The Archaeology of Africa: Food, Metals and Towns

by Andah,Bassey; Andah,Bassey

• ISBN13: 9780415115858
• ISBN10: 041511585X
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 1995-03-28
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Now available in paperback,The Archaeology of Africaprovides an overview of development in Africa from 8,000 B.C. to the present day. This highly acclaimed book includes contributions from native Africans as well as archaeologists who live on the continent. The Africa which emerges from this book is the proud possessor of a vast and highly complicated interweaving of peoples and cultures, an enormous diversity of economic and social strategies and an extraordinary range of environments. At long last the archaeology of Africa has revealed enough of Africa's unwritten past to confound preconceptions about the continent and to upset the picture inferred from historic written records.

Table of Contents

List of contributors	xxiv
Foreword	xxvii
P. J. Ucko
Preface	xxxv
Radiocarbon dates	xxxvii
Introduction	1	(2)
P. J. J. Sinclair
T. Shaw
B. Andah
terminology	3	(6)
The `Neolithic'	3	(5)
The `Iron Age'	8	(1)
innovation and diffusion	9	(4)
environmental relations	13	(3)
food production	16	(5)
urbanism	21	(10)
Northern Africa	25	(1)
West Africa	26	(2)
Central, eastern and southern Africa	28	(1)
Africa as a whole	29	(2)
Conclusion	31	(1)
Acknowledgements	31	(1)
Africa's climate in the Holocene	32	(11)
A. T. Grove
Introduction	32	(2)
The end of the Pleistocene in Africa	34	(1)
The Early Holocene	35	(4)
Calculating past rainfall from former lake strandlines	36	(2)
Northeast Africa	38	(1)
West Africa	39	(1)
The Middle Holocene	39	(2)
Onset of current climate	41	(1)
The Late Holocene	41	(1)
Discussion	42	(1)
The climatic and vegetational history of the equatorial regions of Africa during the upper Quaternary	43	(10)
J. Maley
Introduction	43	(1)
The main climatic phases of the late Quaternary in central Africa	44	(1)
Soil history	44	(1)
Forest refugia and holocene forest expansion	45	(3)
Temperature variation and the extension of montane biotopes to low altitudes	48	(2)
Comparison of the African forest zone with east Africa	50	(2)
Conclusions: comparisons between equatorial Africa and dry tropical Africa	52	(1)
Acknowledgements	52	(1)
The tropical African cereals	53	(8)
J. R. Harlan
Sorghum	53	(4)
Pearl millet	57	(1)
Finger millet	57	(1)
African rice	58	(1)
Teff	58	(1)
Digitaria spp.	58	(1)
Brachiaria deflexa	59	(1)
Abyssinian oat	59	(1)
Conclusion	59	(1)
Note	60	(1)
The spread of domestic animals in Africa	61	(10)
J. Clutton-Brock
Introduction	61	(1)
Guinea fowl: Numida meleagris and Numida ptilorhynca	62	(1)
Domestic fowl: Gallus gallus	62	(1)
Ducks and geese	62	(1)
Rodents	63	(1)
The cat: Felis catus	63	(1)
The dog: Canis familiaris	64	(1)
Pig: Sus domesticus	65	(1)
Donkey: Equus asinus	65	(1)
The horse: Equus caballus	65	(1)
Camel: Camelus dromedarius	65	(1)
Domestic cattle: Bos taurus and Bos indicus	66	(2)
Domestic water buffalo: Bubalus bubalis	68	(1)
Goat: Capra hircus	68	(1)
Sheep: Ovis aries	69	(1)
Discussion	70	(1)
Ethnographic and linguistic evidence for the prehistory of African ruminant livestock, horses and ponies	71	(33)
R. Blench
Introduction	71	(1)
Methods	71	(2)
Cattle	73	(5)
Introduction	73	(1)
Linguistic evidence	73	(1)
Dwarf shorthorn cattle	74	(1)
Humpless longhorns	75	(1)
Kuri cattle	76	(1)
Zebu	77	(1)
Sheep	78	(3)
Introduction	78	(1)
Thin-tailed hair sheep	79	(1)
Thin-tailed wool sheep	80	(1)
Fat-tailed sheep	80	(1)
Fat-rumped sheep	80	(1)
