Archaeology of Two Pandemics and Teranga Aesthetic

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed how coloniality and racism are endemic to modern society. This was reflected in many early western discourses, French in particular, about the pandemic in Africa. These discourses unveiled old colonial antagonism, projection, stigmatization, and paternalism. The articulation of such discourses among well-informed and sometimes well-meaning people calls for deeper introspection on archaeological practices and modalities of community engagement. Building on archaeology’s multiple contributions to Africa’s past and observed practices of resilience in Senegal by ordinary people in the face of the spread of COVID-19, this essay reflects on the relevance of the archives, including the archaeological record, as usable resources for managing the problems of our times.