Early Tana 2

‘‘‘ “Mogadishu, at the northern end of the coast, had early prominence in foreign trade and was, by the ninth century, trading gold from as far away as the Zimbabwe plateau to foreign traders.” .” [LaViolette_Wynne-Jones 2018, p. 7] “Gold featured prominently on the Swahili coast. Starting from the beginning of the second millennium ce, gold became not only pivotal in commerce but the backbone of political and economic power for the rest of the Swahili period.” [Mapunda 2018, p. 307] “We have some amazing estimates of gold production before the arrival of the Portuguese. Duarte quotes Ian Phimister as saying that the total prePortuguese gold production from the Zimbabwe Plateau was between 6and 8 million ounces. […] Production began slowly at the start of the tenth century, or perhaps earlier, and was at its height in the eleventh to fifteenth centuries: it then declined drastically” [Pearson 1998, p. 49] “Archaeological evidence reveals that long-distance trade in luxury goods was a feature of coastal life before it was densely settled, and before Islam became a factor in trade relations (e.g., Casson 1989; Chami and Msemwa 1997; Juma 2004). So too was local manufacturing, including the working of metals (e.g., gold, copper and its alloys), stone (e.g., rock crystal, carnelian), and fibers (e.g., cotton) part of coastal life, such that for a number of classes of elite objects, local craftsmanship which developed from a knowledge of the import must be considered (see Table 1).” [LaViolette 2008, pp. 33-34] “Mogadishu, at the northern end of the coast, had early prominence in foreign trade and was, by the ninth century, trading gold from as far away as the Zimbabwe plateau to foreign traders.” [LaViolette_Wynne-Jones 2018, p. 7] “Gold featured prominently on the Swahili coast. Starting from the beginning of the second millennium ce, gold became not only pivotal in commerce but the backbone of political and economic power for the rest of the Swahili period. Although some gold could have come from the immediate hinterland, especially considering that gold deposits are plentiful in the region (Kulindwa et al. 2003), conclusive evidence is lacking. It could well be possible that the coast received gold from Sasu, a famous gold mine reported by Cosmas Indicopleustes, an Alexandrian merchant and traveller in 525 bce (Freeman-Grenville 1962), as supplying gold to Aksum. But, again, there is no decisive evidence as to whether gold from Sasu, assumed to be located in southern Sudan (Allen 1993) or northern Kenya (Mathew 1963), or even south of the Rufiji River (Chami 2006), ever reached the Swahili coast, whether directly or via Aksum and Adulis. The source that has been ascertained so far is the Mwenemutapa Empire in modern-day Zimbabwe.” [Mapunda 2018, p. 307] “Somewhat later, shortly after the beginning of the second millennium a.d., we also see the beginnings of gold-mining in the Shashe–Limpopo valley (Miller, Desai and Lee-Thorpe 2000) and especially on the Zimbabwe plateau (Swan 1994), principally to satisfy the demand for this metal on the outside market. As with ivory, it is clear that, although some of the gold was for local use, most of it was destined for export to the Arab world and beyond.” [Pwiti 2005, p. 383]

“Many Indian products, such as cotton, teak and pepper, are hard to recognise in the archaeological record. This may give a biased interpretation for areas below where the surviving evidence from archaeological sites is commonly stone, bone, ceramic and glass.” [Pollard_Kinyera 2017, p. 941]

