Archaeology in Mozambique: Current Issues and Topics in Archaeology and Heritage Management

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Archaeology in Mozambique: Current Issues and Topics in Archaeology and Heritage Management" at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Mozambique is a country that boasts a unique diversity in both archaeological heritage and history. Given its location in East Africa, many cultural horizons present in the region can be found in archaeological sites across the country. From the Early Stone Age rockshelters and open-air sites in all regions of the country, to Swahili Coast ruins along the coast—not to mention historical sites related to Portuguese colonialism—Mozambique offers a vast array of historical topics of study. With this diversity in cultural heritage, and a growing interest in various research topics, the importance of the protection and conservation of this archaeological material—both land and sea—has become a pressing matter. This session is organized as a broad overview of current research topics within the growing field of Mozambican archaeology. The aim is not only to demonstrate the wide breath of topics in the field but also identify common themes in both current and future research, while also identifying threats to Mozambican heritage. Our goal is to produce a working consensus regarding lingering issues and questions for archaeologists working in Mozambique.

Other Keywords
Iron Age • Migration • Remote Sensing/Geophysics • Historical Archaeology • Oral History • Cultural Resource Management • Ceramic Analysis • Settlement patterns • Paleolithic • digital archaeology

Geographic Keywords
Republic of Kenya (Country) • United Republic of Tanzania (Country) • Republic of Uganda (Country) • Africa (Continent) • Territorial Collectivity of Mayotte (Country) • Union of the Comoros (Country) • Republic of Rwanda (Country) • Republic of Burundi (Country) • Glorioso Islands (Country) • Republic of Mozambique (Country)

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  • Documents (8)
Documents
  • Archaeology, Local History, and Heritage in Limpopo National Park (2021)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Anneli Ekblom. Michel Notelid.

    This is an abstract from the "Archaeology in Mozambique: Current Issues and Topics in Archaeology and Heritage Management" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Over a period of several years (from 2003 to 2018), we carried out interviews on local history in combination with archaeological surveys, vegetation studies, and livelihood assessments in several villages in Limpopo National Park (LNP), southern Mozambique. We present the results of the...

  • Bantu Arrival in Southern Mozambique: Ceramic Analysis as a Source of Information for Dating, Diversity, Technology Transfer, and Nutrition (2021)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Sabrina Stempfle. Jörg Linstädter. Decio Muianga. Martina Seifert. Nikola Babucic.

    This is an abstract from the "Archaeology in Mozambique: Current Issues and Topics in Archaeology and Heritage Management" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In 2016, a research cooperation between the Eduardo Mondlane University and the German Archaeological Institute was started. Since then, this cooperation performed various surveys and geomagnetic prospection and developed with Hamburg University a dedicated research project which this...

  • Cabaceira Pequena Archaeological Site: Initial Data and Interpretations (2021)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Diogo Oliveira.

    This is an abstract from the "Archaeology in Mozambique: Current Issues and Topics in Archaeology and Heritage Management" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Swahili Coast Civilization was a collection of independent polities that stretched across a large portion of the East African Coast from about 800 CE to the early modern period. There are several important sites that have contributed to our understanding of the wider Swahili world in northern...

  • One Hundred Years of Mozambican Archaeology: Past, Present, Future, and Challenges (2021)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Décio Muianga. Enio Tembe. Sheila Machava.

    This is an abstract from the "Archaeology in Mozambique: Current Issues and Topics in Archaeology and Heritage Management" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Mozambique, as a country located in the East as well as Southern Africa, has a diversity of important archaeological remains uncovered in the last 100 years as a result of individual enthusiasm and systematic academic research. However, large parts of this past remain poorly explored and...

  • Online Education on African Archaeology and Heritage: The ONLAAH Platform (2021)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Sofia Fonseca. Jorg Lindstadter. Décio Muianga. João Cascalheira.

    This is an abstract from the "Archaeology in Mozambique: Current Issues and Topics in Archaeology and Heritage Management" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Onlaah platform is formed by a consortium of institutions and partners, from Africa and around the world, such as the German Archaeological Institute (DAI), the University of Namibia (UNAM), the University Eduardo Mondlane (Angola), the ICArEHB (Algarve University, Portugal), the Autonoma...

  • Stone Age Archaeology in the Elephant River Valley, Southwestern Mozambique (2021)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Nuno Bicho. Jonathan Haws. João Cascalheira. Célia Gonçalves. Mussa Raja.

    This is an abstract from the "Archaeology in Mozambique: Current Issues and Topics in Archaeology and Heritage Management" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Located between modern-day South Africa and Tanzania, both of which have well-known and extensive Stone Age records, Mozambique and its Stone Age sequence remain largely unknown in the broader context of African Pleistocene prehistory. This is despite the country’s critical position linking...

  • Tracing Early Farming Communities in Southern Mozambique by Geophysical Prospection: Current State of Activities, Part 1 (2021)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Jörg Linstädter. Nikola Babucic. Sabrina Stempfle. Martina Seifert.

    This is an abstract from the "Archaeology in Mozambique: Current Issues and Topics in Archaeology and Heritage Management" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In southern Africa, the appearance of pottery was first recognized in the context of Early Farming Communities (EFC) about 2000 BP. Increasingly, pottery can be linked to hunter-gatherers; therefore, southern Africa stands out as a place to investigate the contact between these two communities....

  • Tracing Early Farming Communities in Southern Mozambique by Geophysical Prospection: Current State of Activities, Part 2 (2021)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Nikola Babucic. Jörg Linstädter. Sabrina Stempfle. Martina Seifert.

    This is an abstract from the "Archaeology in Mozambique: Current Issues and Topics in Archaeology and Heritage Management" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In southern Africa, the appearance of pottery was first recognized in the context of Early Farming Communities (EFC) about 2000 BP. Increasingly, pottery can be linked to hunter-gatherers, therefore southern Africa stands out as a place to investigate the contact between these two communities. In...