Indigenous Craft Production on the Kenya Coast and Hinterland in the Development of Swahili Polities

在国家科学基金会的支持下，查普鲁卡·库辛巴博士和他的合作者将在肯尼亚海岸及其腹地进行一季的考古实地考察。该小组将继续在蒙巴萨北部的姆特瓦帕遗址进行研究。该遗址占地约8公顷，包含纪念性建筑。由于其优秀的港口，它参与了几个世纪的国际贸易，陶瓷年表表明，它在公元1100年至1750年之间有人居住。现场的挖掘将集中在几个中间的一系列2 × 2米的测试暴露，以便获得更广泛的经济生活画面。将努力确定储存结构、市场和车间地点。通过这种方式，应该有可能深入了解所生产的物品的种类和发生这种情况的社会背景。在研究的第二阶段，该小组将调查一个面积约为200公里乘10公里的区域，从姆特瓦帕向内陆延伸。已确定地点的确切位置将由地理定位系统和航拍和地形图上记录的坐标确定。将记录尺寸和人工制品的内容，以及由陶瓷、炉渣和其他人工制品制成的藏品，以确定与其他地点的相对年表、风格相似性，并记录制造活动。试验挖掘也将进行。在此基础上，将有可能确定沿海和内陆住区之间的关系。历史文献表明，跨印度洋贸易可以追溯到近2000年前，考古数据也支持了这一结论。在东非海岸发展起来的斯瓦希里政体传统上被解释为这种贸易的结果，并且在很大程度上是从土著环境中抽象出来的。库辛巴博士希望重新审查这个问题。虽然这种贸易显然发挥了作用，但斯瓦希里沿海城市似乎与内陆“腹地”地区有着广泛的互动，而大型沿海定居点和纪念性建筑的增长可能是后一种情况下最好的解释。沿海集团生产的产品很可能与内陆交换，计划中的内陆调查和沿海挖掘将提供评估这一主张的数据。这项研究很重要，因为它将揭示导致复杂社会兴起的过程。虽然考古学家知道一些国家的产生完全是原始过程的结果，但他们对什么导致了“次要”国家的产生，如斯瓦希里的例子，持不同意见。一些人认为后一种实体的兴起是主要国家接触的结果，而另一些人则认为地方进程发挥了更突出的作用。库辛巴博士的研究重点就是这个问题。该项目将产生许多考古学家感兴趣的数据，并加强美国和肯尼亚研究人员之间的科学联系。

With National Science Foundation support Dr.Chapurukha Kusimba and his collaborators will conduct one season of archaeological fieldwork on the Kenya coast and its immediate hinterland. The group will continue ongoing research at the site of Mtwapa which is located north of Mombasa. The site covers approximately eight hectare and contains monumental architecture. Because of its excellent port, it participated in international trade for many centuries and ceramic chronology suggests it was inhabited between 1100 and 1750 AD. Excavation at the site will focus on a series of 2 x 2 meter test exposures at several middens in order to obtain a broader picture of economic life. Attempts will be made to locate storage structures and market and workshop localities. In this way it should be possible to gain insight into both the kinds of objects produced and the social context in which this took place. In a second phase of the research the group will survey an area approximately 200 km by 10 km in size which extends inland from Mtwapa. The exact position of located sites will be determined by a geographic positioning system and the coordinates recorded on aerial and topographical maps. Note will be made of size and artifact content and collections made of ceramics, slag and other artifacts to determine relative chronology, stylistic similarities to other sites and to document manufacturing activities. Test excavations will also be conducted. On this basis it will be possible to determine the relationship between coastal and inland settlements. Historical documents indicate that a trans Indian Ocean trade can be traced back almost 2,000 years and archaeological data supports conclusion. The Swahili polity which developed on the East African coast has traditionally been interpreted as a result of this trade and largely abstracted from an indigenous context. Dr. Kusimba wishes to re-examine this question. While such trade obviously played a role, it appears likely that Swahili coastal cities had extensive interaction with inland `hinterland` regions and that the growth of large coastal settlements with monumental architecture may best be explained in this latter context. It is likely that coastal groups produced products for exchange with the interior and the planned inland survey and coastal excavation will provide data to evaluate this proposition. This research is important because it will shed light on the processes which lead to the rise of complex societies. While archaeologists know that some states arise solely as the result of pristine processes, they disagree on what gives rise to 'secondary` states such as the Swahili example. Some see the rise of these latter entities as the result of primary state contact which others accord a more prominent role to local processes. Dr. Kusimba's research focuses on this issue. The project will produce data of interest to many archaeologists and strengthen scientific ties between US and Kenyan researchers.