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Paul Sinclair (1949-2023) – In Memoriam

6 February 20246 February 2024

We are sad to acknowledge the departure of our dear Professor Paul Sinclair (1949-2023) who died in his home, surrounded by his family, after a period of illness. Paul Sinclair has been a strong supporter of the Integrated History and Future of People on Earth (IHOPE). For 30 years, he has encouraged PhD students and colleagues to engage with human- environment questions and their connection to ongoing debates in sustainability. In 1997 he became Professor of African and Comparative Archaeology at Uppsala University. In 2012 he switched positions to a temporary chair in Global Historical Ecology at his department, through which he mobilised funding to house part of the IHOPE programme office in Uppsala, where it is still located. He remained a strong supporter and enabler of IHOPE and many of its researchers.

Paul Sinclair – In Memoriam

There are many stories to be shared of Paul Sinclair, and all who met Paul came away from that experience with a long-lasting impression. He was an accomplished storyteller, evoking a fire camp sense of adventure even in the dullest grey corridors. When we did an honorary volume for Paul’s retirement in 2018, 35 contributors, former PhD students, and colleagues described him as a synthesiser, a problem-solver, an enabler, someone who could find solutions to the trickiest problems. We all remember his great kindness and loyalty to PhD students and colleagues, his help in times of trouble, and his unwavering support and encouragement. The hospitality of Paul and his family to colleagues and visitors is legendary. Paul was an instigator and provocateur; many colleagues have left his office with a completely new take on their topic or found themselves destined to a new continent. The memories of him sitting behind the desk swirling the globe, evoking previously unimagined possibilities, and pressing on urgent topics are shared by so many of us. More than 40 PhD students have completed their dissertations with Paul Sinclair as supervisor. This includes various topics related to archaeology, heritage, and environment in southern and eastern Africa, as well as similar topics in Sweden, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Bolivia, and Laos, with research collaborations also in Egypt, West Africa, and Southeast Asia. He has been an enduring support to peers and colleagues across the world.

A characteristic of Paul Sinclair’s research is an approach that links knowledge communities, most firmly within archaeology but also combining ethnography, sociology, climatology, paleoecology, and archival sources. This skill he transferred to his many PhD students but also inspired his colleagues at Uppsala University and elsewhere. The interdisciplinary skills of Paul can be traced back to his undergraduate background. By the time he entered the graduate program at Cambridge, he had a BSc from Cape Town in zoology, statistics, marine geology, oceanography, African history, physics, and chemistry. Studies in anthropology and archaeology at Pembroke College University of Cambridge also allowed him to build an understanding of archaeology as truly interdisciplinary. In 1997, Paul was appointed as the first holder of a newly established Professorial Chair in African and Comparative Archaeology at Uppsala University. He was a member of the Society of Africanist Archaeologists, the Pan-African Association of African Prehistory, the African Archaeology Network and the World Archaeological Congress; these are all associations where he has made a mark. The number of honorary lectures and events given by, with, and for Paul is too long to list.

Born of a Scottish mother and a Polish father, Paul spent his childhood in South Africa, and the African continent became both his research focus and his passion in life. The research project Urban Origins in Eastern Africa (1986-1992), funded by the Swedish Agency for Research Collaboration (SAREC), brought together a total of 25 scholars from Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zimbabwe – and later also Madagascar, Botswana, and Sri Lanka – to define research questions which enabled researchers to re-address and redefine urbanism in eastern and southern Africa. This project led to the formation and strengthening of archaeology and heritage in represented countries while also introducing pioneering strategies for documenting sites, such as Geographical Information Systems (GIS), soil coring, and geoscientific methods. The project was unique in its scale and scope and in its collaborative approach to shaping research. Several of those colleagues now have leading positions at universities in Africa and elsewhere or have prominent positions within heritage management internationally. The project allowed countries in the region to build a base for undergraduate training and, in some cases, to build PhD programmes. Paul’s legacy for archaeology in Africa and the colleagues he inspired and supported will never be forgotten.

