Stephanie Wynne-Jones

When Did the Swahili Become Maritime

In this article, we examine an assumption about the historic Swahili of the eastern African coast: that they were a maritime society from their beginnings in the first millennium C.E. Based on historical and archaeological data, we suggest that, despite their proximity to and use of the sea, the level of maritimity of Swahili society increased greatly over time and was only fully realized in the early second millennium C.E. Drawing on recent theorizing from other areas of the world about maritimity as well as research on the Swahili, we discuss three arenas that distinguish first- and second-millennium coastal society in terms of their maritime orientation. These are variability and discontinuity in settlement location and permanence; evidence of increased engagement with the sea through fishing and sailing technology; and specialized architectural developments involving port facilities, mosques, and houses. The implications of this study are that we must move beyond coastal location in determining maritimity; consider how the sea and its products were part of social life; and assess whether the marine environment actively influences and is influenced by broader patterns of sociocultural organization, practice, and belief within Swahili and other societies. [maritime, fishing and sailing, long-distance trade, Swahili, eastern Africa] RESUMEN En este artículo, evaluamos la hipótesis de que los pueblos Swahili de la costa oriental africana fueron una sociedad marítima a partir del primer milenio E.C. Basados en información histórica y arqueológica, proponemos que la asociación de la sociedad Swahili con el mar incrementó considerablemente con el tiempo y se manifestó de una forma significativa particularmente desde principios del segundo milenio E.C. Utilizando teorías recientes sobre maritimidad en otras áreas del mundo, así como investigaciones sobre los Swahili, discutimos tres temas que marcan las diferencias del nivel de orientación marítima de esta sociedad costera entre el primer y segundo milenio. Éstas son la variabilidad y discontinuidad en la localización y permanencia de los asentamientos; evidencia de una conexión mayor con el mar a través de la tecnología de pesca y navegación; y desarrollos arquitectónicos especializados que incluyen instalaciones portuarias, mezquitas, y casas. Las implicaciones de este estudio indican que debemos considerar otros aspectos de una sociedad aparte de su localización costera para determinar su maritimidad. Hay que considerar cómo el mar y sus productos son parte de la vida social y evaluar si existe una influencia recíproca entre el ambiente marítimo y los patrones de organización sociocultural, las prácticas, y las creencias de los Swahili y otras sociedades. [marítimo, pesca y navegación, comercio a larga distancia, Swahili, África Oriental]

Creating urban communities at Kilwa Kisiwani, Tanzania, AD 800-1300

Urban communities on the medieval East African coast have been previously discussed in terms of ethnicity and migration. Here assemblages from coastal towns and from surface survey in the interior are used to paint a different picture of urban (Swahili) origins. The author shows that coast and interior shared a common culture, but that coastal sites grew into ‘stonetowns’ thanks to the social impact of imports: the material culture structured the society.

Geophysical Survey at Kilwa Kisiwani, Tanzania

Geophysical survey at Kilwa Kisiwani, southern Tanzania, has recovered evidence for several aspects of town layout and the use of space within the town that enhance our understandings of this important Swahili site. Although excavations in the 1960s recovered substantial monuments at this stonetown and traced a chronology for the development of the site from the eighth to the sixteenth centuries AD, the overall site layout has remained poorly understood. This paper outlines the possibilities that geophysics creates for positioning the excavations within a broader urban landscape, and reports on a preliminary season of survey at Kilwa. Two areas were the focus of fieldwork during 2011. First the main town centre was surveyed, and the results suggest a denser town plan of coral-built houses that have subsequently been robbed. Second, the enigmatic enclosure of Husuni Ndogo was explored, and revealed evidence for activity relating to metalworking in this monumental space.

Coins in Context: Local Economy, Value and Practice on the East African Swahili Coast

Coinage occupies an unusual position in archaeological research. Thriving scholarship on numismatics and monetary history ensures that the objects themselves are well-studied, often seen as an indication of chronology and of stylistic and commercial links. Yet coins might also be analysed as artefacts, and explored as part of the symbolic world of material culture through which archaeologists understand meaning and value in past societies. Using a recently-excavated assemblage of medieval Kilwa-type coins from Songo Mnara on the East African Swahili coast, this article explores the multiple ways that value was ascribed and created through use, rejecting a simple dichotomy between substantive and formal value. Attention is given to the contexts of the coins, which enables a discussion of the relationship between power and the constitution of value, the circulation and use of coins among townspeople, and their use within ritual and commemorative activity.

Exploring the use of geophysical survey on the Swahili coast: Vumba Kuu, Kenya

The application of geophysical survey in sub-Saharan Africa has been limited compared to other parts of the world. Geophysical techniques offer the possibility of conducting broad-scale survey relatively quickly, and of providing information on the layout of structures within a previously defined site. In a context in which ephemeral architecture is in the majority, the latter approach is an invaluable complement to surface survey and guide to excavation. At the site of Vumba Kuu, Kenya, magnetometry has proven successful at recovering information on the overall layout of the town and at providing hints as to the nature of archaeological remains within the areas identified. Vumba is a fourteenth- to fifteenth-century Swahili town made up almost exclusively of impermanent architecture, contained within an enclosing wall. This paper presents the results of geophysical survey at the site, conducted under the aegis of the British Institute in Eastern Africa. The methodology and main conclusions are presented as an experiment in the use of geophysics in an urban site on the coast of East Africa. The ways that the techniques used might enable a better understanding of activities and interactions within Swahili towns are also discussed.

