Pre- Early Iron Working Sedentary Communities on the Southern Coast of Tanzania

Abstract

The limited extent of archaeological research in southern Tanzania has led to a poor understanding and misinterpretation of the general prehistory of this part of the country. Not much has been known about the early development of settlements in the area, including the transition from hunting and gathering to settled food-producing economies. Recent survey and excavations in this region have recovered evidence suggesting the presence of settled pre-early iron working cultures that made and used pottery. Concentrations of both sites and cultural material suggest flourishing communities that were interacting with other people along and beyond the Indian Ocean long before the beginning of the Christian era.