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邻近的腹地进行为期一季的考古田野工作。该小组将继续在蒙巴萨以北的Mtwapa遗址进行研究。该遗址占地约8公顷，包含不朽的建筑。由于其优越的港口，它参与了许多世纪的国际贸易，陶瓷年代学表明，它在公元1100至1750年间有人居住。为了获得更广泛的经济生活图景，遗址的挖掘将集中在几个蚊子上进行一系列2x2米的测试暴露。将努力确定储存结构以及市场和车间地点。通过这种方式，应该可以洞察所产生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，该小组将调查从姆特瓦帕向内陆延伸的大约200公里乘10公里的区域。所处地点的确切位置将由地理定位系统以及航拍和地形图上记录的坐标确定。将记录陶瓷、炉渣和其他文物的大小和文物内容以及收藏，以确定与其他遗址的相对年代、风格相似之处，并记录制造活动。还将进行试掘工作。在此基础上，将有可能确定沿海和内陆住区之间的关系。历史文件表明，跨印度洋的贸易可以追溯到近2000年前，考古数据支持这一结论。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，很大程度上是从土著背景中抽象出来的。库辛巴博士希望重新研究这个问题。虽然这种贸易显然起到了一定的作用，但斯瓦希里沿海城市似乎与内陆“内陆”地区有广泛的互动，而具有纪念性建筑的大型沿海住区的增长可能最好在后一种情况下得到解释。沿海集团生产的产品很可能是为了与内陆交换，计划中的内陆调查和海岸挖掘将提供数据来评估这一命题。这项研究很重要，因为它将揭示导致复杂社会崛起的过程。虽然考古学家知道一些国家的出现完全是原始过程的结果，但他们对是什么导致了像斯瓦希里这样的第二个国家的出现存在分歧。一些人认为后者的出现是主要国家联系的结果，另一些人则认为地方过程起到了更重要的作用。库辛巴博士的研究集中在这个问题上。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 Historical documents indicate that a trans Indian Ocean trade can be traced back almost 2,000 years and archaeological data supports conclusion.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.