The expansion of the caravan trade in eastern Africa during the nineteenth century is considered to have had significant ecological, economic and social consequences. While available historical documentary and oral sources provide valuable evidence concerning the scale, timing and spatial extent of these, as well as information about some of the key actors and agents, there remain significant gaps that have the potential to be filled by targeted archaeological research. This paper presents one such study, which aims to establish how influential the expansion of the caravan trade was on local animal economies, with particular reference to a sample of known caravan halts on the northern route on the Pangani River, Tanzania. The results of zooarchaeological analysis of faunal assemblages recovered from four sites suggest that the impacts may have been less than has often been argued by some historians. The study also provides fresh insight on the continuing importance of wild resources, especially rodents, in local diets in the late nineteenth century and on local herd management strategies. RÉSUMÉ L'expansion du commerce caravanier en Afrique de l'Est au cours du dix-neuvième siècle est considérée comme ayant eu des conséquences écologiques, économiques et sociales importantes. Les sources historiques documentaires et orales disponibles fournissent des données précieuses concernant l'échelle, le moment et l'étendue spatiale de ces changements, ainsi que des informations sur certains des acteurs et agents clés. Il reste néanmoins des lacunes importantes qui peuvent être comblées par des recherches archéologiques ciblées. Cet article présente une telle étude, qui vise à établir l'influence sur les économies animales locales de l'expansion du commerce caravanier, faisant particulièrement référence à certaines étapes caravanières connues sur la route septentrionale le long du fleuve Pangani, en Tanzanie. Les résultats de l'analyse zooarchéologique des ARTICLE HISTORY
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