Historical Archaeology of German Colonial Heritage at Ziavi, in the Ho Municipality, Volta Region, Ghana.

Abstract

This thesis was aimed at investigating the Archaeology of German colonial encounters with local agency at the Galenkuito site of Ziavi, in the Ho municipality of the Volta Region of Ghana. It garnered oral and documentary accounts to contribute to the knowledge of the migration and settlement histories of the early Ziavi indigenes prior to colonial times. The study used ethnographic research to document the contemporary life-ways of the people. These included chieftaincy and traditional authorities, subsistence, popular culture (festivals, music and dance), indigenous technologies, clan identities and functionalities, building technology and architecture, social organization as well as the cognitive structures and the religious identities of the people of Ziavi. Archaeological excavation was carried out at Galenkuito to unsheathe the remnants of the indigenous and colonial material representations of the people through time. Analysis and interpretation of the material remnants including ceramics, slag, metal objects, smoking pipes, building structures, flora and fauna provided insights into the nature of material culture varieties, agency and contacts among the occupants of the Galenkuito site at Ziavi. It is revealed that the emic world-view of Ziavi in respect of its indigenous culture is continued and maintained in spite of their interactions with the German colonial powers decades ago. While the occupation of the Germans have impacted on the town planning and road network of Ziavi, their extant material relics, many of which are in ruins, have possibilities of being restored and preserved for purposes of cultural resource management and development. The present reality of remembrance and de-remembrance of the 19th Century German- Ziavi interaction and its implication for the contemporary society of Ziavi is also discussed.