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Christopher Ehret (born July 27, 1941), who currently holds the position of Distinguished Research Professor at the University of California at Los Angeles, is an American scholar of African history and African historical linguistics particularly known for his efforts to correlate linguistic taxonomy and reconstruction with the archeological record. He has published ten books, most recently ''History and the Testimony of Language'' (2011) and ''A Dictionary of Sandawe'' (2012), the latter co-edited with his wife, Patricia Ehret. He has written around seventy scholarly articles on a wide range of historical, linguistic, and anthropological subjects. These works include monographic articles on Bantu subclassification; on internal reconstruction in Semitic; on the reconstruction of proto-Cushitic and proto-Eastern Cushitic; and, with Mohamed Nuuh Ali, on the classification of the Soomaali languages. He has also contributed to a number of encyclopedias on African topics and on world history. ==Career== Ehret’s historical books emphasize early African history. In ''An African Classical Age'' (1998) he argues for a conception of the period from 1000 BC to 400 AD in East Africa as a "classical age" during which a variety of major technologies and social structures first took shape. His Civilizations of Africa: A History to 1800 (2002), brings together the whole of African history from the close of the last ice age down to the end of the eighteenth century. With the archaeologist Merrick Posnansky, he also edited ''The Archaeological and Linguistic Reconstruction of African History'' (1982), at that time a state-of-the-field survey of the correlation of linguistic and archaeological findings in the different major regions of the continent. In reviewing ''An African Classical Age'' for the Annuals of the American Academy, Ronald Atkinson calls it “not easy or light reading,” but concludes that “the result is a remarkably rich, evocative social and cultural history…” and that it “will itself become a classic and shape future scholarship in early African history for many years to come.” The late Kennell Jackson of Stanford, writing in ''The Historian'', says that “by the book’s midpoint, the immensity of his synthesis becomes apparent, as well as Ehret’s achievement as a historical conceptualizer. He repeatedly challenges formulaic ideas about causality, linearity as a model of change, and the cultural factors affecting innovation…. Ehret has written a fabulous African history book, furthering a genre far from the seemingly ubiquitous slavery studies and trendy colonial social history.” Peter Robertshaw in the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, offers a more measured conclusion: “Ehret has produced a remarkably coherent and detailed history which should spur further research.” The historian Esperanza Brizuela-Garcia, in her review of ''The Civilizations of Africa'' for the ''African Studies Review'', calls this book “challenging and innovative” for presenting “the early history of Africa within the context of wide historical processes such as the development of agriculture, the emergence of metalwork, and the evolution of trade…. It gives these themes a thorough and masterful treatment…. By looking at broad themes of the history of human experience, Ehret is able to explain what makes Africa unique and what makes it comparable to other continents.” She concludes: “The most important achievement of Ehret’s book is that finally the early history of the continent is taken seriously and is presented in detail and form that do justice to its complexity and depth. One hopes that Christopher Ehret has initiated a new trend in the writing of African history textbooks, one that challenges previously accepted chronologies and ideas and presents us with an interpretation that connects social, economic, political, and cultural history.” Scott MacEachern’s review of the same book for the ''Journal of Africa History'' adds an archaeologist’s perspective: “The book is well written and comprehensive and abundantly illustrates the richness and complexity of African societies over many thousands of years. More discussion of methodologies and data compatibility, and a more complete reference list, would have been useful. It will make a fine introductory text for courses in African history, especially if supplemented by books and papers that reflect other research methods and their results.” 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Christopher Ehret」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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