Kisalian Graves

Ana Monteiro-Ferreira

The Kisalian graves represent one of the largest collections of artifacts ever found in an African site. Discovered in the area where the Baluba exercised hegemony, the Kisalian graves have become identified with the southeast area of the Central African Forest near the shores of Lake Kisale in the Upemba rift. Initially, 145 graves were excavated, and 2 atypical ones were dated to the 1st century AD. What this means is that the Baluba culture is far older than the usual date given in the 18th century; this is particularly true if the founders of the Kisalian culture were related to the current occupiers of the region. Given that most European anthropologists date the Baluba culture from the time they became known to whites or Arabs, it is important to appreciate the significance of the Kisalian culture. Kanimba Misago, a Congolese, and others have tried to reconstruct the culture of ...

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