Editor
Augustin F. C. Holl
Department of Anthropology and Ethnology, School of Sociology and Anthropology, Africa Research Center, Belt and Road Research Institute, Xiamen University, Fujian, P. R. China.

ISBN 978-93-5547-847-4 (Print)
ISBN 978-93-5547-848-1 (eBook)
DOI: 10.9734/bpi/mono/978-93-5547-847-4

This book entitled ‘Studying Africa and Africans Today’ is derived from the Second Meeting of Xiamen University Belt and Road Research Institute Africa Regions Sub-Forum, that took place at Xiamen University in April 2019. The different contributions triggered vivid and interesting debates in a collegial and friendly atmosphere. The Africa sub-Forum debates lead to a series of suggestions on how to strengthen the scientific, academic and cultural collaboration and exchange between China and Africa in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative. The strongest recommendation suggests a stronger promotion of cultural, scientific, and academic collaboration and exchanges that will open the way to better mutual understanding. The study is an inter-disciplinary research initiative with focus on Africa and people of African descent worldwide.  Scholars from different parts of the world, Algeria, Brazil, China, France, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa, and the United States of America contributed to the debates and discussion that took place at Xiamen university.

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Contents


Studying Africa and Africans Today

Augustin F. C. Holl

Studying Africa and Africans Today, 2 September 2022, Page 1-9
https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/mono/978-93-5547-847-4/CH0

This book entitled ‘Studying Africa and Africans Today’ is derived from the Second Meeting of Xiamen University Belt and Road Research Institute Africa Regions Sub-Forum, that took place at Xiamen University in April 2019. The different contributions triggered vivid and interesting debates in a collegial and friendly atmosphere. The Africa sub-Forum debates lead to a series of suggestions on how to strengthen the scientific, academic and cultural collaboration and exchange between China and Africa in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative. The strongest recommendation suggests a stronger promotion of cultural, scientific, and academic collaboration and exchanges that will open the way to better mutual understanding. The study is an inter-disciplinary research initiative with focus on Africa and people of African descent worldwide.  Scholars from different parts of the world, Algeria, Brazil, China, France, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa, and the United States of America contributed to the debates and discussion that took place at Xiamen university.

Africans have some strange ideas about the Chinese. A Kenyan once asked a very interesting question to his Chinese friend, a news reporter of Xinhua News Agency. “Do you know why the Chinese football team have always failed in international games?” The Chinese answered no with puzzled expression. Then the Kenyan explained, “You Chinese football players all look alike and they change the players in the field so frequently that the international referee got very angry, therefore the Chinese team is doomed to failure (Gui Tao, 2012).

Ordinary Chinese are also very much ignorant about Africans. Madame Zhu, a Chinese lady, came back from morning market and heard something in the grass. She found it was a black baby and took him home. She thought the baby was so dirty with the black skin and tried to clean it yet without success. Madame Zhu was so afraid the baby was seriously ill that she rushed him to the hospital. The doctor made a check-up and said, “He is ok, his skin is black like that.” She named the child Junlong and raised him 18 years till he was enrolled by a university.

The two real stories tell us how little knowledge for both Africans and Chinese about their partners. It also indicates that to increase mutual understanding of each other is very important for strengthening China-Africa relations. This chapter deals with the emerging themes of African studies in China in the context of Belt & Road Initiative (BRI).

In recent years, with the convening of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2000 and the deepening of economic and trade relations between China and Africa, Chinese economic engagement in Africa has attracted greater attention from politicians, media and scholars in Western countries, and has been branded or characterized by "neo-colonialism" from time to time. It is impressive that the former U.S. secretary of state, Hillary Clinton had provoked discord in 2011 by warning Africans of Chinese "neo-colonialism." With the introduction and in-depth implementation of the “Belt and Road” Initiative, some Western media and politicians are more worried about China, trying to vilify and distort the "Belt and Road" initiative, rendering the assumption of the so-called "Chinese neo-colonialism" with color, and describing China-Africa economic cooperation as "neo-colonialism". For example, on December 30, 2014, CNBC criticized Chinese investment in Africa through raising colonialism questions. The English version of the New York Times put forward similar questions on May 1, 2017 when reporting Chinese investment in Africa, these were, "is China the world's new colonial power?" and "is China presenting a new model of development to the world”, or is the "Belt and Road" itself a new type of colonialism?" Even more alarming was the statement "China in Africa: neo-colonialism?" which was the subject of a hearing before a subcommittee of the United States Senate in 2018. Further, the New African Strategy of the United States used the phrase "predatory" practice while blaming China, but in essence, it is only another expression of "neo-colonialism". It is very visible that criticism from the western countries on Chinese "neo-colonialism" became regular after the "Belt and Road" initiative was proposed in 2013. Under the propaganda of Chinese "neo-colonialism", even exceptional officials from African countries echo this argument, and the writings of some scholars portray China as a greedy resource grabber who came to Africa without bringing economic growth opportunities to Africa.

