I’ve been trying to find information and reports from Terra 2008 which was held in Mali from 1-5 February 2008. So far all I found was an ended discussion forum on BBC NEWS about ‘Should Africa do away with mud buildings‘ which I thought was a very negative question - as did most of the respondents. It was also a strange question to ask on the week that 300 delegates were meeting to discuss the preservation of earthen architecture.

I did find one delegate report at Aluka Blog . By the way you may be interested to explore that blog as there are some really interesting links on Mali, and Djenne in particular.

Here is the information from the Getty Foundation who are funding the conference:

10th International Conference on the Study and Conservation of Earthen Architecture“

Bamako, Mali
February 2008

	Djenné Mosque. Photo: Leslie Rainer.

The 10th International Conference on the Study and Conservation of Earthen Architecture will be held in February 2008 in Bamako, Mali, West Africa. The conference is organized by the Getty Conservation Institute and the Ministry of Culture of Mali with the collaboration of Africa 2009, CRATerre-ENSAG, ICOMOS South Africa, and the World Heritage Centre, under the aegis of ICOMOS and its International Scientific Committee on the Earthen Architectural Heritage. Three hundred international specialists in the fields of earthen architecture, conservation, archaeology, scientific research and site management are expected to attend.

	Songho village, Dogon country. Photo: Leslie Rainer.

This is the tenth conference to be organized by the earthen architecture community under the aegis of ICOMOS since 1972, and the first to be held in Africa. It provides a unique opportunity to discuss and observe firsthand conservation issues particular to sub-Saharan Africa, a region rich in earthen architecture. During this conference, specialists will present papers and posters that reflect the latest research and practices in the study and conservation of earthen architecture worldwide.

The languages in official use during the conference will be French and English. A four-day postconference tour to Tombouctou, Mopti, Bandiagara and Djenné will be organized for a maximum of one hundred participants. Funding opportunities for participants from developing countries to attend the conference will be available.

Source: Science Daily

Ancient Blood Found On Sculptures From Kingdom Of Mali
ScienceDaily (Dec. 8, 2007) — Scientists in France are reporting for the first time that sculptors from the fantastically wealthy ancient Empire of Mali — once the source of almost half the world’s gold — used blood to form the beautiful patina, or coating, on their works of art. Pascale Richardin and colleagues describe development of a new, noninvasive test that accurately identifies traces of blood apparently left on ancient African artifacts used in ceremonies involving animal sacrifices.

Read the rest of the article 

Source: African Archaeology Net

Mali [with the help of Dr.Daouda Keita] :
> Loi n°62-75/ AN-RM du 17 septembre 1962 portant création de l’Institut des Sciences Humaines
> Ordonnance n° 46/ CMLN du 31 août 1973 portant approbation concernant la protection du patrimoine mondial, culturel et naturel
> Ordonnance n° 76-10/ CMLN du 29 janvier 1976 portant création de la Direction Nationale des Arts et de la Culture
> Décret n°317/PG-RM du 1er novembre 1978 portant réorganisation de l’Institut des Sciences Humaines
> Loi n° 83-53/ AN-RM du 17 mars 1984 portant création du Musée National du Mali
> Loi n°85-40/ AN-RM du 26 juillet 1985 relative à la protection et à la promotion du patrimoine culturel
> Décret n°203/PG-RM du 13 août 1985 instituant une Commission nationale de sauvegarde du patrimoine culturel
> Décret n°275/PG-RM du 04 novembre 1985 portant réglementation des fouilles archéologiques
> Loi n° 86-61/PG-RM du 26 juillet 1986 relative à la profession de négociant en biens culturels
> Décret n° 299/PG-RM du 19 septembre 1986 relatif à la réglementation de la prospection, de la commercialisation et de l’exportation des biens culturels
> Loi n°88-29/ AN-RM du 21 mars 1988 portant création de l’Institut des Sciences Humaines
> Ordonnance n° 90-43 / P-RM portant création du Musée National du Mali, 6 juin 1990
> Décret n° 90-332/PRM portant organisation et modalités de fonctionnement du musée national, 25 juillet 1990
> Décret n° 93-203/P-RM du 11 juin 1993 portant création des Missions Culturelles de Bandiagara, Djenné, Tombouctou
> Décret n°96-133/P-RM portant protection de l’environnement à l’occasion de la réalisation des grands travaux
> Décret n°99-189/ P-RM du 05 juillet 1999 portant institution de la procédure d’étude d’impact sur l’environnement
> Ordonnance n° 01-027/ P-RM du 02 août 2001 portant création de la Direction Nationale du Patrimoine Culturel
> Ordonnance n° 01-029/ P-RM du 03 août 2001 portant création du Musée National du Mali
> Ordonnance n° 01-032/ P-RM du 03 août 2001 portant création des Missions Culturelles de Bandiagara, de Djenné et de Tombouctou
> Ordonnance n° 02-057/P-RM du 05 juin 2002 portant création de l’Institut des Sciences Humaines
> Décret n°594/P-RM du 31 décembre 2003 relatif à l’étude d’impact sur l’environnement

