# The General History of Africa Revisited  
Volume IX, The General History of Africa Revisited, essentially aims to update the GHA. After four decades of intensive archaeological, historical and anthropological research, most of the content of the first three GHA volumes is partially or totally outdated. This updating is particularly challenging partly because of tightly limited space. It is divided into four sections, each under the editorial responsibility of coordinators.  
Section 1, coordinated by Olabiyi B. Joseph Yaï and Martial Ze Belinga and entitled 'Writing History of Africans and their Diasporas Today' explores the epistemological and theoretical conditions for the production of historical narratives in the contemporary world. The concept of 'historical sources' is 'stretchable' ad infinitum. Objects, monuments, words, songs, poems and artefacts are historical sources depending on the purpose of the investigations being conducted. The assembled contributions interrogate the meaning and contribution to historical scholarship of such concepts as 'Africa', 'history' and 'oral traditions'. What is the translation of the word 'history' in African languages, in ancient Egyptian or in Yoruba? The authors discuss and explore the intricacies of long-term versus short-term histories, the possible contribution of native African writing systems, and the use and misuse of oral traditions in the chronicle of historical experiences of Africans and Afrodescendants.  
Section 2, 'Review of the General History of Africa: Volumes I-VIII', is coordinated by Doulaye Konaté. It comprises the reviews of the contents of GHA volumes I to VIII, published between 1981 and 1999, in order to determine what needs to be updated.  
Section 3, entitled 'The Initial History of Africa: An Update', is coordinated by Augustin F. C. Holl. The new formulation is a substitute for the term 'prehistory' that tends to be misread by an increasing number of people. Human history is a continuum from its remote hominid beginnings to the present.