The fallacy that China's economic engagement in Africa is "neo-colonialism” will not only bring about the loss of Chinese image, and cast a shadow over China-Africa political relations, it will also bring obstacles to trade and investment between China and Africa, and thus ultimately affect the development of Africa. At present, "Chinese investments in Africa are becoming the target of hostile propaganda and are suffering attacks". Therefore, it is of theoretical and practical significance to examine the nature of Chinese economic engagement in Africa. This topic cannot be circumvented when studying the economic cooperation between China and Africa, however there is little research on this theoretical issue from a legal perspective.

The term “neo-colonialism” is used primarily to describe situations in which the former colonies are politically independent but their economies are still under the control and exploitation of the former suzerains. As is well known, modern China   became a semi-feudal and semi-colonial country, and suffered from aggression, oppression and exploitation by the imperialist powers. The new China has effectively co-operated with the vast number of developing countries, especially African countries to oppose colonialism in all forms resolutely after the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Obviously, the accusation of "neo-colonialism" against Chinese economic engagement in Africa has no historical and realistic basis, and is an attempt of shitting the blame. In view of this, based on discussing the development of anti-colonialism and anti-neo-colonialism international law, this paper establishes that Chinese economic engagement in Africa is an innovative practice of anti-neo-colonialism international law, and then discusses the direction of international rule of law under the concept of Sino-Africa Community of Shared Future.

The oceans represent seventy-one percent of the earth’s surface. There are plenty of resources in the coastal and oceanic environment, and which is the potential “new fuel” for the future economy growth in the coastal nations. The international organizations such as the FAO, OCED, World Bank as well as some NGOs interested to push forward the marine nations to accelerate marine economy development. In recent decade, the marine economy or blue economy is the highlighting field interested by the public, the government and the researchers.
In 2010, a famous book titled of The blue economy: 10 years, 100 innovations, 100 million jobs highlighted the concerns on the blue economy throughout the world (Pauli, 2010). Africa is a huge continent with long coastline. Development is the key task for the governments of African countries. To find the new sector of economic growth will accelerate the GDP increase and job position enlargement. In the year of 2015, the Agenda 2063 what we want popular version published by African Union, the marine economy/blue economy was regarded as the new engine for African economy growth in the future (AU, 2015).
In Africa continent, thirty-eight of the fifty-four countries are coastal states with more than 90 percent of Africa’s imports and exports transported by sea. Marine space under Africa’s jurisdiction totalled about 13 million square kilometers. Marine fishery makes a vital contribution to the food security and nutrition supply for over 200 million Africans in coastal states. If fully exploited and well managed, Africa’s blue economy can therefore constitute a major source of wealth and sustainable development for the whole continent. The Blue Economy Policy Handbook for Africa produced by ECAs sub-regional Office in East Africa in 2015, was a contribution to helping the African coastal nations benefit from what the African Union call the "New Frontier of African Renaissance".
No doubt that the blue economy is the strategic sector for economic development in the future. Not only the Africans, but also many researchers and international organizations warmly welcome the coming of the era of blue economy. Recently, some important conference and forum focusing on African blue economy were held at Nairobi and London in the year of 2018.
The Sustainable Blue Economy Conference, held at Nairobi from 26th to 28th November 2018, was the first global conference on the sustainable blue economy and more than 18,000 participants from around the world are coming together to learn how to build a blue economy1. The ABEF 2018 (African Blue Economy Forum) held at London and many researchers, journalists, CEOs of international enterprises, officials of small island countries as well as the managers of NGOs participated to the forum2. The ABEF 2018 was the first ever forum on Africa blue economy. On 18 September 2018, the Economic Commission for Africa was fully committed to supporting the African Union, Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and member States to ensure that the untapped potentials of the continent’s blue economy are fully realized during the meeting of 24th Intergovernmental Committee of Experts (ICE) of Southern Africa on the theme of Blue Economy, Inclusive Industrialization and Economic Development in Southern Africa. The potentials of the blue economy development will benefit the industrial growth and economic development in South African states.
In this paper, the author is an expert on coastal ocean sciences, and familiar with the blue economy in China. From a Chinese personal perspective, the author generally reviewed the marine resources and the potentials of the blue economy in Africa. Following the discussion on the challenges of blue economy development in Africa and providing some suggestions on the multilateral cooperation for Africa’s blue economy development in the future. The China’s role in African blue economy was also discussed.

