descendants, hence she calls this work ‘autoarchaeology’.
“Speaking at the United Nations Ghana allowed me to share my work as a critical heritage scholar, practitioner, and direct descendant for I firmly believe that inclusive, collaborative, and participatory-oriented research and fieldwork is crucial for filling in the silences in public, official narratives surrounding the transatlantic slave trade. Our approach to collective responsibility for our ancestors’ role in the transatlantic slave trade strives to keep alive the memory of those who suffered as enslaved Africans during the transatlantic slave trade and slavery and offers possibilities for restorative justice on both sides of the Atlantic. Together, we are rewriting history and decolonizing archaeology, contesting scholars’ exclusive rights as stewards, interpreters, and narrators of the material past,” said Professor Engmann.
As the Director of the Christiansborg Archaeological Heritage Project at Christiansborg Castle, Professor Engmann has also created an educational outreach project called ‘Excavating Knowledge’, inspired by her archaeological work. She has created a community center and a library at the castle. Professor Engmann notes, “The Excavating Knowledge Project seeks to improve the quality and reach of education in the local community, other communities, and Ghanaian public schools through experiential learning pedagogies. The project uses the thrill and excitement of archaeology as a tool to prepare educated and engaged citizens, strengthen democratic values, promote civic responsibility, reinforce heritage stewardship, and encourage archaeology and heritage as a future study and career.”
Professor Engmann is interested in moving away from academia’s extractive models of research. “I am looking forward to learning from, and working with students at The Africa Institute, training a new generation of scholars that take seriously the needs, concerns and interests of the communities in which we work. Community engaged research and fieldwork should not be simply an ‘add-on’ but integral to our research agendas. It is time to move away from the way scholars have done things in the past. It is time to do things differently.”
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