Goats	81	(3)
Introduction	81	(1)
Linguistic evidence	82	(1)
West African dwarf goats	82	(1)
Savanna goats	83	(1)
Milking goats	83	(1)
Summary and conclusion	84	(4)
Cattle	85	(1)
Humpless shorthorns	85	(1)
Humpless longhorns	85	(1)
Zebu	86	(1)
Sheep	86	(1)
Goats	86	(1)
General	87	(1)
The history and distribution of horses and ponies in west-central Africa	88	(15)
Introduction	88	(1)
Horses in sub-Saharan Africa	89	(1)
The biological evidence	89	(1)
The races of horse and pony in west Africa	89	(1)
The dwarfing of the horse in west Africa	89	(2)
Disease resistance and fodder	91	(1)
Evidence for the antiquity of the horse in west Africa	92	(1)
Archaeological and iconographic evidence	92	(1)
Linguistic evidence	93	(1)
Ethnographic records	93	(1)
Classical and Arabic sources	93	(1)
Evidence from accounts of travellers	94	(1)
Nigeria	94	(3)
Ponies on the Niger	97	(1)
The pony in central Africa	98	(1)
The `Sara' or `Laka' pony	98	(1)
The Chamba pony	99	(1)
The pony west of Borgu	100	(1)
The role of horses and ponies in the development of west African state systems	100	(3)
Conclusions	103	(1)
Notes	103	(1)
Acknowledgements	103	(1)
Nilo-Saharans and the Saharo-Sudanese Neolithic	104	(22)
C. Ehret
Nilo-Saharan subclassification	104	(2)
Locating early Nilo-Saharan societies	106	(2)
Reconstructing domestic economy in the early Nilo-Saharan eras	108	(1)
The onset of food production among Nilo-Saharans	109	(6)
Dating early Nilo-Saharan food production	115	(1)
Nilo-Saharans and the archaeology of the Saharo-Sudanese Neolithic	116	(10)
Recent developments in African language classification and their implications for prehistory	126	(13)
R. Blench
Introduction	126	(1)
Changing methodologies in the genetic classification of African languages	126	(2)
The language phyla of Africa	128	(10)
Niger-Congo	128	(4)
Nilo-Saharan	132	(2)
Afroasiatic	134	(1)
Khoisan and isolated languages	134	(1)
Conclusion	135	(1)
Distribution	136	(1)
Methodological implications	137	(1)
Notes	138	(1)
Acknowledgements	138	(1)
Linguistic evidence for the use of some tree and tuber food plants in southern Nigeria	139	(15)
K. Williamson
The names of the plants and their products	139	(4)
Reconstructed languages	140	(1)
Specific languages and groups: classification and source(s)	141	(2)
Tree crops	143	(1)
Tubers	143	(8)
Words indicating cultivation	151	(1)
Conclusion	151	(3)
Examination of botanical remains from early neolithic houses at Nabta Playa, Western Desert, Egypt, with special reference to sorghum grains	154	(11)
K. Wasylikowa
J. R. Harlan
J. Evans
F. Wendorf
R. Schild
A. E. Close
H. Krolik
R. A. Housley
Introduction	154	(1)
Archaeological setting	154	(3)
Description of Sorghum sp. remains from Nabta Playa	157	(2)
Infra-red spectroscopy	159	(4)
Procedure	161	(1)
Results	161	(1)
Conclusion	162	(1)
Discussion	163	(1)
Note	164	(1)
Acknowledgements	164	(1)
Foraging and farming in Egypt: the transition from hunting and gathering to horticulture in the Nile valley	165	(62)
W. Wetterstrom
Introduction	165	(2)
The environmental background	167	(1)
Pleistocene, post-pleistocene adaptations and Wadi Kubbaniya	168	(34)
Foraging in the late Palaeolithic at Wadi Kubbaniya	170	(1)
The Wadi Kubbaniya environment	170	(1)
Archaeological remains	170	(1)
Subsistence	171	(1)
Fauna	171	(1)
Mammals	171	(2)
Fish	173	(1)
Water fowl	174	(1)
Flora	174	(1)
`Root' foods	175	(1)
Seed foods	176	(1)
Other plant foods	177	(1)
Missing plant foods	177	(1)
Kubbaniya subsistence through the seasons	178	(1)
Late palaeolithic economy in the Nile valley	179	(1)
