The first in the book series Studies in the African Past was published in 2001, consisting of reports produced by the archaeology research project, 'Human Responses and Contribution to Environmental Change'. The new research initiative developed out of this project is known as the 'African Archaeology Network'. This is investigating how ancient African societies exploited resources, developed settlements and established long-distance trade networks. A pan-African project, it aims to develop new models to understand how ancient communities adjusted and responded to political and environmental upheavals; and to demonstrate the potential for more research in the different areas of African archaeology.

The sequel to People, Contacts and the Environment in the African Past, published under the auspices of a thriving and diverse regional archaeology research project, 'Human Responses and Contributions to Environmental Change in Africa'. The book series aims to disseminate the project's results and stimulate debate on current issues relating to the archaeology of the region, from specific and regional perspectives. The editors present an overview study of the Swahili World, and the excavation of Kaole ruins; and there is a chapter in French on the bi-partition of Swahili sites, taking the example of Gede. Three papers are on Zimbabwean archaeology, one of which presents findings from recent surveys in northern Zimbabwe and their contribution to an understanding of the cultural history and spatial behaviour of pre-historic farming communities in the area. The other papers cover: the merits of using ceramics as material culture to interpret aspects of pre-historic human behaviour in Southern Africa; the history of glass beads and iron metallurgy across the region; and the effect of geo- environmental aspects on the location of sites on the central coast of Tanzania.