Source: Stony Brook Vertebrate Fossil Preparation Laboratory

(click on map to view area of detail larger)

The Late Cretaceous and Early Tertiary faunas of the Taoudenit and Iullemeden Basins, Republic of Mali

STONY BROOK PROJECT LEADER: Dr. Maureen O’Leary

The Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary (65 million years ago) represents one of the five largest mass extinction events in Earth history. This extinction event marks a transition point when dinosaurs (other than birds) became extinct and modern orders of mammals first appeared. Identifying geological sections from various continents to which vertebrate fossils can be tied is very important for understanding which species of vertebrates went extinct and which survived this extinction event. Mali is one of several countries in the modern Sahara desert that has exposures of rock formations left by shallow seaways that existed before and which survived. Current research focuses on understanding vertebrate evolution across the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in southern West Africa. Finding the remains of species that lived within and along this ancient seaway, including the extinct relatives of modern-day mammals, is of continued interest for Dr. O’Leary and her team.

Explorations of rocks from the Taoudenit and Iullemeden Basins in Mali began in 1999, and have resulted in the discovery of dinosaurs, fossil forests, invertebrates, fishes, turtles, and crocodiles. Dr. O’Leary and other researchers from the Unites States work in collaboration with the Centre Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique et Technologique in the Republic of Mali.

Field work has been funded by the Saurus Institute, the Cranbrook Institute of Science, the L. S. B. Leakey Foundation, and the National Geographic Society.

I’ve written before about the looting of archaeological artefacts from Mali. I have just noticed that the agreement with the US which forbids the import into the USA of Mali artifacts has been extended for another five years and now covers archaeological material from throughout Mali dating from the Paleolithic Era (Stone Age) to approximately the mid-eighteenth century.. I feel strongly that this information should be added to all tourist information on Mali and should be wider known.

Source: http://exchanges.state.gov/culprop/mlfact.html 

On September 23, 1993, the U.S. took emergency action to impose import restrictions on archaeological material from the Niger River Valley region and the Tellem burial caves of Bandiagara of Mali.

On September 19, 1997, the Government of the United States and the Government of the Republic of Mali signed an agreement that continued without interruption the import restriction placed on the same archaeological material. On September 19, 2002, the Government of the United States and the Government of the Republic of Mali extended the agreement for five years.

Effective September 19, 2007, the two countries extended the agreement for an additional five years and amended it to apply U.S. import restrictions on archaeological material from throughout Mali dating from the Paleolithic Era (Stone Age) to approximately the mid-eighteenth century.

II. Background

These U.S. actions are in response to requests from the Government of Mali under Article 9 of the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property.

Sites throughout Mali represent a continuum of civilizations from the Paleolithic Era (Stone Age) period to the 18th century, lending archaeological significance to the region. The archaeological sites along the length of the Niger River Valley constitute virtually the only known source of information pertaining to the great civilizations that existed there. It is estimated that eighty to ninety percent of the sites surrounding the ancient city of Djenne-jeno, one of the most significant archaeological complexes in the region, have been plundered to meet the demands of the international market. Similarly, Stone Age sites in the Saraha that are crucial to understanding the history of early humans are being picked apart in the search for stone tools. All of this looting of archaeological sites severely limits the ability of Mali to fully understand the pre-modern civilizations of within its borders.

These U.S. actions are intended to reduce the incentive for pillage of Malian artifacts and offer the opportunity for Mali to further pursue the regulatory, institutional, and educational measures it has already initiated. Measures include the implementation of procedures for the inventory and classification of cultural property, an improved export review system, and the creation of cultural missions to educate local populations to better safeguard sites against pillage, thereby maximizing opportunities for scientific excavation. Mali is the first and only African country to request and receive this form of U.S. protection. 

III. Categories of Artifacts Subject to Import Restriction

A complete list is published in the Federal Register notice of September 19, 2007. An illustrated list is available in the Mali Image Collection. Restricted archaeological items dating from the Paleolithic era to the mid-18th century A.D. include: terracotta statues and common vessels; figurines and jewelry of copper and copper alloy, figurines of iron figures; stone tools and grave markers; and glass beads. Leather, textiles, iron objects, wood objects, and ceramic vessels from the Tellem burial caves are also restricted.

IV. Import Regulations

Objects from the Niger River Valley and the Tellem burial caves of Bandiagara listed in the 1993 Federal Register notice may enter the U.S. if they have an export permit issued by Mali or verifiable documentation that they left Mali prior to the effective date of the restriction: September 23, 1993.

Note that, beginning September 19, 2007, objects from sites throughout the country including the Tilemsi Valley, the Boucle du Baoule, the Bura Band, Tondidarou, Teghaza, Gao, Menaka, Karkarichinkat, Iforas Massif (Adrar des Iforas), Es-Souk, and Kidal may enter the U.S. if they have an export permit issued by Mali or verifiable documentation that they left Mali prior to the effective date of the restriction: September 23, 1993 for objects from the Niger River Valley and the Tellem burial caves of Bandiagara listed in the 1993 Federal Register and September 19, 2007 for objects from throughout Mali, and including sites of the Paleolithic Era (Stone Age).