The end of the Pleistocene	180	(1)
The changing environment	180	(1)
Terminal palaeolithic subsistence	180	(2)
The holocene climate and the Nile	182	(1)
Epipalaeolithic foragers	183	(1)
Arkinian and Shamarkian industries	184	(1)
Elkabian industry	185	(1)
Qarunian cultures of the Fayum depression	186	(1)
The lake	186	(1)
Qarunian sites	187	(1)
Subsistence - faunal remains	188	(1)
Subsistence - flora	189	(1)
Settlement patterns	190	(1)
Tarifian	191	(1)
Terminal palaeolithic foraging - an overview	192	(1)
The pitfalls of foraging	193	(1)
Annual Nile flood variation	193	(1)
Flood variability and epipalaeolithic foragers	194	(1)
Lean times and cruel floods	195	(1)
Long-term Nile flood trends and epipalaeolithic foragers	196	(1)
The earliest farming	197	(1)
The potential of domesticates	197	(1)
Early farming	198	(1)
Incipient domestication	199	(1)
Sources for Nile valley agriculture	199	(1)
The Western Desert	200	(1)
Southwest Asia	200	(1)
The transition to farming in Egypt	201	(1)
Timing	201	(1)
Process	201	(1)
Egypt's first farming communities - a problematic archaeological record	202	(22)
The chronology of Egypt's first farming settlements	203	(1)
Egypt's first farming settlements	204	(1)
The Fayum Neolithic	204	(1)
Settlements	204	(3)
Subsistence - Fayum a faunal remains	207	(1)
Subsistence - Fayum a plant remains	208	(1)
Settlement patterns and the seasonal round	209	(1)
Discussion	210	(1)
The Moerian	211	(1)
Merimde Beni-salama	212	(2)
El-Omari	214	(1)
Badari-Mostagedda-Matmar	214	(6)
Armant-Gurna area	220	(2)
Nagada region	222	(2)
Conclusions	224	(2)
Notes	226	(1)
Acknowledgement	226	(1)
The emergence of a food-producing economy in the Sahara	227	(13)
A. Muzzolini
Introduction	227	(1)
North Africa towards the end of the Pleistocene	227	(2)
The great Wet Phase of the early Holocene	229	(5)
The first villages	229	(1)
Stone Places (Steinplatze) and nomadism on the great plains	230	(2)
The `Aqualithic'	232	(2)
The Neolithic Wet Phase in the central Sahara and the Maghreb	234	(5)
Rock art and pastoralism	235	(1)
Agriculture	236	(1)
Causes and courses of the transition to food production	237	(1)
Climate	238	(1)
Sedentism	238	(1)
Material culture and economy	238	(1)
Demographic pressure	238	(1)
Conclusion	239	(1)
Acknowledgement	239	(1)
Identifying early farming traditions of west Africa	240	(15)
B. W. Andah
Social aspects of food production	240	(1)
The environment	241	(3)
The socio-linguistic context of agriculture	244	(1)
The socio-cultural context of agriculture	244	(1)
Valley and upland farming in west Africa	244	(6)
Organization of labour	246	(1)
Ecology and diet	246	(1)
Yam	246	(2)
The oil palm	248	(1)
Domestication of cereals	248	(2)
Archaeological and botanical evidence	250	(3)
Tree crops	250	(1)
The millets	251	(1)
Sorghum	251	(1)
Rice	252	(1)
The pulses	253	(1)
Conclusion	253	(2)
The Kintampo complex: a case study of early sedentism and food production in sub-Sahelian west Africa	255	(6)
J. Anquandah
Introduction	255	(1)
The Kintampo complex	255	(4)
The evidence of sedentism	256	(2)
Food production	258	(1)
Conclusion	259	(2)
Intensification in the west African Late Stone Age: a view from central Ghana	261	(13)
A. B. Stahl
Antecedents	261	(4)
The Kintampo complex: the case for intensification	265	(5)
The legacy	270	(2)
Concluding comments: intensification in the west African Late Stone Age	272	(1)
Acknowledgements	273	(1)
Agriculture and settlement among the Tiv of Nigeria: some ethnoarchaeological observations	274	(15)
C. A. Folorunso
S. O. Ogundele
The study area	275	(1)
