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Historically, fishers (both men and women) have engaged in different activities ranging from preparing fishing equipment (traps, nets, fishing vessels), weather forecasting, and sailing to fishing grounds and they continue to do so today. While sailing, fishers paddle collaboratively when the wind is low and when the boat is leaking, some crew will bail the vessel. Once they arrive at the fishing grounds, fishers cast anchor, mend the fishnets, and fix the boat foresheets. If successful, the fishers collect their catch, weigh the anchor, return to shore, and prepare to sell their fish. These fishing activities have always been accompanied by maritime customs, traditions, rituals, stories, and gestures. For instance, singing is one key tradition that has continued to accompany the fishing process from the start to the end. This paper documents and present the songs that have always been part of the fishing process in Kilwa Kisiwani, along the southern coast of Tanzania. The fishing songs are presented in the context of intangible cultural heritage of the east African Swahili coast.

Muricate planktonic foraminifera comprise an extinct clade that was diverse and abundant in the Paleogene oceans and are widely used in palaeoclimate research as geochemical proxy carriers for the upper oceans. Their characteristic wall texture has surface projections called “muricae” formed by upward deflection and mounding of successive layers of the test wall. The group is generally considered to have lacked “true spines”: that is, acicular calcite crystals embedded in and projecting from the test surface such as occur in many modern and some Paleogene groups. Here we present evidence from polished sections, surface wall scanning electron microscope images and test dissections, showing that radially orientated crystalline spine-like structures occur in the centre of muricae in various species of Acarinina and Morozovella and projected from the test wall in life. Their morphology and placement in the wall suggest that they evolved independently of true spines. Nevertheless, they may have served a similar range of functions as spines in modern species, including aiding buoyancy and predation and especially harbouring algal photosymbionts, the function for which we suggest they probably first evolved. Our observations strengthen the analogy between Paleogene mixed-layer-dwelling planktonic foraminifera and their modern spinose counterparts.

This article investigates foreign trading patterns along the east African or Swahili coast in the late 1st millennium CE. It is based on recent archaeological investigations around Bagamoyo and Kilwa in Tanzania and a desktop study of imported artefacts in ports from Kenya to Mozambique. Exports from Africa included ivory, gold, and slaves in exchange for beads, cloth, ointments, perfumes, oils, syrups, and decorated bowls from the Middle East, Indian subcontinent and Far East. The changes in quantities of imported vessels in different settlements suggests that the north Swahili coast, from Lamu to Unguja (Zanzibar), was used by vessels from the Middle East and western India and included Swahili trans-shipment ports for vessels coming from and going to the south Swahili coast. The proportion of Far East ceramic to Middle East is greater in the southern Swahili coast, reflecting more valuable items or an alternative route from southern India to Madagascar. A zone of low imports south of Unguja and north of Comoros that includes Kilwa suggests less interest in the trade or a border zone between Middle Eastern- and Austronesian-influenced trading areas. Large proportions of imported pot at Comoros and glass beads in Mozambique suggest that the Comoros was a port of call on the trade route to Chibuene in Mozambique, where inland trade routes met the coast. The difference in maritime and imported artefacts between Bagamoyo and Kilwa, in the high and low import zone, suggest, respectively, alternative outlooks and reliability on the sea as an area of resources, trade and transport.