V. For More Information

United States International Cultural Property Protection

Mali Direction Nationale des Arts et de la Culture Ministére de la Culture et du Tourisme Quartier du Fleuve B.P. 116 Bamako, Mali Tel: (223) 22-33-82

 Many people come to Mali with the intention of visiting the Dogon villages. Places of Peace and Power has a good article on the sacred sites of the Dogon with excellent photos.

The Dogon are an ethnic group located mainly in the districts of Bandiagara and Douentza in Mali, West Africa. This area is composed of three distinct topographical regions: the plain, the cliffs, and the plateau. Within these regions the Dogon population of about 300,000 is most heavily concentrated along a 200-kilometer (125 mile) stretch of escarpment called the Cliffs of Bandiagara. These sandstone cliffs run from southwest to northeast, roughly parallel to the Niger River, and attain heights up to 600 meters (2000 feet). The cliffs provide a spectacular physical setting for Dogon villages built on the sides of the escarpment. There are approximately 700 Dogon villages, most with fewer than 500 inhabitants.

The precise origins of the Dogon, like those of many other ancient cultures, are lost in the mists of time. The early histories are informed by oral traditions (that differ according to the Dogon clan being consulted) and archaeological excavation (much more of which needs to be conducted). Because of these inexact and incomplete sources, there are a number of different versions of the Dogon’s origin myths, as well as differing accounts of how they got from their ancestral homelands to the Bandiagara region. The people call themselves Dogon or Dogom, but in the older literature they are most often called Habe, a Fulbe word meaning ‘stranger’ or ‘pagan.’ Certain theories suggest the tribe to be of ancient Egyptian descent. After living in the region of Libya, they are believed to have migrated to somewhere in the region of Burkina Faso, Guinea or Mauritania (different scholarly sources give different places for this period). Around 1490 AD, fleeing invaders and/or drought, they migrated to the Bandiagara cliffs of central Mali. Carbon-14 dating techniques used on excavated remains found in the cliffs indicate that there were inhabitants in the region before the arrival of the Dogon; these were the Toloy culture of the 3rd to 2nd centuries BC, and the Tellem culture of the 11th to 15th centuries AD.

Source:http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~anth/arch/niger/broch-eng.html

Susan Keech McIntosh and Roderick J. McIntosh

Roderick and Susan McIntosh excavated at Jenne-jeno and neighboring sites in 1977 and 1981 and returned in 1994 for coring and more survey, with funding from the National Science Foundation of the United States, the American Association of University Women, and the National Geographic Society (1994). This research formed the basis of their Ph.D. dissertations at Cambridge University and the University of California at Santa Barbara, respectively. The McIntoshes have published two monographs and numerous articles on their archaeological research in the Middle Niger. They are professors of anthropology at Rice University in Houston, Texas, and they continue to collaborate with Malian colleagues from the Institut des Sciences Humaines on research along the Middle Niger.

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For centuries, the upper Inland Niger Delta of the Middle Niger between modern Mopti and Segou has been a vital crossroads for trade. Historical sources, such as the 1828 account of the French explorer Rene Caillié, as well as local Tarikhs (histories written in Arabic) detail for us the central role that Jenne played in the commercial activities of the Western Sudan during the last 500 years. The seventeenth century author of the Tarikh es-Sudan, al-Sadi, wrote that “it is because of this blessed town that camel caravans come to Timbuktu from all points of the horizon”. In the famous “Golden Trade of the Moors”, gold from mines far to the south was transported overland to Jenne, then trans-shipped on broad-bottom canoes (pirogues) to Timbuktu, and thence by camel to markets in North Africa and Europe. Leo Africanus reported in 1512 that the extensive boat trade on the Middle Niger involved massive amounts of cereals and dried fish shipped from Jenne to provision arid Timbuktu. Today, the stunning mud architecture of Jenne in distinctive Sudanic style is a legacy of its early trade ties with North Africa. Three kilometers to the southeast, the large mound called Jenne-jeno (ancient Jenne) or Djoboro is claimed by oral traditions as the original settlement of Jenne. Barren and carpeted by a thick layer of broken pottery, Jenne-jeno lay mute for decades, its history and significance totally unknown. Scientific excavations in the 1970’s and 1980’s revealed that the mound is composed of over five meters of debris accumulated during sixteen centuries of occupation that began c. 200 B.C.E. These excavations, in addition to more than doubling the period of known history for this region, provided some surprises regarding the local development of society. The results indicated that earlier assumptions about the emergence of complex social organization in urban settlements and the development of long-distance trade as innovations appearing only after the arrival of the Arabs in North Africa in the seventh and eighth centuries were incorrect. The archaeology of Jenne- jeno and the surrounding area clearly showed an early, indigenous growth of trade and social complexity. The importance of this discovery has resulted in the entry of Jenne- jeno, along with Jenne, on the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites.

