Mozambique Island, Cabaceira Pequena and the Wider Swahili World: An Archaeological Perspective

Abstract

When the Portuguese reached Mozambique Island at the end of the fifteenth century, they encountered a populated coast of diverse communities integrated within a wider Swahili world. Swahili society was in its fundamental nature cosmopolitan, and incorporated arts, cultures, peoples, and beliefs from Africa, India, the Middle East, and the Far East. Although Swahili archaeology is well established in Tanzania and Kenya, there is still little understood about northern Mozambique and its role in the Swahili world. This paper presents preliminary results from recent excavations on the northern coast of Mozambique, as well as interpretations from known archaeological sites, to better assess the nature of Swahili society on the northern Mozambican coast at the time of Portuguese first contact. This paper also raises questions about the nature of Swahili culture in northern Mozambique and its construction of a maritime cultural landscape centred around oceanic connection in the Indian Ocean Trade Network.