On The Margins Of The Indian Sea Trade.

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "In Small Islands Forgotten: Insular Historical Archaeologies of a Globalizing World", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Swahili society was formed in the East African coast during the late First Millennium AD, developing a complex urban culture thanks to its partnership in the slave, gold, ivory, and mangrove and ebony wood trade between the Middle and Far East and Eastern Africa.

   Although the role of cosmopolitan urban/semi-urban Swahili elites based at Kilwa (Tanzania), Shanga or Manda (Kenia), in international trade has been thoroughly analysed, less attention has been paid to humble fishermen hamlets on small islands, which could have a role to play in articulating trade across the Eastern African coast.

This could have been the case of some islands of the Quirimbas Archipelago (Northern Mozambique) which could have acted as ports of call in the gold route, first from the upper Limpopo and then after the European arrival, from the Zambezi river.

Our presentation will present the recent archaeological information gathered at the Quirimbas Archipelago.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• In Small Islands Forgotten: Insular Historical Archaeologies of a Globalizing World   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2023

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow