Swahili Historical Chronicles from an Archaeological Perspective

Bibliographic Data

ID23404124
AuthorsMatthew Pawlowicz, Adria Laviolette (0000-0001-7689-5099)
Year2013
Pages117-140
Publication date2013-11-28
Open AccessNo
TypeCHAPTER
VenueDeath of Prehistory (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199684595.003.0006
OpenAlexW2485253969
ISBN9780199684595
LanguageEN
Citations received6

This chapter focuses on the historical chronicles of three Swahili towns on the coast of southern Tanzania, drawing on archaeological data from survey and excavation in the region. More specifically, it examines how the three chronicles challenge the dichotomy between history and prehistory on two levels. First, as transcribed oral traditions, Swahili chronicles break down the dichotomy between oral and written sources, and thus implicitly between prehistory and history. Second, as they break down the prehistory/history divide within a given coastal community, the chronicles also highlight the contributions of interior groups to coastal society. The chapter questions essentialised meta-narratives that have been used to dichotomise groups in East Africa since the colonial era, which is evident in the separation between the urban Swahili deemed to belong to history and their non-Swahili neighbours who were relegated to prehistory. It shows that non-Swahili African groups, whose pasts have been dismissed as prehistory, played critical roles in shaping historical outcomes on the coast.

Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Colonialism · Ethnology · Geography · Linguistics · Literature · Narrative · Perspective (graphical) · Prehistory · Sociology · Swahili · Tanzania · Visual arts · African history and culture studies · Anthropology · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · History

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