Historical archaeology of southern and West Africa (including the archaeology of slavery and the slave trade, the archaeology of conflict, mission archaeology and culture contact)
The comparative use of written, oral & archaeological sources
Archaeology and popular culture
The role of heritage in contemporary society
Dr Swanepoel’s doctoral fieldwork focused on the impact of slave-raiding on northern Ghanaian communities in the nineteenth century. She is currently working on a project examining the political economies of mission stations in South Africa, through an archaeological study of the Botshabelo Mission Station in Mpumalanga.
2015 - Chapter 2 Small Change: Cowries, Coins, and the Currency Transition in the Northern Territoriesof Colonial Ghana in Materializing Colonial Encounters – Archaeologies of African Experience by François G Richard (Editor). P41-69. Springer, New York.
2013 - Contexts of Interaction: the archaeology of European exploration and expansion in western and southern Africa in comparative perspective. In: Mitchell, P. and Lane, P. (eds) The Oxford Handbook of African Archaeology: 971-982. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
2011 - Different Conversations about the Same Thing? Source Materials in the Recreation of a Nineteenth-Century Slave-Raiding Landscape, Northern Ghana. In Lane, P. & McDonald K. (eds) Slavery in Africa: Archaeology and Memory: 167-197. Proceedings of the British Academy 168. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
2009 - The Practice and Substance of Historical Archaeology in Sub-Saharan Africa. In: Majewski, T. and Gaimster, D. (eds), International Handbook of Historical Archaeology: 565-582. United States: Springer Press.
2008 - (fourth author, with P. Bonner, A. Esterhuysen, M. Schoeman, and J. Wright) Introduction. In: Swanepoel, N., Esterhuysen, E. and Bonner, P. (eds). Five Hundred Years Rediscovered: Southern African Precedents and Prospects: 1-19. Johannesburg: Wits University Press.
2008 - (second author, with J. Behrens) Historical archaeologies of southern African: Precedents and Prospects. In: Swanepoel, N., Esterhuysen, E. and Bonner, P. (eds). Five Hundred Years Rediscovered: Southern African Precedents and Prospects: 23-39. Johannesburg: Wits University Press.
2008 - Archaeology. In: Darity,W. (ed.) International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 2 ed. Vol. 1: 163-170. Detroit: MacMillan Reference USA.
2006 - Socio-political change on a slave-raiding frontier: War, trade and ‘big men’ in nineteenth century Sisalaland, northern Ghana. In: Banks, I. and Pollard, T. (eds.) Past Tense: Studies in Conflict Archaeology: 264-293. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers.
2016 – Past imperfect, present tense: the archaeology of Africa’s past 200 years. Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa 51(1): 3-23.
2013 - [second author, with Kankpeyeng, B., Insoll, T., Nkumbaan, S., Amartey, S. and Saako, M.] Insights into past ritual practice at Yikpabongo, Koma Land, Northern Region, Ghana. African Archaeological Review 30: 475-499.
2012 - At the crossroads of history: street names as monuments in the South African cityscape. Image and Text 12 (19): 80-91.
2011 - The canary in the coalmine: archaeology and development in South Africa. South African Archaeological Bulletin 66: 181-185.
2011 - Comment on Catherine Cameron "Captives and Culture Change: Implications for Archaeology. Current Anthropology 52(2): 200-201.
2010 Living with heritage: the potential of and pressures on the heritage landscape in Gwollu, Upper West Region, Ghana. Journal of Field Archaeology 35 (4): 400-411.
2010 - (first author, with M.H. Schoeman) Mapungubwe matters [Guest editorial]. South African Archaeological Bulletin 65 (191): 1-2.
2009 - Capital letters: material dissent and place name change in the ‘new’ South Africa, 2005-2006. Anthropology Southern Africa 32 (3&4): 95-105.
2009 - Every periphery is its own center: Socio-political and economic interactions in nineteenth century north-western Ghana. International Journal of African Historical Studies 42 (3): 411-432.
2008 - View from the village: changing settlement patterns in Sisalaland, northern Ghana. International Journal of African Historical Studies 41 (1): 1-27.
2005 - Socio-political change on a slave-raiding frontier: War, trade and ‘big men’ in nineteenth century Sisalaland, northern Ghana. Journal of Conflict Archaeology 1: 264 - 293.