More

Source: http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~anth/arch/niger/ceramics.html

Summary Description of the Pottery of the Jenne-jeno, Hambarketolo, and Kaniana Assemblages Copied and adapted from Mcintosh, Susan, ed. (1995). Excavations at Jenne-Jeno, Hambarketolo, and Kaniana (Inland Niger Delta, Mali), the 1981 Season. Berkeley: University of California Press.

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Phase I/II (c. 250 B.C. - A.D. 350). The pottery assemblage in the earliest levels consists primarily of simple rims from ovoid-shaped open bowls, restricted globular jars, and domed potlids. Together, these constitute 70-100% of the rim sherds in early occupation levels. Rims from more complex forms (everted rims, carinated forms) are rare. Many of the Phase I/II vessels must have had rounded bottoms as the ratio of base to rim sherds is 12.5/100. Ring bases predominate, but flat and pedestal bases are also found. Several fragments of cylindrical potlegs were also recovered. Rim diameters are generally small, and there are remarkably few sherds with demonstrable signs of use as cooking pots.
In general, Phase I/II pottery was very well made. Paste was predominantly medium textured, with grog tempering. Occurring in variable frequencies was a distinctive category of thin-walled, finely prepared pottery that produced the high-pitched clinking of fine china when two sherds were knocked together. Its fine fabric is responsible for its high-pitched sound and refined appearance: the paste includes clay, variable amounts of quartz sand, and a small quantity of finely ground grog. Sherds with medium-texture paste have larger amounts of coarser grog. This fineware was produced only in Phase I/II. The care with which it was produced is evident not only in the fineness of the paste and thin walls but also in the exceptionally smooth and even surface finish. From the fine surface lines, it is clear that a tournette was used to turn the pot slowly during manufacture, just as it is by Jenne potters today. The careful smoothing was probably done with a piece of leather. One fineware rim and several others in the Phase I/II study collection had the characteristic dimpled surface created by the hammer-and-anvil technique which would have thinned the walls, removed irregularities, and smoothed the surface of the piece.
The dominant decorative mode in Phase I/II is twine impression. Over 75% of the body sherds are decorated with twine alone (plain sherds = <5% of the body sherds; slipped = 10-15%). Impression with a plaited strip roulette accounts for 70% of the twine-decorated body sherds. Rim sherds have smaller relative frequency of plaited strip roulette and larger frequencies of twisted twine rouletting due to the popular practice in Phase I/II of placing a zone of twisted twine roulette impression near the rim, directly above the plaited strip roulette impression covering the greater part of the pot surface. In addition to these two roulette types on the same pot, other decorative modes unique to Phase I/II include rockering, fine horizontal incision superimposed on other roulette types, cord-wrapped stick roulette, and red paint applied in cross-hatching on an unslipped zone below the lip of simple open bowls. Black and white paint and channeling (multiple grooves) are virtually non-existent in the early part of this phase. They appear at the end of the phase, foreshadowing the explosion in popularity of paint-and-channeled pottery in the succeeding phase. With the exception of single grooves and incision (on twine), other plastic motifs are largely absent throughout Phase I/II, although two examples of raised applique were recovered, both on singular objects that may not have been used in a domestic context.

More 

 The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Encompasses present-day Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and eastern Niger

	See also Guinea Coast and Eastern and Southern Africa. The western Sudan is crisscrossed with trade routes linking this interior region of West Africa to the Atlantic coast and ultimately to cities across the Sahara. The western Sudan is the first area of sub-Saharan Africa to be reached by Muslim traders, and the influx of wealth, goods, and cultural and religious influences contributes to the dynamic artistic production. Nok, in the eastern part of the region, is one of the earliest African centers of ironworking and terracotta figure production. Jenne-jeno, populated as early as 250 B.C., is the oldest known city of sub-Saharan Africa. By 850 A.D., it has become a major urban center but is just one of at least twelve sites of comparable size in the middle Niger region. Several other significant political and commercial centers emerge during this period, including Timbuktu, an important site of Islamic religion and scholarship as well as trade. Read full article

Metropolitan Museum of Art pages

Encompasses present-day Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Niger, and eastern Chad

	See also Guinea Coast and Eastern and Southern Africa. The influence of Islam and the deepening networks of trade spur the growth of several great savanna states, including the Ghana, Mali, and Songhai empires. Further development of metallurgy contributes to both material wealth and artistic production, and Arab reports depict the Ghana empire as the “Land of Gold.” As well as stimulating trade, Islam sparks great cultural and artistic innovation, producing newly syncretic mixes of distinctive regional and Islamic traditions. In 1324–25, the ruler Mansa Musa brings the wealth of the Mali empire to the attention of Europe, North Africa, and Arabia when he completes a pilgrimage to Mecca. Architectural traditions are transformed during the Mali empire. The construction of enormous adobe mosques such as those at Jenne and Timbuktu dates to the thirteenth century. The mosques standing today in West Africa are the product of long histories of construction and reconstruction. They nevertheless reflect the economic conditions, cultural histories, and architectural traditions of the medieval empires from which they originated. Read the full article

Continuing my thoughts on Mali archaeology today, here is an article from a travel blog - Michael and Doria’s travel tales. The photos are about the best yet that I’ve seen of archaeology in situ in Mali, and I have taken the liberty of posting the whole article here rather than just a snippet. Please go to the blog and enjoy all the other articles too!

