This program of research consists of a six month archaeological survey of the Banda region in western central Ghana. Investigations are driven by the recognition that this area was a political and economic `frontier,` serving as a refuge for populations fleeing potential enslavement by surrounding states. Frontier zones such as Banda, are now believed to have played a major role in the development of complex societies, making their exploration and understanding of critical importance. Few research efforts to date, however, have addressed these interstitial or frontier regions. During the last five centuries, Banda experienced a series of external pressures arising from the expansion of neighboring states and colonial powers in conjunction with the establishment of long distance trade and the economic incentives to provide trade goods including slaves. The people of Banda are believed to have responded in various ways to these pressures. The archaeological exploration of regional settlement patterning provides an excellent means to explore the issues of political unrest and external economic pressure. This is because such archaeologically relevant variables as settlement size and makeup, location on the landscape and length of occupation, are strongly influenced by a population's economic needs and pressures as well as its political strength and security. Thus, archaeological patterns unique to frontiers will be sought through evidence of abandonment and defensive behaviors and economic interactions. In this light, the field objectives of the proposed research are to perform a systematic regional survey which will locate and characterize a representative sample of settlements from the last five centuries using the variables described above. The survey will focus on two previously unexplored portions of the Banda region. This research will make contributions on a number of different levels. First, it will provide a better understanding of the region's culture history as well as the range of behaviors characteristic of peoples inhabiting frontier zones. Second, it will provide a means of establishing whether sites in these frontier areas have distinctive archaeological signatures. Finally, employing a regional approach will afford an understanding of the impact of extra-regional developments and the variability of responses to those processes, including long distance trade and incorporation into larger states and ultimately global systems.
