2012 # 4

2012-10–FAUVELLE-AYMAR

Niani Redux

A Final Rejection of the Identification of the Site of Niani
(Republic of Guinea) with the Capital of the Kingdom of Mali

François-Xavier FAUVELLE-AYMAR

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Abstract

Over the last century, a considerable body of literature has asserted that the site of Niani, in the Republic of Guinea, conceals the ruins of the capital of the medieval kingdom of Mali at the height of its splendour, in the 14th century AD. This hypothesis was constructed under the influence of a number of factors, but always independently of the archaeological data. This article provides an examination of the archaeological data available for Niani, and concludes that there are no arguments in favour of this hypothesis.

To cite this article

Fauvelle-Aymar F.-X. 2012 – Niani redux. Niani Redux. A Final Rejection of the Identification of the Site of Niani (Republic of Guinea) with the Capital of the Kingdom of Mali, in F.-X. Fauvelle-Aymar, Palethnology of Africa, P@lethnology, 4, 235-252.