Cultivated plants	275	(1)
Agricultural practice	276	(1)
The farming year	277	(2)
Crop processing	279	(1)
How long have the Tiv been in this area?	279	(1)
Settlement study	280	(6)
Some observed regularities in spatial arrangement	280	(2)
Social organization	282	(3)
Implications for archaeological reconstruction	285	(1)
Appendix: spatial arrangement of settlement features	286	(3)
Ayela, Sar and Tse-Dura	286	(1)
Wombo, Tse-Gbashanam, Lukposo, Adzeger and Alumuku	287	(2)
Central Africa and the archaeology of the equatorial rainforest: reflections on some major topics	289	(41)
M. K. H. Eggert
Bringing central African archaeological into focus	289	(1)
The problem: the rainforest as habitat for humans	290	(1)
The central African rainforest: some basic facts	291	(2)
From savanna to forest: on the emergence of the heart of central Africa	293	(1)
Exploring the rainforest: the River Reconnaissance Project	294	(32)
Stone age forest hunters? On early lithic evidence	296	(1)
Hunters, ceramics and ground stone: focusing on the `Neolithic'	297	(5)
The Central African Neolithic and early iron metallurgy: cultural context and cross-cutting dates	302	(2)
From the periphery to the centre: early pottery in the inner Congo-Zaire basin	304	(1)
The Imbonga Horizon	304	(2)
The Batalimo-Maluba Horizon	306	(5)
The Pikunda-Munda Horizon	311	(8)
Early rainforest pottery: the problem of internal relationship	319	(3)
Early rainforest pottery: the question of external relationship	322	(1)
Surviving in the forest: the problem of subsistence	323	(2)
Early rainforest settlement: stone or iron?	325	(1)
Epilogue: theory, linguistics and archaeological fieldwork	326	(1)
Notes	327	(2)
Acknowledgement	329	(1)
Transition from Late Stone Age to Iron Age in the Sudano-Sahelian zone: a case study from the Perichadian plain	330	(14)
A. Holl
Introduction	330	(1)
The emergence of iron technology in west Africa: discussion of hypotheses	330	(2)
Systemic analysis of iron technology	332	(2)
Earliest iron age sites: chronology and geographic distribution	334	(2)
Continuity and change: a Perichadian case study	336	(5)
The mound of Mdaga	341	(2)
Conclusion	343	(1)
The antiquity of cultivation and herding in Ethiopia	344	(14)
D. W. Phillipson
Introduction	344	(2)
The archaeological sequence	346	(3)
Botanical evidence for early Ethiopian agriculture	349	(1)
Wheat and barley	349	(1)
Teff	349	(1)
Finger millet	349	(1)
Flax	349	(1)
Noog	349	(1)
Ensete	350	(1)
Chat and coffee	350	(1)
Other food crops	350	(1)
Rock paintings and other evidence for animal domestication	350	(3)
Transport animals	350	(1)
Cattle	351	(1)
Sheep and goats	352	(1)
Pig	352	(1)
Dog and chicken	352	(1)
The linguistic evidence for food production	353	(1)
Archaeological and epigraphic evidence for plant cultivation and animal domestication	354	(2)
Conclusion	356	(1)
Note	357	(1)
Acknowledgements	357	(1)
The beginnings of food production in southwestern Kenya	358	(14)
P. Robertshaw
The environment	359	(3)
Later prehistory in South Nyanza	362	(4)
Later prehistory in the Mara	366	(4)
Conclusions	370	(1)
Notes	370	(2)
The rise and fall of nomadic pastoralism in the central Namib desert	372	(14)
J. Kinahan
Introduction	372	(2)
The rise of nomadic pastoralism in the Hungorob Ravine	374	(7)
The fall of nomadic pastoralism in the !Khuiseb delta	381	(3)
Conclusions	384	(2)
The iron age peoples of east-central Botswana	386	(5)
D. Kiyaga-Mulindwa
Iron age settlement and subsistence patterns in southern Malawi	391	(8)
Y. M. Juwayeyi
Background	391	(1)
The environmental setting	391	(1)
