BOOK REVIEW Stephanie Wynne-Jones and Jeffrey Fleisher (Eds.), Theory in Africa, Africa in Theory: Locating Meaning in Archaeology Routledge, London, 2015, 296 pp. ISBN 9781138860605 Carla Klehm # Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016 Wynne-Jones and Fleisher’ s edited volume begins with a central tenet: that (the narrative surrounding) the postprocessual movement in archaeology often forgets its African connections. In their thesis, African ethnography and ethnoarchaeology have deeply informed the ways in which we think about materiality and the recursive rela- tionships between objects and agents. Using this as a point of departure, the editors query if and how such African origins have impacted the ways in which materials are viewed. This is not a one-sided question, however, and the editors quickly flip the coin: what impact has postprocessual theory had on African scholarship? Have Africanist scholars engaged with postprocessualism (espe- cially since it is viewed as a major inflection point in the Western theoretical canon)? What other theoretical posi- tions do they find useful? What impact does theory, postprocessual or otherwise, have on the ways in which the African past and present are viewed? By inviting a range of scholars from diverse geo- graphic origins (both from within the African continent and beyond) and theoretical orientations (from those concerned with local culture histories, to others con- cerned with materiality and ontology), the editors cap- ture and embrace diversity of opinion. These scholars tackle the editors’ questions variably, with some outlining Africa’ s relationship with postprocessualism (Wynne-Jones provides the best summary), others call- ing attention to historical contingencies (Fleisher, Lane), and still others citing more general caution regarding the production of knowledge (MacEachern, Lane). Some chapters focus on histories of archaeological theory (Chami, Moore, Ogundiran, Wynne-Jones), sprinkling them with personal anecdotes (Kus especially, and won- derfully), while others focus on concrete applications of theory (Huffman, Gavua, Fredriksen, Richard, Insoll). Rather than cacophony, it comes across as cohesive, as scholars express collectively what and why African archaeology matters to them and to the world. The volume is divided into four sections. The first, BDisciplinary engagements with Africa,^ sets the agen- da, and its first chapter (by Wynne-Jones and Fleisher) is a comprehensive outline of Africa’ s recursive relation- ship with postprocessual theory. MacEachern presents an approachable narrative of how Africa, both its past and present, is seen by the academic community and the broader public. Some tropes, such as the perceived Btimelessness^ of Africa, might already be familiar to an Africanist reader, but MacEachern articulates these issues in a way that the reader will find thoughtful and engaging (and useful to share with students), particular- ly through his linkages to geopolitics and genetics. Perhaps most jarring is his suggestion that perceptions of Africa may be regressing, warranting both caution and action on the part of Africanists. Following MacEachern are two other influential Africanists that present their own interpretive Bbrand^ of African theo- ry: Felix Chami, whose biography is detailed in the first chapter, and Henrietta Moore, whose (1986) book on Afr Archaeol Rev DOI 10.1007/s10437-016-9234-y C. Klehm (*) Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis, One Brookings Drive, Campus, Box 1114, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA e-mail: cklehm@wustl.edu