A Ritual Geology

“A Ritual Geology is an extraordinary project—thorough, nuanced, smart, and compelling. Robyn d’Avignon’s significant scholarly achievement offers a fresh, stimulating approach to the mutual constitution of geological knowledge. Its historical and ethnographic breadth is unique and exciting, effectively bringing together the archival and the experiential to explore the past, present, and future of gold mining in West Africa.” - Danny Hoffman, author of Monrovia Modern: Urban Form and Political Imagination in Liberia

“A Ritual Geology is a great achievement. Attending to deeper traditions of gold mining that are embodied in both technological knowledge and a broad system of ritual meaning, it will find an enthusiastic multidisciplinary audience among scholars and students interested in Africa.” - Bruce S. Hall, author of A History of Race in Muslim West Africa, 1600–1960

“The foremost contribution of A Ritual Geology is the representation of African miners as intellectual actors. . . . A Ritual Geology is impressive. It is crucial reading for anthropologists and historians looking to understand decolonial methodologies. It should also find a readership among actors who intervene in mining worlds, be it as corporate employees, state officials or development agencies.” - Dr Dagna Rams, LSE Review of Books

“Examining the ritual meaning of mining—which focuses on African relations with territorial spirits—[D’Avignon] brings a rich new perspective to understanding the mining industry, which considers Africans as intellectual actors, not just exploited laborers who were forced to work in European-owned mines because of land alienation. Recommended.” - E. S. Schmidt, Choice

"D’Avignon illuminates the complex narrative of African knowledge production and resource extraction using thick ethnographic descriptions, oral and life histories, and archival sources. ... [The] book is refreshing and provokes debates about African artisanal miners and local knowledge."

"It is a rare to read a book that is, at once, innovative in its methodology, provocative in its argument, convincing in its claims and evidentiary foundations, and beautifully written throughout. ... [D'Avignon's] book testifies to the complex and often moving insights that can be gained from approaching peoples and places, of the past and of the present, with humble curiosity and a profound sense of shared humanity."

"Historians of geology, anthropologists focused on mining, and anyone interested in the relationship between West Africa’s futures and its longue durée will all find this book tremendously valuable." - Tom Özden-Schilling, American Ethnologist

"A Ritual Geology is a substantial contribution to the expanding fields of the history of science and technology, environmental history, and decolonization studies in twentieth-century Africa and the Global South.  . . . [The] notion of ritual geology, the study of how African miners asserted their rights to gold as a common resource, and the challenge of telling the story of mining industry and science beyond the industrial-artisanal dichotomy will be of interest to historians, anthropologists, or public policymakers in the Global South who wish to understand the industry as a multidimensional process with deep historical roots. It may also be of interest to scholars who are investigating the role of gender in the geological rituals of gold mining, as well as the impact of gold mining on women’s lives and on the exchange of knowledge."

  - Lorena Campuzano Duque, Technology and Culture

"Robyn d’Avignon’s book is an impressive accomplishment that makes a valuable contribution to the history of science and technology in African history. Indeed, d’Avignon’s concept of a ritual geology helps to explain the depths of knowledge that Africans have of their subterranean environments, as well as the political, social, and cultural tensions that emerge over the longue duree." - John Cropper, Journal of Social History

"A Ritual Geology makes many contributions to Africanist scholarly literature. Perhaps chief among them is its insistence on treating West Africans as generators of geological knowledge, not mere laborers. The book will no doubt lead many readers to reassess their perspective on an oft-maligned form of mineral extraction." - Bruce Whitehouse, Mande Studies

"A Ritual Geology, as one of the first historical accounts of exploration geology in Africa that centers geological structures as an entry point into the history of the continent, will certainly appeal to scholars and students across a broad swath of academic disciplines." - Kwaku Nti, Journal of Global South Studies

"This book is a tremendous contribution to current reflections on the relation between extractive industries and development. . . . My hope is that the political journey of this book can be extended through translations into languages and debate forms other than English, academia and the written word." - Muriel Côte, Africa

“Robyn d’Avignon . . . has written a pathbreaking book that will be of interest not only to an academic audience but also to a broader public one. . . . D’Avignon sheds light on what might seem obvious but is often made invisible in many histories of science on Africa: the historical continuities and relevance of local knowledge and ontologies in the modeling of technical, social, and economic aspects of the practices historians examine.”

“A Ritual Geology makes a remarkable contribution to mining studies by weaving together geological knowledge and accounts of ritual practices through interdisciplinary inquiry. . . . Scholars investigating small-scale and corporate mining in sub-Saharan Africa— particularly historians and anthropologists—will find this book a worthwhile read.”

"An important contribution of historical anthropology that stimulates reflection on the relationship between geology and history.” - Lorenzo D’Angelo, Indigenous Religious Traditions