The Early Iron Age	392	(3)
Lakeshore and Shire valley sites	392	(3)
The highlands sites	395	(1)
The Late Iron Age	395	(2)
Longwe pottery	396	(1)
Mawudzu pottery	396	(1)
Nkhudzi ware	397	(1)
Iron-smelting	397	(1)
Conclusion	397	(2)
A question of identities: an anthropological enquiry and a historical narrative	399	(10)
J. O. Vogel
Introduction	399	(1)
The anthropological enquiry	400	(6)
The matter of identity	400	(1)
The cultural identity	400	(1)
The funerary context	401	(2)
The archaeological evidence of African burial practice	403	(1)
The ethnographic record of African burial practice	403	(1)
Another hypothesis	404	(1)
The ethnographic record of the African production of salt	405	(1)
The archaeological evidence of salt extraction and some inferences	406	(1)
The historical narrative	406	(2)
Acknowledgements	408	(1)
A perspective on archaeological research in Mozambique	409	(23)
P. J. J. Sinclair
J. M. F. Morais
L. Adamowicz
R. T. Duarte
Structuring the interpretive schema: concepts and formulations	410	(2)
A collection strategy for material assemblages	412	(1)
The foraging communities	413	(4)
The farming communities	417	(11)
The southern Mozambique coastal plain	417	(4)
The northern Mozambique coastal plain	421	(5)
The early farming communities: towards a synthesis	426	(2)
Archaeology and national culture	428	(1)
Appendix: ages in radiocarbon years before present	429	(2)
Northern Mozambique coastal plain	429	(1)
Southern Mozambique coastal plain	430	(1)
Acknowledgements	431	(1)
New evidence on early iron-smelting from southeastern Nigeria	432	(17)
E. E. Okafor
Introduction: earlier studies of iron-smelting in Africa	432	(2)
Experimental and analytical studies	434	(2)
The rise and decline of African iron-smelting	436	(1)
Analysis of iron-smelting residues from Nsukka Division, southeastern Nigeria	437	(11)
Acknowledgements	448	(1)
Changing perspectives on traditional iron production in west Africa	449	(10)
F. J. Kense
J. Ako Okoro
Introduction	449	(1)
Metallurgical background	450	(1)
Ethnographic record	451	(1)
Archaeological evidence	452	(3)
Ethnohistorical/ethnoarchaeological approaches	455	(1)
Origins of iron metallurgy	456	(1)
The end of traditional iron-working	456	(2)
Conclusion	458	(1)
Note	458	(1)
Iron technology in the middle Sahel/Savanna: with emphasis on central Darfur	459	(9)
I. Musa Muhammed
Introduction	459	(1)
The study area	459	(2)
Traditional iron production in the middle Sahel/Savanna	461	(1)
Evidence of early iron production	462	(3)
Discussion	465	(1)
Conclusions	466	(2)
Iron-making techniques in the Kivu region of Zaire: some of the differences between the South Maniema region and north Kivu	468	(10)
N'Sanda Buleli
Introduction	468	(1)
Prospecting	468	(2)
Nature and method of prospecting	468	(1)
Location	469	(1)
Signs	469	(1)
Prospecting instruments	469	(1)
Grade of the ore	469	(1)
Rites and taboos	469	(1)
Season	470	(1)
Extraction	470	(1)
Methods of extraction	470	(1)
Transportation of the ore	470	(1)
Extraction instruments	471	(1)
Protection of deposits	471	(1)
Preparation	471	(2)
Ores	471	(1)
Charcoal	471	(1)
Construction of the furnace	472	(1)
Maniema type	472	(1)
Interlacustrine areas	473	(1)
Reduction process	473	(2)
Forging	475	(2)
Tool making	475	(1)
Location	475	(1)
People working in the forge	475	(1)
Tools	475	(2)
Conclusion	477	(1)
Ancient iron-working in Madagascar	478	(6)
C. Radimilahy
Notes	483	(1)
Acknowledgements	483	(1)
The iron-using communities in Kenya	484	(15)
H. O. Kiriama
The early iron-using communities	484	(3)
The `Later Iron Age'	487	(2)