Urbanism has been a strong theme of Paul Sinclair’s research, starting with his PhD dissertation on spatial trajectories of the Zimbabwe Plateau and Mozambique. His interest in urbanism emerged particularly from his work in Great Zimbabwe, where he was curator in 1975, and he continued to publish research results from the site as recently as last year. He came to expand his interest to the coast, the site Chibuene in Mozambique, the Swahili coast, and Africa more broadly. The project, The Urban Mind, expanded the frame of reference and facilitated studies on a range of urbanisation processes in many parts of the world.

Paul Sinclair guided the compilation and standardisation of archaeological data, continuing the tradition of spatial analyses developed in his dissertation. The GIS laboratory at the Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Uppsala University, was founded in the mid-1990s and is now named the Sinclair Laboratory. This is courtesy of Paul’s enthusiasm for the power of spatial analysis and the funding he attracted, which came to redirect the research foci of the department and so many colleagues. Collaborations continued with the project Human Responses and Contributions to Environmental Change (HRAC) in 1995, which broadened archaeological questions to address environmental change and societal interactions with the environment. Research approaches now became more explicitly interdisciplinary, reflected in Paul’s own work and the PhD theses published in this period. The research focus stirred his engagement in the Integrated History and Future of People on Earth (IHOPE), a global network of researchers and research projects.

Throughout his career, Paul Sinclair has been a strong and passionate voice for academic freedom and education. His desire was to ensure the right of citizens to have access to education and knowledge of history, and for colleagues to have equal opportunities for research and employment. Paul witnessed the liberalisation of Cape Town University in the 1960s and the Apartheid regime’s curtailment of that freedom. In 1982, at the Southern African Association of Archaeologists in Botswana, Paul was elected spokesperson in a motion to boycott South Africa. The motion was passed by the Pan-African Congress in Jos, Nigeria, in 1983.

Paul demonstrated his fervour for democratisation and dissemination of knowledge in many other ways. While he was living in Mozambique (1977–1980) as a director of the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology at Eduardo Mondlane University, he helped inspire the construction of the Manyikeni open-air field museum as a centre for public education. This is also the period when he met and married his wife Amelie Berger who has remained a supporting partner to Paul and his work and a dear friend to many of us. Collaboration with local communities continued during Paul’s excavations at Chibuene and in the numerous PhD projects that he has supervised. In 2001, SAREC invested additional funding for a dissemination project which resulted in the building of five local museums: Kaole (Tanzania), Mwali Mijini (Comores), Jumba la Mtwana (Kenya), Babay 1 & 2 (Madagascar), and Unguja Ukuu (Zanzibar), and also the restoration of the Manyikeni museum, including also multimedia, films, and popular books.

As we wrote in the introduction to the honorary book dedicated to Paul Sinclair 2018, many of us remember Paul’s often used expression, “Every day is a wound, and the last one will be fatal”, a saying which could cover most circumstances and was always said by Paul with a humorous and somewhat cynical laugh. It is hard to imagine that Paul, who was larger than life, a veritable forcefield, is no longer with us. Now, as we with great sorrow struggle to comprehend that that last fatal day of Paul Sinclair’s has indeed come and gone, we feel that he will always be with us in spirit and soul. We take comfort in knowing that his legacy will live on and be cultivated by his many colleagues across the world.

-Anneli Ekblom, Christian Isendahl, Karl-Johan Lindholm, and Carole Crumley
Photograph of Paul Sinclair by Roger Blench.

Selected Bibliography of Paul’s work
(available for download)

Journal Papers

Sinclair, P. 1982. Chibuene: an early trading site in southern Mozambique. Paideuma 28, 149-64.

Sinclair, P. 1984. Some aspects of current Swedish archaeology research in Africa. Norwegian Archaeological Review 17 (1), 60-63.

Sinclair, P. 1986. Archaeology, Ideology and Development: Mozambican perspectives. Archaeological Review from Cambridge 5 (1).

Sinclair, P. 1991f. Archaeology in Eastern Africa and outline of current chronological issues. Journal of African History 32 179 -219.

