Title: The struggle to establish the African origins of Western civilisation

Authors: Aida Sy; Tony Tinker

Addresses: Department of Economics, Accounting and Finance, Marist College, School of Management, 3399 North Road, Poughkeepsie, New York 12601, USA. ' Baruch College, City University of New York, Box B12 225, One Bernard Baruch Way, New York, NY 10010, USA

Abstract: Notwithstanding, definitive evidence from archaeology and anthropology (that has also found a modest foothold in the accounting history literature) that accounting and accountants in Africa, were at the beginning of human (Western) civilisation as we know it, there remains strong Eurocentric and US-centric bias against recognising the full implications of this research. This paper reviews (briefly) the archaeological and anthropological evidence that supports this thesis, and then discusses the resistance to publishing the first accounting study on colonialism in Sierra Leone (that finally resulted in success).

Keywords: African accounting; accounting origins; Western civilisation; accounting history; Euro-centricism; archaeology; anthropology; colonialism; Sierra Leone.

DOI: 10.1504/AJAAF.2012.048408

African Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance, 2012 Vol.1 No.3, pp.223 - 233

Published online: 31 Jul 2014 *

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