Archaeological and linguistic correlations	489	(3)
Alternative models: pottery use in a social context	492	(2)
Bantu cultural variation: the Abagusii and Agikuyu of Kenya	494	(3)
Conclusion	497	(1)
Acknowledgement	498	(1)
Metaphors and representations associated with precolonial iron-smelting in eastern and southern Africa	499	(13)
D. P. Collett
Introduction	499	(1)
Furnaces and products	500	(2)
Smelting and procreation	502	(2)
Reproduction, smelting and cooking	504	(2)
Decoration on furnaces, decoration on pots	506	(2)
A different system of beliefs	508	(1)
Discussion	509	(1)
Notes	510	(1)
Acknowledgements	511	(1)
The magical production of iron in the Cameroon Grassfields	512	(39)
M. Rowlands
J.-P. Warnier
Tom Cham - heir to an ancient metallurgic tradition	513	(2)
The `glazed sherds' iron industry	515	(7)
Chronology	517	(1)
The smelting techniques	518	(1)
The smelting process	519	(3)
More on the antiquity and continuity of the industry	522	(1)
Fertility and violence	522	(6)
Curing a spoilt workshop	528	(1)
The smelting process: a synthesis	529	(1)
Smithing	530	(5)
Failure, and how to cope with it	533	(2)
`Science and magic'	535	(7)
The `level of ritualization'	538	(1)
The efficacy of magical production	539	(3)
Conclusions	542	(1)
Notes	543	(1)
Appendix 1: Medicinal plants used in the `glazed sherds' iron industry	543	(4)
A Fertility-inducing smelting cocktail	544	(1)
B Cocktail used in curing a foundry	545	(1)
C The cocktail buried in the smithy	546	(1)
D The herb used in `curing' a smithy	547	(1)
Appendix 2: Glossary (We language)	547	(4)
A Smelting cocktail	548	(1)
B Cocktail used in curing a foundry	548	(1)
C Cocktail buried in the smithy	549	(1)
D Medicine used in curing a smithy	549	(2)
Town and village in ancient Egypt: ecology, society and urbanization	551	(19)
F. A. Hassan
Introduction	551	(1)
The beginnings of urbanization: a hypothetical construct	551	(7)
The record of ancient Egyptian settlements	558	(1)
Methodology	559	(1)
The urban population of ancient Egypt	560	(1)
Number of villages in ancient Egypt	560	(1)
Town/village ratio	561	(1)
Size of ancient Egyptian villages	562	(1)
The size of ancient Egyptian cities and towns	563	(1)
Settlement hierarchy	564	(1)
Transport	564	(1)
Urban locations in a rural landscape	565	(1)
Settlements and social interaction	566	(2)
Final remarks	568	(1)
Note	569	(1)
Acknowledgements	569	(1)
Urbanism in bronze age Egypt and northeast Africa	570	(17)
D. O'Connor
Introduction	570	(1)
The regions: environments and cultural histories	571	(5)
Background	576	(1)
Survival and recovery of urban and settlement sites	577	(1)
Urbanism in Egyptian bronze age settlement patterns	578	(2)
Secular aspects of cities and towns	580	(1)
City as cosmos	581	(2)
Urbanism in northeast Africa in the Bronze Age	583	(1)
Conclusions	584	(1)
Notes	585	(2)
The land of Punt	587	(22)
K. A. Kitchen
Introduction	587	(1)
History of Punt from Egyptian sources	587	(16)
Third millenium BC (Old Kingdom)	587	(2)
Early second millenium BC (Middle Kingdom)	589	(2)
Late second millenium BC (New Kingdom)	591	(1)
Queen Hatshepsut	592	(5)
Mid-XVIIIth Dynasty contacts	597	(3)
Other allusions, Dynasties XVIII-XIX	600	(1)
The Punt expedition of Ramesses III (c. 1184-1153 BC)	601	(1)
First millenium BC	602	(1)
Geographical location and extent of Punt	603	(1)
Topography, archaeology, socio-political structure	604	(2)
Topography and archaeology	604	(1)
Socio-political structure	605	(1)
The products of Punt	606	(1)
The eclipse of Punt	606	(1)
Notes	606	(3)
State development and urbanism in northern Ethiopia	609	(13)