Djenne and Djenne jenno

The city of Djenne is known first and foremost for its magnificent mud mosque, built in 1906 on the site of several more ancient mosques dating back to the thirteen century. It’s hard to communicate the experience of standing in front of this building - its sheer size coupled with the otherworldliness of its aesthetics…

Only a few kilometers away is the Djenne Jenno - Old Djenne. It’s the original site of the city, abandoned when the town moved to its current site in the early thirteenth century. In the 1990’s there was an active dig here, but work stopped in 1999. The site is remarkable - it is absolutely covered in potshards.

Here’s a photo of Sarah taking a photo of one …

We spent a couple hours wandering around, and could have stayed longer. But we were accompanied by the director of the little archeology museum on the site, who wanted to get back. I have a hunch he was along primarily to make sure we did not remove any artifacts.

Here is a fragment of a black pot with elaborate desgins etched into the surface…

Further along we came upon the ruins of the cemetery. Burial was in large urns, in foetal position. I was startled to see the occupant of this one so plainly visible. At first I thought it rude to photograph him-or-her, but then seeing how he was tucked in so cosy and sleeping comfortably all these hundreds of years, I took a photo anyhow.

But let’s not leave Djenne on a note of death. It’s a very lively town. We spent new years eve there - Doria and I downed quite a few Grand Castels, the Malian beer in the the big, big bottle. On New Year’s day Sarah took this shot, which shows how the life of the town goes on not indoors, but on its rooftops and in its courtyards.

Source: http://icom.museum/redlist/afrique/english/page04.htm

	Terracotta, bronzes and pottery from the Niger Valley (Mali)
			Jenne statue, terracotta
			© Musée national de Bamako (Mali) Click on the photos to see an enlarged version
	Provenance I Characteristics I The urgency of the situation I Legislation I Sources
	–Provenance
	Niger valley, Mali.
	–Characteristics
	These objects come from mounds in the flood plains of the Niger river. They are usually known as Jenne after the name of the town close to the archaeological site of Jenne-Jeno, but are actually found throughout the Niger valley. This site is a national heritage site and is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. These terracotta sculptures, whose height ranges generally from 20 cm to 40 cm, represent mostly human figurines, often found intact. The human form is represented either kneeling or sitting, with arms crossed over the chest, or hands on thighs, gestures often being asymmetrical. Some horsemen and footmen may have their torsos wound about by a cross belt supporting a quiver. The bodies are smooth or covered with round pastilles, made from fine-grained clay. Pottery, some of which includes anthropomorphic motifs, and metal figurines are also found in this region. Among zoomorphic representations, snakes feature prominently. The shaven-headed human heads sometimes wear headgear and are characterised by protruding lips, triangular noses and above all by projecting eyeballs, whose brows are in the form of concentric grooves, and whose eyelashes are incisions radiating out from the eye. One subgroup stands out. It features longer and cylindrical bodies, smaller eyes not surrounded by incisions, as well as a large number of bracelets. These artworks are often classified into styles, from Bankoni and Segou. They come from the Bamako, Segou and Bougouni regions of the South of Mali.
	–The urgency of the situation
	The Musée national of Mali owns all statuettes found during official excavations. The majority of other statuettes known to exist from the Niger valley have been put into circulation by the looting of archaeological sites, 80% or 90% of which have been violated. Very little is therefore known about the cultures which produced these items, in spite of the very large number of objects now available on the art market. Their exact provenance will remain forever unknown, as also their date. The range of dates which the thermoluminescent examinations can provide is so wide that it leaves unresolved the problem of accurate dating. Given the urgency of the situation, programmes to raise awareness among the local population have been set up and the authorities are in a position to intervene and seize looted objects, as in Thial in 1990, and more recently in the spring of 1999, in a village close to Jenne.
National and international legislation protecting these objects:
	- Law No. 85-40/AN-RM, of 26 July 1985 concerning the protection and the promotion of the national cultural heritage, Decree No. 203/PG-RM of 13 August 1985 instituting a national commission for the safeguarding of the cultural heritage, Decree No. 275/PG-RM of 4 November 1985 regulating archaeological excavations, Decree No. 299/PG-RM of 19 September 1986 regulating the excavation, commercialization and export of cultural goods. (Mali) - Law No. 86-61/AN-RM of 26 July 1986 concerning dealers in cultural goods. (Mali) - UNESCO Convention of 1970 on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, ratified by Mali on 9 April 1987, in force on 6 July 1987. - Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Mali concerning the Imposition of Import Restrictions on Archaeological Material from the Region of the Niger River Valley and the Bandiagara Escarpment (Cliff), 23 September 1993, extended by an agreement of 19 September 1997.
	–Sources
	- M. Dembele, A. M. Schmidt, J. D. van der Waals, 1993 : « Prospection de sites archéologiques dans le delta intérieur du Niger », Catalogue de l’exposition / Exhibition catalogue, Vallées du Niger, Paris, Réunion des Musées Nationaux. - Samuel Sidibé, 1995 : « La lutte contre le pillage du patrimoine culturel malien et l’exportation illicite : efforts nationaux et coopération internationale » / « The Fight Against the Pillage of Mali’s Cultural Heritage and Illicit Exportation : National Efforts and International Cooperation », Le trafic illicite des biens culturels en Afrique / Illicit Traffic of Cultural Property in Africa, ICOM. - UNESCO Ð USIA.

