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Studies in Global Archaeology 3 Studies in Global Archaeology 3 1 FRONTISPIECE Blue-green glazed bottle (UM/3) from Unguja Ukuu dated to the 8th century AD. Height 164 mm. Photo G. Hedlund. 2 Abdurahman Juma UNGUJA UKUU ON ZANZIBAR An archaeological study of early urbanism African and Comparative Archaeology, Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Uppsala University, Uppsala 2004 3 Doctoral thesis at Uppsala University 2004 ABSTRACT Juma, A. 2004. Unguja Ukuu on Zanzibar: an archaeological study of early urbanism. Studies in Global Archaeology 3. Uppsala, Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, 198 pp., 211 figures, 20 plates, 2 appendices. ISSN 1651-1255, ISBN 91-973212-1-4. This study describes archaeological excavations carried out at Unguja Ukuu on the main island of Zanzibar, Tanzania. The site has long remained obscure, oral histories do not mention it and no particular group among the living community of the island describes its origin from the site. A stone well at Unguja Ukuu together with several other early monuments of the east African coast that survive on the site have been attributed to the Wadebuli, suspected by early scholars to be people of Arab descent from their colonies in India or elsewhere on the Islands of eastern Indian Ocean. Surface survey and the drilling of more than 200 cores have defined the lateral extent and the stratigraphy of the site. Unguja Ukuu is a large site (c.16–17 ha) and the study reveals that it is a major center of an African iron-using farming community who occupied it from c. 500 AD. Radiocarbon dating and pottery provide the basis for this chronology. The study addresses an old controversy whether some of the pre-stone built settlements that developed on the east African coast could be indications of urbanization. Knowledge of the functional specialization of the settlement prior to its abandonment c. 900 AD is based on the evidence on the density of craft activity, community engagement in the regional trade with the mainland African continent, as far away as Roman Egypt, and in the interregional trade connected to the Indian Ocean, as well as redistribution of foreign merchandise to other sites and areas in the region. These as well as the location of the site linking the external trade and the mainland resource base indicate that Unguja Ukuu was a key urban centre built of mud and timber structures. This challenges our previous understanding of 8–9th centuries AD as the onset of early urbanism on the east African coast. The study proposes cycles of urbanism and emphasizes the need to reassess the problem of early urban identity and the use of wide range of criteria to overcome limitations of previous early urban investigations south of the Sahara and beyond. The results of the investigation given in this study are relevant to the history and archaeology of Zanzibar and the rest of East Africa and make a contribution particularly to extending the known time depth of the early urban tradition often conceived to occur in the late first millennium AD. Keywords: Cultural complexity, cycles, early urbanism, and urban characterization Abdurahman Juma, Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Uppsala University, Box 626, S-751 26 Uppsala; Department of Archives, Museum and Antiquities P.O. Box 116 Zanzibar, Tanzania ISSN 1651-1255 ISBN 91-973212-1-4 © Abdurahman Juma Cover Design: Alicja Grenberger and Martin Herschend Front Cover: Beads found at Unguja Ukuu. Painting: Alicja Grenberger Back Cover: Boat decoration Studies in Global Archaeology 3 Series editor: Paul J. J. Sinclair Editor: Christina Bendegard Published by African and Comparative Archaeology, Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Uppsala University, Box 626, S-751 26 Uppsala, Sweden Printed in Sweden by Elanders Gotab, Stockholm 2004 4 CONTENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ................................................................................................ 8 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................. 11 I. BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................ 13 1.1 The east African coast ........................................................................................... 13 1.2 Some archaeological sites of Zanzibar .................................................................... 18 Unguja Ukuu ................................................................................................ 19 Mkokotoni and Fukuchani ............................................................................. 19 Kizimkazi ...................................................................................................... 20 Tumbatu ....................................................................................................... 20 Shangani ....................................................................................................... 21 Ras Mkumbuu .............................................................................................. 21 Mtambwe Mkuu ........................................................................................... 22 Pujini ............................................................................................................ 22 Chwaka, Tumbe and other sites in northern Pemba........................................ 22 1.3 Interaction networks .............................................................................................. 22 1.4 Zanzibar in recent times ......................................................................................... 27 1.5 The development of complexity .............................................................................. 28 Overview ................................................................................................................... 29 2. THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES ................................................................................ 31 2.1 Aims of the study................................................................................................... 31 2.2 Review of previous studies.................................................................................... 31 2.3 Theoretical points of departure ............................................................................... 35 2.3.1 Alternative models for the emergence of early urbanism................................ 36 2.3.2 The framework of archaeological inference .................................................. 38 3. ENVIRONMENT AND ECONOMY ............................................................................. 41 3.1 Environment .......................................................................................................... 41 3.1.1 Physiography ................................................................................................ 41 3.1.2 Soils ............................................................................................................. 43 3.1.3 Flora and fauna............................................................................................. 44 3.1.4 Rainfall, temperature and humidity ................................................................ 44 5 3.1.5 Environmental change ................................................................................... 46 3.2 Economy ............................................................................................................... 46 3.2.1 Subsistence activities .................................................................................... 46 3.2.2 Technologies ................................................................................................. 50 3.3 Location of early sites ............................................................................................ 51 Overview ................................................................................................................... 53 4. THE SITE SURVEYS .................................................................................................... 55 4.1 The site location..................................................................................................... 55 4.2 The initial survey .................................................................................................... 56 4.3 The Urban Origins project surveys ......................................................................... 57 4.3.1 Field-walking and recording .......................................................................... 58 4.3.2 Drilling .......................................................................................................... 59 4.3.3 Soil testing for phosphates ............................................................................. 61 4.3.4 Electro-resistivity survey ............................................................................... 61 4.3.5 Electro-magnetic survey ............................................................................... 62 4.3.6 Results of the surveys ................................................................................... 62 4.3.7 Population estimate for the site...................................................................... 65 Overview ................................................................................................................... 66 5. THE EXCAVATIONS AND DEPOSITS .................................................................. 67 5.1 Excavations and deposits ......................................................................................
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