François Richard has been directing a project of archaeological excavation and survey and historical anthropology in the Siin region of Senegal for a number of years. The project focuses on political changes that have taken place in the region over the past 500 years, how those were manifested in social landscapes, and how they shaped the lifeworlds of peasant communities. It targets the long-term relationship binding rural villagers with various configurations of state power, from the Atlantic era to present times.