Ricerc@Sapienza

With the increasing number of conferences, congresses and workshops devoted to African archaeology, one wonders if there is room for another one. More so if with the explicit hope, or unconscious admission, that this workshop would have been the first of a (long) series. And finally, in Italy, where in the past other attempts to create a flexible but permanent structure did not last for long. This workshop comes after a long theoretical gestation, mainly due to the essential questioning – do we really need it? – and many perplexities. One of the main factors driving our decision to organize this meeting was the awareness of the lack of a network in Italy (both for Italians and Italy-based researchers) for those who work in Africa.