This paper develops the notion that the structure of residential spaces has long been in a dialogue with social environments. It elaborates theoretical and methodological streams in the social sciences that focus on the interplay between society and the built environment. Space, rather than the built environment that articulates its structure, is subjected to analyses and conceptual interpretations relevant to the understanding of past constructed worlds. Although intangible and abstract, it is argued that space represents a type of material culture that could be studied through the use of the theory of affordances. We compare the layout of selected stone residences of various sizes that have been recorded in precolonial Swahili settlements at Gede, Kenya, and the Kilwa archipelago, Tanzania. To this end, we apply several methods of spatial analysis to reveal patterning in possible movements of people, and both physical and sensory access in buildings. The main goal of the paper is to derive an understanding of how these buildings helped to shape social values, and how they played a role in negotiation of multiple social interests, power, and trade relations among members of an urban society. The results highlight how material constructions like houses may channel social actions by reflecting contemporary social conventions. The argument also shows in what ways the unique nature of African urban heritage may be viewed, so that it could lend itself to cross-regional comparisons. The observations presented contribute to a broader discussion on the importance of interdisciplinary enquiry into the long history of African indigenous architecture.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of local residents’ participation in decision making regarding the conservation of the built heritage on conservation attitudes.Design/methodology/approachThis study borrows ideas from Arnstein’s Model of Citizen Participation and from past research to develop a model, and then testing it using a questionnaire survey with a sample of 209 local residents in Kilwa Kisiwani World Heritage Site in Tanzania.FindingsThe mean statistics showed that participation in decision making in Kilwa Kisiwani is relatively limited to the level of tokenism. Nevertheless, on the side of attitudes, the study indicates residents’ tendency to favour conservation. Regression results indicate that there is a significantly positive relationship between participation in decision making and attitude towards conservation.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the study did not cover the dynamics inherent in each bloc of resident community that may act as roadblocks in the participation process, it regards “participation in decision making” as a useful tool for heritage managers and conservation authorities for promoting local support for the conservation of heritage resources. Theoretically, the study implies that Arnstein’s Model can be a useful framework for ascertaining residents’ participation in the heritage management context, and for explaining its effect on conservation attitudes.Originality/valueThis study is the first rigorous confirmation of the relationship between participation in decision making and individual’s attitude towards conservation. The study provides a useful conceptual tool for heritage managers in promoting local support for conservation.

Three disaggregation methods, i.e. Calgon, acetic acid and electric pulse fragmentation (EPF), have been applied to a range of heavily lithified, carbonate-rich sedimentary rock samples of Paleogene age. Samples are predominantly from the carbonate-rich, shallow water domain (<250 m palaeo-water depth) of Tanzania, Malta and the United Arab Emirates (Paleogene Tethys Ocean). The effectiveness and efficiency of each method has been compared, in addition to the preservation of the resultant liberated microfossil material (primarily larger foraminifera; LF). Of the three methods, the most efficient and effective was EPF, which liberated the largest number of LF in a very short processing time and resulted in the best preservation. Samples with calcitic, silicic, and clay matrices and cements were successfully disaggregated using EPF. In this study, recovered microfossils were largely >500 µm, suggesting this technique may be more appropriate for liberating larger microfossils (e.g. LFs); however, we discuss nuances to the method that would allow for more effective recovery of smaller microfossil specimens. The more traditional acetic acid method was also able to disaggregate a number of the samples; however, preservation of the LF was compromised. We suggest a best-practice methodology for implementing EPF in micropalaeontological studies.