Source: http://www.nsaccid.org/WARA%20Report.htm

Conserving Cultural Heritage with Microcredit: An Impact Assessment of the CultureBank in Fombori, Mali

This study presents an assessment of the social, economic and cultural impacts of the CultureBank in Fombori, Mali, based on field research in 2002. The CultureBank is a local initiative started in 1997 to conserve cultural heritage through the provision of small business loans to community members. Participants obtain credit by using cultural objects as collateral and the objects are conserved and publicly displayed in the CultureBank museum collection. This innovative approach to microcredit provides a financial incentive for cultural conservation in a rural community.

The Dogon CultureBank of Fombori

Submitted to The African Cultural Conservation Fund, Bamako, Mali

by

Tara F. Deubel

Graduate Research Assistant

Dr. Mamadou Baro

Assistant Research Professor

Department of Anthropology

Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology

University of Arizona

December 15, 2002

Read the full article

Source: http://www.mcdonald.cam.ac.uk/iarc/culturewithoutcontext/issue4/sanogo.htm

The Looting of Cultural Material in Mali

Kléna Sanogo

Institut des Sciences Humaines
BP 159
Bamako
Mali

(Translated from the French by Katie Boyle)
The looting of cultural material, from Africa in general and from Mali  in particular, is causing great concern at the present time. Starting with the search for exotic and sensational artefacts by early colonial officials, it is a phenomenon that has grown progressively into a vast commercial enterprise which today has reached proportions which no-one would hesitate to call ‘cultural genocide’ (Brent 1994). This spectacular escalation in the looting of cultural material is due to several factors, but the two most important would appear to be, on one hand, the existence of the international art market and, on the other, the fact that the idea of patrimony, developed around cultural material and archaeological sites in particular, does not correspond to cultural reality as experienced by the people concerned. This last factor explains much of the destruction that might be termed unintentional, and caused by all types of work (traditional farming, animal husbandry, settlement, quarrying, mineral exploitation, etc.). Unintentional destruction extends, to some degree, right throughout national territory.
Read more

 From http://cohesion.rice.edu/CentersAndInst/SAFA/emplibrary/togola.doc

Dr. Téréba TOGOLA (1948 – 2005)

Our esteemed colleague and dear friend, Dr Téréba Togola, Directeur National du Patrimoine Culturel (Ministère de la Culture du Mali) died of kidney failure associated with typhoid on November 7, 2005. His health had been fragile since the summer, when colleagues who saw him at the Panafrican Congress of Prehistory in Botswana reported that he looked thin, drawn, and unwell. We will remember him always as a devoted champion of Mali’s past, an outstanding field archaeologist and researcher, a kind and generous colleague and friend, and a devoted father and husband.

Téréba Togola was born in 1948 in the region of Sikasso (Bla, Cercle de Bougouni).  After receiving his M.A. in history and geography at l’Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENSUP) in Bamako in 1980,  he began his professional career in archaeology at l’Institut des Sciences Humaines (ISH).   Working with Dr. Michel Raimbault, his former professor at ENSUP, he participated in several archaeological campaigns in the Middle Niger and Mema regions, where his own research would ultimately be focused.  In early 1984, he worked with Professors Roderick and Susan McIntosh as ISH homologue in an archaeological survey around Timbucktu.  Following that collaboration, he entered the graduate program in anthropology at Rice University in 1986, funded by  a Fulbright Fellowship.  With the McIntoshes, he undertook the first excavations and archaeological survey at Dia in January 1987.  His pioneering doctoral research “Archaeological Investigations of Iron Age Sites in the Mema (Mali)” was funded by a prestigious National Science Foundation Dissertation Improvement Grant and supervised by  R. and S. McIntosh. His investigations identified 108 Iron Age sites, including a number of iron production sites, and several occupation mounds measuring well in excess of 40 hectares in area.  Excavations at the site of Akumbu resulted in the first ceramic Iron Age sequence for the Mema, spanning the 4th–14th centuries AD, and evidence for trade in tin bronze.  He received the Ph.D. in 1993. 