Rahtz, S. and Sinclair, P.J.J. 1994. Multimedia Information systems for East African Archaeology. Archeologia e Calcolatori 5:219-237.

McIntosh, R., Sinclair, P., Petren, M and McIntosh, S. 1997. Exploratory archaeology at Jenné and Jenné-jeno, Mali. Sahara 8: 19–28 .

Sinclair, P.J.J. 2002. Beyond Urban Origins, new challenges for international archaeology. Journal of Swedish Heritage Board Kulturmiljövård 1/ 2.

Sinclair, P.J.J., Abdurahman Juma and Felix Chami 2005. Excavations at Kuumbi Cave on Zanzibar in 2005. Studies in the African Past (5) University of Dar es Salaam Press.

Reports

Sinclair, P 1985. Ethno-archaeological surveys of the Save river valley, south central Mozambique. Working papers in African Studies, 11. Department of Cultural Anthropology, Uppsala University.

Sinclair, P. 1985. An archaeological reconnaissance of northern Mozambique, Part 1, Nampula province. Working papers in African Studies, 12. Department of Cultural Anthropology, Uppsala University.

Sinclair, P. 1985. Ethno-Archaeological surveys of Vilanculous bay, south central Mozambique. Working papers in African Studies, 13. Department of Cultural Anthropology, Uppsala University.

Sinclair, P. 1985. An archaeological reconnaissance of northern Mozambique, Part II, Cabo Delgado Province. Working papers in African Studies, 14. Department of Cultural Anthropology, Uppsala University.

Sinclair, P., N. Nydolf & G. W. Wickman -Nydolf 1986. Excavations at the University Campus site 2532 Dc 1, Southern Mozambique. Studies in African Archaeology 1, Department of Cultural Anthropology, Uppsala University.

Sinclair, P. 1985. Ethno-archaeology: the search for common ground between two disciplines. Antropologiska Studier 38:49-55.

Sinclair, P.J.J. 2001. Section on Heritage Management in Handbook for Cultural Heritage Routines for the environmental assessment process in roads development. Department of highways, Government of Thailand and SwedeRoad. World Bank Programme.

Proceedings

Sinclair, P. 1988. Urban Origins in Eastern Africa: The Mombasa Specialist Workshop (1-6 August 1988). Stockholm: The Swedish Central Board of National Antiquities.

Sinclair, P. 1990. Archaeology in Eastern Africa. An Overview of Current Chronological Issues. In Urban Origins in Eastern Africa: Proceedings of the 1990 workshop, Harare and Great Zimbabwe, – & G. Pwiti (eds.). Stockholm: The Swedish Central Board of National Antiquities.

Sinclair, P. & J. A. Rakotoarisoa (eds.) 1990. Urban Origins in Eastern Africa: Proceedings of the 1989 Madagascar Workshop . Stockholm: The Swedish Central Board of National Antiquities.

Sinclair, P. & G. Pwiti (eds.) 1990. Urban Origins in Eastern Africa: Proceedings of the 1990 Workshop, Harare and Great Zimbabwe. Stockholm: The Swedish Central Board of National Antiquities.

Sinclair, P. 1991. Urban Origins in Eastern Africa. Progress Report. Stockholm: The Swedish Central Board of National Antiquities.

Sinclair, P. & A. Juma (eds.) 1992. Urban Origins in Eastern Africa: Proceedings of the 1991 Workshop in Zanzibar. Stockholm: The Swedish Central Board of National Antiquities.

Sinclair, P. 1992a. Urban Origins in Eastern Africa: Proceedings of the 1991 workshop in Zanzibar , – & A. Juma (eds.). Stockholm: The Swedish Central Board of National Antiquities.

Sinclair, P. 1992b. Micro-Stratigraphical Investigations at the Medieval Town Site of Birka, Sweden. In Urban Origins in Eastern Africa: Proceedings of the 1991 workshop in Zanzibar – & A. Juma (eds.). Stockholm: The Swedish Central Board of National Antiquities.