Angoche was an important historic trading port on the northern Mozambique coast. A maritime archaeological survey was undertaken of the islands and mainland to study Swahili trade, clarify the sequence of settlement development and record the exploitation of resources during the medieval and postmedieval periods. Previous archaeological investigations have revealed local ceramics from the early second millennium AD and imports from the late fifteenth century. According to oral traditions and ancient sources, Angoche's growth is associated with the arrival of coastal settlers from Kilwa in 1485. The survey revealed evidence for occupation dating from c. AD 500 and trading evidence from the late first millennium AD. Artefacts from the thirteenth to sixteenth century on the islands are similar to those found at Kilwa and Sofala, which shows a link to Kilwa earlier than the oral traditions and the name of one of the Angoche Islands 'Quilua', is Kilwa in Portuguese. The islands are well resourced in terms of rice, mangrove wood, seafood and farmland and offer sheltered inlets and access to the coastal trade route. The name of Angoche relates to a port of call and the presence of ninth-tenth-century- storage vessels from southern Iran supports this theory. Traded glass and ceramic artifacts and beads increase from the late medieval period revealing that Angoche became an important and wealthy entrepôt. The lack of coral limestone and reef coral, on the sandy Angoche Islands, indicates some building materials would have had to have been imported. Although many buildings would have been made of wood, some stone ruins are likely to have been demolished and burnt to make lime. The original stratigraphy of many sites has been destroyed by aeolian and marine processes but the survey has shown that valuable information on settlement location and ethnographic practices can still be recovered. Angoche était un important port de commerce historique sur la côte nord au Mozambique. Une enquête archéologique maritime d'Angoche des îles et du continent a été entreprise pour étudier le commerce swahili, clarifier la séquence de développement des colonies et enregistrer l'exploitation des ressources pendant les périodes médiévales et post-médiévales. Des recherches archéologiques antérieures ont révélé des céramiques locales du début du 2ème millénaire après JC et des importations de la fin du 15ème siècle. Bien que la croissance d'Angoche soit associée aux colons venant de Kilwa et à la réorientation du commerce de l'or à la fin du 15ème siècle, l'enquête a révélé des preuves d'occupation datant du 500 après JC et des preuves de la pratique du commerce dès le début du IXe siècle après JC. Les artefacts du 13ème et 16ème siècle trouvés sur les îles sont similaires à ceux trouvés à Kilwa, et Sofala. Ce qui montre un lien avec Kilwa plus tôt que les traditions orales ne l'établissent, et le nom de Quilua, une des îles d'Angoche, renforce cette idée. Les ressources des îles sont le riz, les bois de mangroves, les halieutiques, et des terres arables. Ces îles représentent, également, un abri pour les navires et permet un accès aux routes commerciales côtières. Le nom d'Angoche se rapporte à un port d'escale et la présence de navires de stockage du 9ème au lOème siècle du sud de l'Iran soutient cette théorie. Les artefacts échangés de verre, de perles et de céramique augmentent à partir de la période médiévale tardive, révélant qu'Angoche est devenu un entrepôt important et riche. L'absence de coraux calcaires et de coraux de récif, indique que les matériaux de construction ont dû être importés. Bien que de nombreux bâtiments étaient fait de bois, quelques ruines de pierre sont susceptibles d'avoir été démolies et brûlées pour faire de la chaux. La stratigraphie originale de nombreux sites ont été détruits par des processus éoliens et marins, mais l'enquête a montré de précieuses informations sur l'emplacement de l'établissement et les pratiques ethnographiques peuvent encore être recueillies.

Exceptionally well-preserved palynomorphs were recovered from a Turonian section cored in Tanzania. Here we provide an in-depth evaluation of the terrestrial palynomorph assemblages recovered, discuss their environmental affinity, and provide taxonomic descriptions for seventeen angiosperm species. Forms present include various species of Liliacidites, Tricolpites, Tricolporites, Tetracolpites, Syncolporites, Triporopollenites, Hexaporotricolpites, and Periporopollenites. In addition to these angiosperm species, the palynological assemblage is dominated by gymnosperm genera that include Classopollis, Ephedripites, and Exesipollenites. This assemblage and the rarity of humidity-dependent bryophytes and pteridophytes clearly support the hypothesis that the Turonian climate in Tanzania was warm and relatively dry.

The analysis of trace fossils usually is performed qualitatively, which makes comparing trace fossils from different units less objective than quantitative approaches. Quantifying the shape of trace fossils enables scientists to compare trace fossils described by different people with greater precision and accuracy. This paper describes several methods for quantifying invertebrate trace fossils, including morphology dependent methods (motility index, mesh size, topology, tortuosity, branching angle, and the number of cell sides) and morphology independent methods (fractal analysis, burrow area shape, and occupied space percentage (OSP)). These tools were performed on a select group of graphoglyptid trace fossils, highlighting the benefits and flaws of each analytical approach. Combined together, these methods allow for more objective comparisons between different trace fossils.

We present the results of experiments to measure the brittle failure of fossil planktonic foraminifer tests under compression. We compare two upper Eocene species of contrasting morphology, Cribrohantkenina inflata (Howe, 1928) and Turborotalia cerroazulensis (Cole, 1928) in both well-preserved material from the Kilwa Group of Tanzania and recrystallized material from ODP Site 865, central Pacific Ocean. Well-preserved tests were several times stronger than recrystallized tests. Turborotalia cerroazulensis was stronger than C. inflata in both the well-preserved and recrystallized material.