S. Munro-Hay
The earliest evidence for state formation	609	(5)
The Aksumite kingdom	614	(2)
Urbanism in Aksumite Ethiopia	616	(6)
The decline of Aksum	619	(3)
Cities without citadels: understanding urban origins along the middle Niger	622	(20)
S. K. McIntosh
R. J. McIntosh
Identifying urbanism in the archaeological record	625	(2)
Urban origins in the middle Niger: a case study	627	(7)
The excavations	629	(2)
Reconstructing lifeways at Jenne-jeno	631	(3)
The regional survey	634	(4)
Regional trade and urban effects	638	(3)
Conclusion	641	(1)
Acknowledgements	641	(1)
Urbanization and state formation in Ghana during the Iron Age	642	(10)
J. Anquandah
Introduction	642	(2)
Written history	644	(1)
Ethnohistory and ethnography	645	(2)
Archaeology	647	(4)
La and Shai in the Iron Age	647	(1)
Begho	648	(2)
Bono Manso	650	(1)
Conclusion	651	(1)
The salt industries of west Africa: a preliminary study	652	(6)
J. Alexander
Consumption	652	(1)
Production	652	(1)
Trading	653	(2)
Before AD c. 400	655	(1)
AD c. 400-1800	655	(1)
AD 1800 onwards	656	(1)
Discussion	657	(1)
Trade and politics on the eastern littoral of Africa, AD 800-1300	658	(15)
H. T. Wright
The ninth and tenth centuries	659	(6)
The eleventh to thirteenth centuries	665	(5)
Conclusion	670	(3)
Exploitation of marine resources: evidence for the origin of the Swahili communities of east Africa	673	(21)
M. Horton
N. Mudida
Introduction	673	(2)
Methodology	675	(2)
The ecology of the Lamu archipelago	677	(1)
Fish bones	678	(1)
Identified fish species	678	(1)
Discussion	679	(4)
The significance of fish in Swahili diet	680	(2)
Marine exploitation and the origin of the Swahili	682	(1)
Appendix	683	(11)
Coast-interior settlements and social relations in the Kenya coastal hinterland	694	(11)
G. H. O. Abungu
H. W. Mutoro
Introduction	694	(1)
Settlements studies in east Africa	694	(3)
The Mijikenda makaya	697	(2)
Coast-interior relations	699	(5)
Ungwana	699	(3)
The Tana basin and ceramic tradition	702	(1)
Coast-interior relations: the Tana delta and basin	703	(1)
Conclusion	704	(1)
Urban trajectories on the Zimbabwean plateau	705	(27)
P. J. J. Sinclair
I. Pikirayi
G. Pwiti
R. Soper
Perceiving complexity: the case of the Zimbabwe state	705	(3)
Methodological and empirical considerations	708	(3)
Great Zimbabwe tradition settlement location: the environmental setting	711	(7)
Site catchment analysis	714	(2)
Soil types and agricultural potential	716	(1)
Vegetation	716	(1)
Discussion	717	(1)
Settlement patterns and the context of Great Zimbabwe tradition sites	718	(7)
The survey	720	(1)
The cultural succession	721	(1)
Early Gokomere tradition	721	(1)
Musengezi tradition	722	(1)
Great Zimbabwe tradition	722	(1)
Survey results	722	(1)
Discussion	723	(2)
The historical period in northern Zimbabwe: archaeological evidence for the Mutapa state	725	(6)
Introduction	725	(1)
The site of Baranda: a case study	726	(3)
Baranda in a local and regional context	729	(1)
Archaeological evidence for the Mutapa state	730	(1)
Conclusions	731	(1)
Acknowledgements	731	(1)
Settlement area and communication in African towns and cities	732	(18)
R. Fletcher
Introduction	732	(1)
Method	732	(1)
Methodological issues: factors affecting the accuracy of area estimates	733	(10)
The presentation of observational statements	733	(8)
Ambiguity of definition	741	(2)
Interaction/communication constraints and the size of settlements	743	(2)
Comment	744	(1)
Interaction/communication issues	745	(2)
Conclusion	747	(1)
Note	748	(1)
Acknowledgements	749	(1)
References	750	(85)
Index	835