‘This is what pots look like here’: ceramics, tradition and consumption on Mafia Island, Tanzania

Abstract The Mafia archipelago, off the southern coast of Tanzania, is home to a thriving tradition of ceramic manufacture and use, as part of a more general repertoire of small-scale craft activity on the islands. As such, the archipelago is unusual for the Swahili coast, where cheap imported vessels have mostly replaced locally-produced ceramics for cooking and serving food. Recent ethnoarchaeological fieldwork carried out in the archipelago has examined the production of these ceramics, particularly in relation to the distinctive coastal tradition which is recreated here. Although the vessel types can be seen to be directly descended from earlier types found along the coast, the potters themselves are immigrants and originally learned to make very different vessels, using different potting techniques. This paper presents the results of these interviews, exploring the reasons for the stylistic choices made by the potters and the creation of a recognisable ceramic tradition in a multi-ethnic context. The ceramic tradition is linked to place and to the market for the ceramics, rather than to the identity of the potters, and it is suggested that this might relate to the distinctive coastal cuisine.

Reconstructing Asian faunal introductions to eastern Africa from multi-proxy biomolecular and archaeological datasets

Human-mediated biological exchange has had global social and ecological impacts. In sub-Saharan Africa, several domestic and commensal animals were introduced from Asia in the pre-modern period; however, the timing and nature of these introductions remain contentious. One model supports introduction to the eastern African coast after the mid-first millennium CE, while another posits introduction dating back to 3000 BCE. These distinct scenarios have implications for understanding the emergence of long-distance maritime connectivity, and the ecological and economic impacts of introduced species. Resolution of this longstanding debate requires new efforts, given the lack of well-dated fauna from high-precision excavations, and ambiguous osteomorphological identifications. We analysed faunal remains from 22 eastern African sites spanning a wide geographic and chronological range, and applied biomolecular techniques to confirm identifications of two Asian taxa: domestic chicken (Gallus gallus) and black rat (Rattus rattus). Our approach included ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis aided by BLAST-based bioinformatics, Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) collagen fingerprinting, and direct AMS (accelerator mass spectrometry) radiocarbon dating. Our results support a late, mid-first millennium CE introduction of these species. We discuss the implications of our findings for models of biological exchange, and emphasize the applicability of our approach to tropical areas with poor bone preservation.

A deposit of Kilwa-type coins from Songo Mnara, Tanzania

A deposit of coins was recovered during excavations at Songo Mnara, Tanzania, containing over 300 copper Kilwa-type coins. This is the first deposit or hoard of these coins found in a well defined archaeological context and it therefore offers a unique glimpse into both the typology of these coins and their contemporary uses. The ramifications of the Songo Mnara deposit are discussed. In particular, the deposit is firmly attributable to the end of the fourteenth or very early fifteenth centuries, allowing for some chronological resolution. Coins of the late eleventh- to early twelfth-century sultan Ali ibn al-Hasan show that these types remained in circulation for several hundred years. In addition, the common coin type of Nasir ad-Dunya can now be attributed firmly to the fifteenth and possibly fourteenth centuries by this find. Finally, the paper discusses the burial of the coins in the foundations of a stonehouse and the fact that this likely represented the building of value into the house and an investment in place. Other finds, such as a carnelian necklace found with the coins, testify to the importance of this practice.

Conservation, community archaeology, and archaeological mediation at Songo Mnara, Tanzania

Abstract During archaeological fieldwork at Songo Mnara, a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the southern Tanzanian coast, a storm caused the collapse of a graveyard’s retaining wall. The process initiated by the rebuilding of that wall serves as a case study in addressing the dialogue among researchers, community members, and national and international organizations concerning heritage. During the process of rebuilding the wall, the Village Ruins Committee was called up by the Songo Mnara villagers as a community voice to speak with external stakeholders and to access perceived opportunities to work with UNESCO for financial reward. The committee led the rescue operation at the graveyard, yet was not always recognized as part of the process of conserving the site. In describing the tensions among the hierarchy of stakeholders at Songo Mnara, we explore the benefits and contradictions of international involvement with marginalized communities who might have multiple competing interests. Our study also speaks to good archaeological practice and the ways that we must seek to do community archaeology through recognizing the efforts of local groups who need to forge their own paths to collaboration. The case of Songo Mnara is an interesting example of how international heritage agendas, local historical memory and archaeological research can intersect to strengthen community ties to, and investment in, the monuments of the past.

Biographies of Practice and the Negotiation of Swahili at Nineteenth-Century Vumba

Histories of Vumba, on the southern coast of Kenya, were recorded during the early British colonial period in this region, and inevitably reflect a series of contemporary concerns. Nevertheless, due to the wealth of detail provided as to the material practices of the Vumba elite, the traditions have become important in understandings of the deeper Swahili past, as well as in historical reconstructions of the nineteenth century. An approach to Vumba’s materiality allows a clearer view of these traditions, questioning both arguments relating to the invention of tradition during colonial negotiations and suggestions of long-standing or unchanging practice. These negotiations of authority during the colonial period were a nexus of historical memory, contemporary understandings of identity, and the material and social relations of power. They also entailed a process that brought together objects, people and places, and the ways that they were mutually constituted. In this chapter, this historical negotiation is put further into context as part of a process of performance. The writing of colonial-period histories was the latest act in a long-running narrative through which coastal identities had been understood. Rather than emphasizing the materiality of the Vumba society, through the recognition of a dialectic which nonetheless continues to privilege static aspects (people and objects), it is the performance itself that is prioritized. The concept of a biography of practice is advanced, through the foregrounding of the activities that have long structured–and been structured by—the objects and humans entangled in them.