Upon returning home, Dr. Togola rejoined the ISH, where he was appointed Chef de section Archéologie à la Division Histoire – Archéologie.  MANSA members will remember his hard work and successful organization of the biennial meetings held in Bamako in 1993. In 1995, he also helped organize the meetings in Bamako of the West African Archaeological Association.  Between 1994–­1997, he conducted numerous archaeological campaigns in the gold producing regions of Ségala, Tabakoto, Sadiola (région de Kayes),  and Faboula (Kalana, Région de Sikasso), the Boucle de Baoulé, as well as collaborative research and excavation at Jenne-jeno.

In 1998, Dr. Togola was appointed as Directeur National des Arts et de la Culture.  In this post, administrative responsibilities for all aspects of national Arts and Culture kept him on the move, traveling to many countries, attending meetings and  seminars, all of which prevented him from spending much time doing the fieldwork he loved.  He was an outstanding excavator, able to read the fine nuances of the soil and the clues it provided about events that unfolded long ago.     In 2000 and 2001, he was able to undertake a research program in the Mema in collaboration with the University of Kyoto (Japan) and susequently with the Ethnology Museum of Osaka.   This is especially remarkable in view of the fact that he was very active during that period as Organizing Secretary of the Panafrican Congress of Prehistory, which was held in Bamako in 2001.  That same year, he organized the Semaine Nationale des Arts et de la Culture (SNAC), an artistic and cultural forum bringing together artists from all regions of Mali.  Dr. Togola put his fluency in both English and French to good use in interactions with a wide variety of researchers, collaborators, and funding agencies.  

For his many services rendered to the nation, he was awarded the distinction of the honorary title “Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mali” in Septembre 2000.

With the restructuring of  the Direction Nationale des Arts et de la Culture in 2001, Dr. Togola was appointed to lead the Direction Nationale du Patrimoine Culturel (DNPC).  In this post, he emphasized the protection, management and promotion of Mali’s cultural heritage.  He participated in numerous conferences on the subject of the illicit antiquities trade and played an important role in assuring the extension in 2002 of of the bilateral agreement with the United States under the UNESCO Convention, protecting archaeological materials at risk of pillage in the Middle Niger region.  A significant aspect of his tenure was the ongoing inventory of cultural heritage.  In 2001, 63 sites and monuments were inventoried and registered, rising to 68 in 2004.  The Komoguel Mosque (Région de Mopti) and the Kama bulon of Kangaba (Région de Koulikoro) were classified as national cultural heritage monuments in 2005.  One of Dr. Togola’s most visionary and enduring projects was the “Cultural Map of Mali: Inventory of Cultural Heritage”, a vast atlas bringing together the elements of cultural heritage in the eight regions of Mali and the District of Bamako.  He worked feverishely on this ambitious project,  successfully bringing it to publication in 2005 under the title: Carte Culturelle du Mali, esquisse d’un inventaire du patrimoine culture.

Dr. Togola was also successful in assuring the addition of the Tombeau des Askia (Région de Gao) to the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites in 2004, and the inscription of “Jaaral –Dégal” by UNESCO as a masterpiece of the intangible heritage of humanity. Significantly as well, under Dr. Togola’s tenure, Timbucktu was withdrawn from the list of endangered world heritage sites.

Dr. Togola organized  programs of archaeological research with Japanese collaboration in the Méma (2003) and at Gao (2002, 2004).  At Gao, the research program , including regional site survey and rescue excavations in 2005 at the site of the Mosque of Kankou Moussa was reinforced by Sida/SAREC (Swedish Agency for International Development).

Other projects inaugurated under Dr. Togola’s aegis included the Culture Bank of Mali, initiated by the World Bank, which supports the creation of local, community museums and the promotion of activities generating revenue so that local populations can retain items of cultural heritage.  In 2004, Dr. Togola initiated a project for the protection and promotion of the cultural heritage in the his natal village of Kalabancoro, financed by the “Karité Mali” Association, of which he was a founding member.  In 2005, he directed another cultural heritage project in Koumantou (Région de Sikasso), establishing an artistic and cultural festival.  He was a tireless promoter of Mali’s cultural heritage at all levels.

 Dr Téréba Togola was a member of the following Associations and Professional Organisations

-          la Société des Archéologues Africanistes (SAFA) ;

-          le Comité Scientifique pour le Développement de la Boucle du Baoulé, Mali ;

-          l’Association Ouest-Africaine d’Archéologie (AOAA) ;

-          l’Association des Etudes Mandé (MANSA) ;

-          l’Association des Historiens du Mali (ASHIMA) ;

-          l’Association Panafricaine de Préhistoire et Disciplines Assimilées ;

-          le Réseau des archéologues africains ;

-          Karité Mali ;

-         l’Association pour le Développement de l’Arrondissement de Koumantou.

Travaux et publications

1982                      Inventaire analytique des sites archéologiques du Cercle de Bougouni. Mémoire de fin d’études, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Bamako. Directeur de Mémoire : Michel Raimbault. Document non publié.

