Understanding the layout of early coastal settlement at Unguja Ukuu, Zanzibar

Fitton, Tom; Wynne‐Jones, Stephanie

doi:10.15184/aqy.2017.141

Cited by 23 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Zooarchaeological and archaeobotanical records from these sites indicate a preference for hunting wild fauna while crops are extremely rare [ 1 , 17 , 27 , 91 ]. By contrast, village sites including Fukuchani, Membeni, Sima and Unguja Ukuu comprised small- to medium-sized settlements with mainly daub dwellings (though stone structures are also present at Unguja Ukuu) [ 92 , 93 ]. These were occupied by communities with mixed subsistence economies that included hunting, fishing and crop cultivation [ 2 , 11 , 27 , 86 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Collagen fingerprinting traces the introduction of caprines to island Eastern Africa

et al. 2021

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The human colonization of eastern Africa's near- and offshore islands was accompanied by the translocation of several domestic, wild and commensal fauna, many of which had long-term impacts on local environments. To better understand the timing and nature of the introduction of domesticated caprines (sheep and goat) to these islands, this study applied collagen peptide fingerprinting (Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry or ZooMS) to archaeological remains from eight Iron Age sites, dating between ca 300 and 1000 CE, in the Zanzibar, Mafia and Comoros archipelagos. Where previous zooarchaeological analyses had identified caprine remains at four of these sites, this study identified goat at seven sites and sheep at three, demonstrating that caprines were more widespread than previously known. The ZooMS results support an introduction of goats to island eastern Africa from at least the seventh century CE, while sheep in our sample arrived one–two centuries later. Goats may have been preferred because, as browsers, they were better adapted to the islands' environments. The results allow for a more accurate understanding of early caprine husbandry in the study region and provide a critical archaeological baseline for examining the potential long-term impacts of translocated fauna on island ecologies.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Collagen fingerprinting traces the introduction of caprines to island Eastern Africa

et al. 2021

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“…Contemporaneous with Kuumbi's reoccupation included the appearance of small villages across the archipelago such as Fukuchani in north Unguja, and trading ports such as Unguja Ukuu in the south (Juma, 2004). This period was characterised by the rise of Indian Ocean trade on the Swahili coast, linking it with China, South Asia, and the Middle East (e.g., Juma, 2004;LaViolette, 2008;Wood et al, 2016), as well as the introduction of Islam (Crowther et al, 2015;Fitton and Wynne-Jones, 2017;Sarathi et al, 2022).…”

Section: Archaeological and Historical Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human-ecodynamics and the intertidal zones of the Zanzibar Archipelago

et al. 2022

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The intertidal zone, covering the nearshore fringe of coasts and islands and extending from the high-water mark to areas that remain fully submerged, encompasses a range of habitats containing resources that are as important to modern populations as they were to humans in prehistory. Effectively bridging land and sea, intertidal environments are extremely dynamic, requiring complexity and variability in how people engaged with them in the past, much as they do in the present. Here we review and reconsider environmental, archaeological, and modern socio-ecological evidence from the Zanzibar Archipelago on eastern Africa’s Swahili coast, focusing on marine molluscs to gain insight into the trajectories of human engagement with nearshore habitats and resources. We highlight the potential drivers of change and/or stability in human-intertidal interactions through time and space, set against a backdrop of the significant socio-economic and socio-ecological changes apparent in the archipelago, and along the Swahili coast, during the late Holocene.

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“…Research on the immediate foreshore near Swahili sites has revealed a range of maritime adaptations around Kilwa, Songo Mnara and Bagamoyo in Tanzania, and Gede in Kenya [75,[82][83][84][85] (Figure 2). A geophysical survey on the Zanzibar archipelago explored the shorelines of settlements and demonstrated the range of industry and activity associated with this zone [86]. On Madagascar, excavations on the coast have shown the long temporal depth of coastal resource exploitation here [87].…”

Section: Uniting Terrestrial and Maritime Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rising from the Depths Network: A Challenge-Led Research Agenda for Marine Heritage and Sustainable Development in Eastern Africa

et al. 2021

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The Rising from the Depths (RftD) network aims to identify the ways in which Marine Cultural Heritage (MCH) can contribute to the sustainable development of coastal communities in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and Madagascar. Although the coastal and marine heritage of eastern Africa is a valuable cultural and environmental resource, it remains largely unstudied and undervalued and is subject to significant threat from natural and anthropogenic processes of change. This paper outlines the aims of the RftD network and describes the co-creation of a challenge-led research and sustainability programme for the study of MCH in eastern Africa. Through funding 29 challenge-led research projects across these four Global South countries, the network is demonstrating how MCH can directly benefit East African communities and local economies through building identity and place-making, stimulating resource-centred alternative sources of income and livelihoods, and enhancing the value and impact of overseas aid in the marine sector. Overall, Rising from the Depths aims to illustrate that an integrated consideration of cultural heritage, rather than being a barrier to development, should be positioned as a central facet of the transformative development process if that development is to be ethical, inclusive and sustainable.

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Understanding the layout of early coastal settlement at Unguja Ukuu, Zanzibar

Abstract: Abstract

Cited by 23 publications

References 15 publications

Collagen fingerprinting traces the introduction of caprines to island Eastern Africa

Collagen fingerprinting traces the introduction of caprines to island Eastern Africa

Human-ecodynamics and the intertidal zones of the Zanzibar Archipelago

Rising from the Depths Network: A Challenge-Led Research Agenda for Marine Heritage and Sustainable Development in Eastern Africa

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