“Extensive excavations at Shanga in the Lamu Archipelago (Map 2, p. xxiii) (mid-eighth to midfourteenth century ce; Horton 1996, Horton, this volume), where deposits were sieved with 5 mm mesh, produced just 33 glass beads from pre-eleventh-century levels.” […] “At Manda, also in the Lamu Archipelago (Map 2, p. xxiii) (Kusimba et al., this volume), the beads from Chittick’s 1970s excavations (Chittick 1984) were studied by Helen Morrison (1984). Period I (mid-ninth to early eleventh centuries) produced 79 glass beads, of which 55 were drawn and 24 wound.” […] “In Madagascar, two excavated sites with late first-millennium ce components have produced glass beads. In the northwest, Phase Ia at Mahilaka (Radimilahy, this volume) produced 157 initially dated to the late-ninth to early-tenth centuries (Radimilahy 1998: 183). Subsequent examination based on morphology and LA-ICP-MS analysis suggests the beads actually postdate the mid-tenth century (Robertshaw et al. 2006). In the northeast, the eighth- to twelfth/ thirteenth-century site of Sandrakatsy produced 37 large, drawn tubular yellow beads from an undated pit (Wright and Fanony 1992: 32–3). They formed part of a cache that included 17 spherical carnelian beads, two spherical gold beads, and one of silver. It appears likely that this cache dates toward the later end of the site’s time span, based partially on the observation that at Mahilaka the association of carnelian beads with glass beads is a Phase II (thirteenth–fifteenth century) phenomenon. This combination is also frequently found in burials at the thirteenth to sixteenth site of Vohemar (Rasoarifetra 2000).” [Wood 2018, pp. 461-462], [Wood 2018, p. 468] “Other high-quality materials were green and clear glass beakers and bowls. This glass has been recorded at Susa and Siraf, in modern Iran, and Samarra and Tell Abu Sarifa, in Iraq. Their location of manufacture has not been established, with the distribution around the Persian Gulf suggesting manufacture in several places. However, identical beakers and bowls have been found at Fustat, in Egypt.” [Pollard_Kinyera 2017, p. 934] “Archaeological evidence reveals that long-distance trade in luxury goods was a feature of coastal life before it was densely settled, and before Islam became a factor in trade relations (e.g., Casson 1989; Chami and Msemwa 1997; Juma 2004). So too was local manufacturing, including the working of metals (e.g., gold, copper and its alloys), stone (e.g., rock crystal, carnelian), and fibers (e.g., cotton) part of coastal life, such that for a number of classes of elite objects, local craftsmanship which developed from a knowledge of the import must be considered (see Table 1).” [LaViolette 2008, pp. 33-34] “This study of glass beads brought to Africa’s east coast, from the earliest securely identified examples to the arrival of European beads in the seventeenth century ce, provides us with new insights into Indian Ocean trade with eastern Africa. Unguja Ukuu, Zanzibar, has produced the earliest securely identified glass beads, dating from between the seventh and tenth centuries ce. Probably the first to arrive, made of a mineral-soda high-alumina glass, came from South Asia, possibly from Mantai, Sri Lanka. They were followed before long by beads made of a plant-ash glass mainly produced in the Iran/Iraq region, but most of the beads were probably manufactured elsewhere, some possibly in Thailand. Thus the early bead trade appears to have come mainly from, or through, southern South Asia. In the second millennium there was a shift in bead sources. Plant-ash beads declined to very small numbers and were made in the eastern Mediterranean or Egypt, but most beads were made of mineral-soda high-alumina glass from the Indian subcontinent. Early in this period there was a mix of beads – wound from northwest India and drawn from southern India.” […] “The most significant of these changes – those occurring in the second half of the tenth century – related to political upheavals at the time. These included the Chola invasion of Sri Lanka, followed by the abandonment of Mantai and a shift in power in that region to South India. After this, production of m-Na-Al 1 beads apparently ceased, and m-Na-Al 2 beads (wound and drawn) made at various sites in India became the main bead types traded to Africa’s eastern seaboard.” [Wood 2018, pp. 468-469]

“Imports along the east African coast included fine metalwork and cloth; beads of glass and gold; glass vials for ointments or perfumes; storage jars containing oils or syrups; and decorated bowls probably sought as prestigious display pottery.” [Pollard_Kinyera 2017, p. 933]

“Howard Brown claims there was a flourishing cloth industry in the northern Swahili area from the ninth century, especially at Siyu, and also embroidered cloths and fine silks from Pate Island in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. He thinks that foreign competition from India undermined this.” [Pearson 1998, p. 123] “Imports along the east African coast included fine metalwork and cloth; beads of glass and gold; glass vials for ointments or perfumes; storage jars containing oils or syrups; and decorated bowls probably sought as prestigious display pottery.” [Pollard_Kinyera 2017, p. 933] “Archaeological evidence reveals that long-distance trade in luxury goods was a feature of coastal life before it was densely settled, and before Islam became a factor in trade relations (e.g., Casson 1989; Chami and Msemwa 1997; Juma 2004). So too was local manufacturing, including the working of metals (e.g., gold, copper and its alloys), stone (e.g., rock crystal, carnelian), and fibers (e.g., cotton) part of coastal life, such that for a number of classes of elite objects, local craftsmanship which developed from a knowledge of the import must be considered (see Table 1).” [LaViolette 2008, pp. 33-34] “The emergence of Swahili cities was as much global as it was a regional and local process. Building primarily upon regional exchange networks during the Age of Trade and the mid-first millennium ce, the coastal elite of the eighth–tenth centuries emerged as effective managers of a complex social economy within the Age of Commerce in the Indian Ocean trade. They engaged in production and exchange of both value-added and raw commodities that had global acclaim, especially high quality iron and ivory, and built a cloth production-exchange complex using both local cotton and imported South Asian cloth.” [Oka 2018, p. 426]

“Archaeological evidence reveals that long-distance trade in luxury goods was a feature of coastal life before it was densely settled, and before Islam became a factor in trade relations (e.g., Casson 1989; Chami and Msemwa 1997; Juma 2004). So too was local manufacturing, including the working of metals (e.g., gold, copper and its alloys), stone (e.g., rock crystal, carnelian), and fibers (e.g., cotton) part of coastal life, such that for a number of classes of elite objects, local craftsmanship which developed from a knowledge of the import must be considered (see Table 1).” [LaViolette 2008, pp. 33-34] This quote refers to Unguja Ukuu's primary phase of occupation, c. 500–1000 ce “There are also rare examples of semi-precious stone beads, including agate and etched carnelian tubular beads (Figure 13.4, No. 1). These suggest early contacts with India – probably Gujarat – where the stone-bead industry was important both for export and internal consumption (Hawkes and Wynne-Jones 2015).” [Juma 2018, p. 172] “At Unguja Ukuu, North African red slip pottery and alabaster from Egypt was dated to the 5th to 6th centuries CE (Horton and Middleton 2000, 32).” [Ichumbaki_Pollard 2021, p. 10]