Books

Sinclair, P. 1987. Space, Time and Social Formation. A territorial approach to the archaeology and anthropology of Zimbabwe and Mozambique c. 0 – 1700 AD. Uppsala: Societas Archaeologica Upsaliensis.

Sinclair, P. Shaw, T., P. Sinclair, B. Andah & A. Okpoko (eds.) 1993. Food, Metals and Towns. London: Routledge. 857 pp.

Sinclair, P. J. J. (ed) 1999. The development of urbanism from a global perspective Proceedings of the Second World Archaeological Congress Intercongress, Mombasa, Published on the Uppsala University website: http://www.arkeologi.uu.se/afr/projects/BOOK/default.htm

Papers in edited books

Sinclair, P & H. Lundmark 1984. A spatial analysis of archaeological sites from Zimbabwe. In Frontiers: Southern African Archaeology Today , Hall, M., G. Avery, D. M. Avery, M. L. Wilson & A. J. B. Humphreys (eds.). Cambridge Monographs in African Archaeology 10, BAR International Series 207. Oxford, BAR.

Sinclair, P. 1990. The Earth is our History Book: Archaeology in Mozambique. In The Excluded Past Stone, P. & R. MacKenzie (eds.). London: Unwin Hyman.

Sinclair, P. 1991. Current information technology applications to archaeological data from Lower Nubia. In Archaeology and the Information Age, Reilly, P. & S. Rahtz (eds.). London: Routledge.

Sinclair, P. , M. Kokonya, M. Meneses & J. A. Rakotoarisoa 1992. The Impact of Information Technology on the Archaeology of Southern and Eastern Africa – the First Decades. In Archaeology and the Information Age , Reilly, P. & S. Rahtz (eds.). London: Routledge.

Sinclair, P.J.J., Shaw,T. & Andah, B. 1993. Introduction. In Food, Metals and Towns . Shaw, T., P. Sinclair, B. Andah & A. Okpoko (eds.) pp 1-31. London: Routledge.

Sinclair, P.J.J. , Morais, J., Adamowicz, L. and Duarte, R. 1993. A Perspective on Archaeological Research in Mozambique. In Food, Metals and Towns, Shaw, T., P. Sinclair, B. Andah & A. Okpoko (eds.) pp 409-431. London: Routledge.

Sinclair, P.J.J., G. Pwiti, I. Pikirayi & R. Soper 1993. Urban Trajectories on the Zimbabwe plateau. In Food, Metals and Towns , Shaw, T., P. Sinclair, B. Andah & A. Okpoko (eds.) pp 705-731. London: Routledge.

Sinclair, P. 1995. Urban Origins in Eastern Africa: a diachronic perspective In B. Sahlstr öm and K. Åhdahl (eds) Islamic Art and Culture in Africa. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis Uppsala:Figura Nova Series 27 pp 99-110.

Sinclair, P. 1995. Environmental archaeology in Africa: the need for research networks. In Negash, T. and Rudebeck, L. (eds) Dimensions of development with emphasis on Africa: 170-9. Uppsala: Forum for Development Studies and Nordiska Afrikainstitutet

Sinclair, P J. J. 1997. Human Responses and Contributions to Environmental Change in Africa: partnership in Africa: perspectives of a cross cultural dialogue, 179–200. Fribourg: Fribourg University Press.

Sinclair, P.J.J. 1998. Humankind in Africa: a long term perspective on socio-environmental interactions. Twice Humanity implications for Global and Local Resource Use. Amelie Berger (ed.) Uppsala: Uppsala Nordic Africa institute.

Sinclair, P. (1998) Archaeology and nationalism. Oxford Companion of Archaeology (ed) B. Fagan. Oxford, Oxford University Press.

Sinclair, P.J.J. and Håkansson, T. 2000. The Swahili City State Culture. In Mogens Herman Hansen (ed) A comparative study of thirty city state cultures, an investigation conducted by the Copenhagen Polis Centre. Historisk-filosofiske Skrifter 21 The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters. Copenhagen, C.A. Reitzels Forlag.

