Refining the chronology of Kua Ruins: radiocarbon dates from the Mafia Archipelago, Tanzania

Christie, Annalisa C. (2013) Refining the chronology of Kua Ruins: radiocarbon dates from the Mafia Archipelago, Tanzania. Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa, 48 (4). pp. 521-533. ISSN 0067-270X

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Abstract

Described by Sir Mortimer Wheeler as the ‘Pompeii of East Africa’, the settlement of Kua in the Mafia Archipelago of Tanzania has considerable archaeological potential. The site was surveyed and excavated in 2009 and 2010 as part of a larger project that aimed to explore the sociocultural context of maritime interactions in the archipelago. Prior to this, there is no record of the site ever having been systematically excavated. Consequently, dates for the occupation of the settlement have previously been determined entirely from historical sources and oral traditions. This paper reports the results of the radiometric dating of samples recovered from Kua during the excavations in 2009 and evaluates them in the light of historical, architectural and archaeological data in order to refine the chronology of the settlement. While the data presented have yet to conclusively date the settlement's foundation and abandonment, the radiocarbon dates suggest that its occupation sequence is likely to have been more complex than is reported in historical sources. Further archaeological research will be necessary to gain a more complete picture of life at the settlement and its role in the sociopolitical organisation of the Archipelago more generally.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	mafia archipelago,kua ruins,chronology,radiocarbon dating,settlement history
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Centres > Sainsbury Research Unit for the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	19 Apr 2016 11:01
Last Modified:	31 Oct 2022 16:31
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/58303
DOI:	10.1080/0067270X.2013.842666

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