“Chinese wares, mostly bulk porcelain, have been found in east Africa from at least the ninth century, long before the famous voyages of Zheng He (Cheng Ho).” [Pearson 1998, p. 45] The following quote refers to the site of Tumbe, dating to the eighth–tenth centuries AD “Similarly, Operation 13 produced a concentration of 113 sherds of a Siraf storage jar (Figure 9). Sturdy and impressive (up to 1m tall), such jars may have been deserving of indoor curation.” [Fleisher_LaViolette 2013, p. 1164] 472 “In sum, we can recognize vessels which appear more utilitarian, including the larger open bowls and globular jars, and the necked jars that have similarly rough manufacture but served as the vehicle for much decorative investment.” […] “The ratio of necked jar/bowls at Kimimba (81%/ 14%) was similar to that of Shanga (91%/6%), while the ratios at sites like Tumbe (66%/24%), Manda (48%/ 35%) and Unguja Ukuu (70%/28%) showed the presence of many more bowl forms. This seems to represent another coastal sphere of ceramic distribution found at many of the sites that were most closely linked to Indian Ocean trade at this time. As used in practice, they may indicate forms of consumption of nascent elites, and thus be related to emerging notions of prestige (see Fleisher 2010b; Kusimba 1999b for later periods). It is also notable that most of these sites peaked during the late first millennium and did not become important stonetowns in the period beyond AD 1000.” [Fleisher_Wynne-Jones 2011, p. 267], [Fleisher_Wynne-Jones 2011, p. 275] “Generally, on the east African coast, white-glazed bowls with splashes of blue, green, or lustre glaze originate from south-western Asia, and white porcelain bowls came from China, though sometimes copies could be made of the other area’s pottery. The types of imported pottery are summarised in Table 1. One of the commonest types of imported pottery found around the Indian Ocean in the 7th–10th centuries was a large jar, plain or green glazed, commonly known as Sasanian–Islamic ware.” [Pollard_Kinyera 2017, p. 934] “Archaeological evidence reveals that long-distance trade in luxury goods was a feature of coastal life before it was densely settled, and before Islam became a factor in trade relations (e.g., Casson 1989; Chami and Msemwa 1997; Juma 2004). So too was local manufacturing, including the working of metals (e.g., gold, copper and its alloys), stone (e.g., rock crystal, carnelian), and fibers (e.g., cotton) part of coastal life, such that for a number of classes of elite objects, local craftsmanship which developed from a knowledge of the import must be considered (see Table 1).” [LaViolette 2008, pp. 33-34] “By the tenth century, and a little later, more bead types had been introduced. Also, as is evident particularly at Chibuene, Islamic/Persian ceramic vessels had also been introduced, including tin-glazed ware with splashed painted decoration and light-blue glazed “Sassanian Islamic” ware. Both types are similar to imported ware from the early phases of the occupation of the major East African coastal town site of Kilwa dated from the ninth century.” [Pwiti 2005, p. 382] ““During the late first millennium AD, coastal and hinterland societies in eastern Africa were united in the production and use of broadly similar locally produced ceramics. Sites dating between c. AD 600 and 900 are characterized by the early Tana Tradition (or Triangular-Incised Ware),1 comprising necked jars with incised decoration and a series of other jar and bowl forms in varying quantities. The jars - with their distinctive decoration- have become synonymous with this period and stand for a pan-regional tradition of pottery seen at an ever-growing number of sites (Chami 1994, 1994/5, 1998; Horton 1994a, 1996; Schmidt 1994/5; Spear 2000; Wright 1993).” [Fleisher_Wynne-Jones 2011, p. 246] “Generally, on the east African coast, white-glazed bowls with splashes of blue, green, or lustre glaze originate from south-western Asia, and white porcelain bowls came from China, though sometimes copies could be made of the other area’s pottery. The types of imported pottery are summarised in Table 1. One of the commonest types of imported pottery found around the Indian Ocean in the 7th–10th centuries was a large jar, plain or green glazed, commonly known as Sasanian–Islamic ware.31” [Pollard_Kinyera 2017, p. 934] “They collected glazed ceramics for domestic use and display, and incorporated them into both their domestic and public architecture, in some cases securing them in to mosque, house, and tomb walls with mortar and plaster. […] Although imported wares were small in number in comparison to the overall artefact assemblages, elite objects were high-quality and widespread.” [LaViolette 2008, p. 37] “In fact, by virtue of their intrinsic qualities (ease of cleaning, durability, lightness, aesthetic), Chinese ceramics were much admired from the moment they were introduced into eastern Africa.” [Zhao_et_al 2018, p. 441]