1986                                 “Le pillage des sites archéologiques au Mali.” Journal Jamana, Bamako, Mali. N°42 En collaboration avec Michel Raimbault.

1989 (a)              “Archaeology of the people without history”, Archaeology 42 (1):75-80.

En collaboration avec R.J. Mclntosh et S.K. Mclntosh.

1989 (b)                The Méma, Mali :Overview and Research Prospects. Mémoire de M.A. Département d’Anthropologie. Rice University. Houston. Document non publié.

1989(c)                 The Bamana Secret Societies (Jow) : their relation with the Bamana social, political and belief systems and the meaning of their membership. Mémoire de M.A. Département d’Anthropologie. Rice Universty. Houston. Document non publié.

1991 (a)                “Les missions d’inventaire dans le Méma, Karéri et Farimaké (1984 et 1985)”. En collaboration avec M. Raimbault. Dans Recherches Archéologiques au Mali. Editions Karthala. Ouvrage collectif dirigé par M. Raimbault et K. Sanogo, pp. 81 – 85

1991 (b)                “Le mobilier céramique.” Dans Recherches Archéologiques au Mali. Editions Karthala. Ouvrage collectif dirigé par M. Raimbault et K. Sanogo, pp. 281 – 300.

1993                                 Investigations of Iron Age sites in the Méma region (Mali).Thèse de Ph. D. Département d’Anthropologie. Rice University, Houston (USA).

1994                      Reconnaissance archéologique dans la zone du projet or, Sadiola (deuxième phase). Rapport  Final. En collaboration avec Famory Sissoko et Nafogo Coulibaly. Rapport ISH non publié.

1995 (b)                “Memories, abstraction and conceptualisation of ecological crisis in the Mande World”. Communication présentée à l’atelier Global Change in Prehistory and History organisé par the Forest Service (Etats-Unis) et Rice University Center for the Study of Cultures. 

1995 (c)                Recherches archéologiques dans la zone de Faboula, Arrondissement de Kalana, Cercle  de Yanfolila. En Collaboration avec Famory Sissoko et Nafogo Coulibaly. Rapport ISH non publié.

1995 (d)                “The good collector and the premise of mutual respect among Nations”. African Arts. Autumn 1995. Volume XXVIII. N° 4. En Collaboration avec Roderick J. McIntosh et Susan K. McIntosh.

1995 (e)                Recherches archéologiques dans la Boucle du Baoulé, Mali. Rapport Final. En collaboration avec Boua Traoré, Youssouf Kalapo, Josué Thiéro et Clément Traoré. Rapport ISH non publié.

1996 (a)                “Iron Age occupation in the Méma region (Mali)”. African Archaeological Review 13 (2): 91–110

1996 (b)                Reconnaissance archéologique dans la zone de Ségala, cercle de Keniéba. En collaboration avec Youssouf Kalapo et Mahamadou Kaba. Rapport ISH, non publié.

1997 (a)                “Mali’s many shields of its past”. Nonrenewable Resources 6 (2): 111–130. En collaboration avec R.J. Mclntosh et B. Diaby.

1997(b)                 “A civilization under seige”, US/ICOMOS Newsletter n°1 Janvier– Février. En collaboration avec R.J. Mclntosh, B. Diaby et S.K. Mclntosh.

1997 (d)                “Two millennia of human experience along the Middle Niger”. Communication présentée au symposium intitulé Four Rivers of Africa : historical archaeology and art in Africa. Symposium organisé par the National Museum of African Art (Smithsonian Institution) Mai 1997.

1997 (e)                “The Inland Delta and the Manding Mountains” dans Museums and archaeology in West Africa, ouvrage collectif dirigé par Claude Daniel Ardouin, pp. 59–67.

1997 (f)                 Recherches archéologiques sur la concession minière Nevsun Resources LTD, Zone de Tabakoto, cercle de Keniéba. En collaboration avec Mahamadou Kaba et Youssouf Kalapo. Rapport ISH, non publié.

1999 (a)             “Archaeology of the soul.” Archaeology 52 (3).             

1999 (b)                “La gestion du patrimoine culturel au Mali : bref aperçu historique”. Actes sur Colloque International sur le Patrimoine Culturel Mauritanien, 29 novembre –  1^er décembre 1999.

2000 (a)                “Les peintures et gravures rupestres” dans L’archéologie en Afrique de l’Ouest Sahara et Sahel. Textes rassemblés par Robert Vernet, CRIAA, Nouakchott. Editions Spéciale France.

2000 (b)                “Sites refuges et fortifications militaires” dans L’archéologie en Afrique de l’Ouest Sahara et Sahel. Textes rassemblés par Robert Vernet, CRIAA, Nouakchott. Editions Spéciale France.

2000 (c)                “Memories, abstractions and conceptualisation of ecological crisis in the Mandé World” dans The Way the Wind Blows: Climate, History, and Human Action,  ed. Roderick J. McIntosh, Joseph Tainter et Susan K. McIntosh. Columbia University Press: 181–192

Prepared by Mamadou Cissé and Susan McIntosh