Sinclair, P.J.J. 2001. Urban Origins in Eastern Africa. The city: local tradition and global destiny. ed. A Theorell Stockholm: Sida.

Sinclair, P.J.J. 2001. Swahili coast of Africa. In The Encyclopedia of Africa, History and Discoveries (ed) T. Murray Oxford ABC CLIO pp 1218-1223.

Sinclair, P.J.J., Somadeva, Premithilake A. Adikari A and Thantilage, 2003. A. The development of the historical urbanism in the Lower Kirindi Basin of Southern Sri Lanka. In Karlström, A and Källén (eds) Fishbones and glittering emblems South East Asian Archaeology 2002.

Sinclair, P.J.J., 2004. Archaeology and Identity some examples from Southern Africa. in Combining the Past and the Present Archaeological Perspectives on society. Proceedings from the conference “Prehistory in a global perspective” Bergen August 31st September 2nd 2001 (eds) Oestigaard, Anfinset, N. and Saetersdal, T.. BAR International Series 1210 2004. International symposium in honour of Randi Haaland eds Oxford BAR

Pedersén, O., Sinclair, P.J.J., Hein, I. and Andersson, J. 2010 Cirties and Urban Landscapes in the Ancient Near East with special focus on the City of Babylon. In – Nordquist, G. Herschend, F and Isendahl, C. 2010. The Urban Mind , cultural and environmental dynamics. Studies in Global Archaeology 15 pp 90-113. Uppsala, Department of Archaeology and Ancient History.

Sinclair, P.J.J. 2006. The Cave, the coast and ocean contacts: Kuumbi Cave in the context of Western Indian Ocean Archaeology. In G. Blundell (ed) Origins ed Johannesburg, University of the Witwatersrand press.

Sinclair, P.J.J. 2007. What is the Archaeological Evidence for External Trading contacts on the East African Coast in the First Millennium Ad? In Starkey, J., Starkey, P. and Wilkinson, T. eds Natural Resources and Cultural Connections of the Red Sea. Oxford, BAR International Series 1661.

Sinclair, P.J.J. 2010. Human Responses and Contributions to Environmental Change in Africa programme: an overview in Archéologie, histoire et anthropologie des mondes insulaires. Volume d’hommage au professeur Claude Allibert: Etudes réunies et présentées avec JA Rakotoarisoa, N. Rajaonarimanana, Ch. Radimilahy, S Nirhy-Lanto, B. Rasoarifetra et M. Rakotomalala. Paris Karthala.

Sinclair, P.J.J., Nordquist, G. Herschend, F and Isendahl, C. 2010. The Urban Mind , cultural and environmental dynamics. Studies in Global Archaeology 15 620pp. . Uppsala, Department of Archaeology and Ancient History. http://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?searchId=4&pid=diva2:384594

Sinclair, P.J.J., 2010. The Urban Mind: A Thematic Introduction. In – Nordquist, G. Herschend, F and Isendahl, C. (eds). The Urban Mind , cultural and environmental dynamics. Studies in Global Archaeology 15 pp12-28. Uppsala, Department of Archaeology and Ancient History.

Sinclair, P.J.J. 2010 Towards an Archaeology of the Future, the Urban Mind, Energy regimes and long-term Settlement system dynamics on the Zimbabwe plateau. In – Nordquist, G. Herschend, F and Isendahl, C. (eds). The Urban Mind , cultural and environmental dynamics. Studies in Global Archaeology 15 pp591-616 . Uppsala, Department of Archaeology and Ancient History.

Multimedia

Eastern & Southern Africa: A rich historical heritage. (produced by Zimmedia, commissioned by the Pan African Association for prehistory and related studies and the Urban origins programme funded by SIDA/SAREC

Films in which Paul Sinclair participated

Tides of Gold (Ingrid Sinclair and Paul Bryant 1998)

Voices of Future history (Bryan Settels and Elizabeth Watson, Save Productions 2002)