Resumen
The Empire of Mali (13th-16th C AD) was one of the largest states in the history of sub-Saharan Africa. Kaabu, its westernmost province, was its main connection with the Atlantic trade networks and the only region that flourished an independent state after the empire’s collapse in the 16th C. Although well-known from oral traditions and European accounts, Kaabu’s archaeology had never been studied before. This talk will discuss the results of the first archaeological project in the Upper Casamance region, Kaabu’s core, and and what it has told us about this historical state.