Thanks to the rising of China as a global player, the geography of reason is changing. This meteoric transformation is affecting the great figures of the Chinese science and philosophy. One of these reemerging personalities hitherto neglected is the antic philosopher Confucius (….) The interest in Confucius is justified by the massive mobilization of his philosophical heritage by the Chinese leadership in order to give a solid theoretical base to its acceptance of a new globalization governed by the principles of harmony, mutual understanding, reciprocal interest, friendship, cooperation and peaceful development. In parallel with this evolution, since three or four decades the global scientific consciousness experimented fundamental shifts in favor of the de-centration of the epistemological thought. The criticism of eurocentrism opened the windows to alternative models of truth, mainly the discourses from ex-colonies. So was born the “postmodernist” concept of “Southern epistemologies’’. Meanwhile, the challenge of the liberation of Africa imposed the rediscovering of the ancient African cultural and intellectual tradition. Under the framework of the South-South cooperation, Africa and China engaged a new dialogue. What could be the philosophical foundations of the China-Africa cooperation? How can the two cultural worlds converse peacefully? Concretely, in what terms Confucius can be confronted to the abstractive thought of black Africa whether in philosophy, cosmogony, science, morality, ethics or politics? What theoretical principles can come out from this debate and how can each vision enrich the other? From the analysis of some African texts of Ancient Egypt, medieval and traditional Africa, our aim is to think philosophically the possibility of a Community with Shared Future between China and Africa.

The paper presents a brief reflection on two moments in Brazil’s history (1960 and 2003). Moments in which Africa entered in the national political agenda strictly in terms of economic interests of the Brazilian business community. However, the predominant discourse in both periods was about the "brother peoples" synthesized in the phrase: "a rediscovery of Africa and a reunion of Brazil with its roots".
The difference between the two periods is precisely that the rediscovery and re-encounter with Africa, at present, is a historical construction of the Brazilian Black Movement, anchored on the General History of Africa as a foundational theme. What the new regime is trying to deconstruct when attacking Affirmative Action for Blacks is the kind of solidarity triggered by the re-encounter with the part of Afro-Brazilian history still denied today in the Brazilian educational system curricula.

Africa is endowed with diverse and rich cultural and natural heritage. From snowcapped mountains, great rivers, tropical forests and savannas, hominid sites, rock art, modern architecture and townscapes, memory of slavery and colonial heritage to cultural landscapes and sacred sites, Africa is a continent of plenty. With a long history of interaction including with the other parts of world, the continent is also rich in intangible heritage, including hundreds of languages, music, dance, traditions and rituals unique to it.
With its rich natural resources including gas and oil, forest products and minerals, the changing lifestyles and global interaction including through social media the protection of some of these rich heritages, tangible and intangible and including some world heritage have become a challenge as conflicting interests occur on the landscape and within the various communities. This is more so as governments try to balance benefits of conservation and development with the two often seen as in conflict.
This chapter looks at some of the rich African’s heritage, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, their potentials as well as the challenges faced (Abungu 1994, 1998, 2004, 2005). It interrogates the notion of inherent conflicts between heritage management and development in Africa with a view towards reaching a middle ground of win-win situation. This topic is relevant to China as the country is one of the largest investors in the African continent and would obviously prefer to see developments that do not negatively impact on the cultural heritage of Africa. To the contrary, one would envisage it promoting developments that enhance existing rich cultural and natural heritage, something that at theoretical level has already been demonstrated by China sponsoring international conferences on heritage and development in Africa.

The Museum of Black Civilizations is above all the expression of a need specific to a specific and precise historical context. Its origin is rooted in the emergence of Negritude movement confronted with the Western denial of Black Civilizations legacies, technologies and cultural histories., Faced with theoretical constructs that defined humans experiences through “soon to be obsolete” racial categories in the early twentieth century, Black activists and intellectuals initiated common transcontinental strategies shaped through series of pan-African meetings. They include the Pan-African Conference in London (23-25 July 1900), the Pan-African Congress in Manchester (15-21 October 1945) and the Accra Conference (15-22 April 1958). In addition to these politically charged demonstrations against inequality, the two Congresses of Black Writers and Artists (Paris 1956 and Rome 1959) mark the birth of discourses that add a cultural and artistic dimension to these already global dynamics.

Over the past half century, our understanding of development has shifted from economic growth to economic viable, social equitable, and environmental bearable, so-called “sustainable development”. The United Nations (UN) has launched 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) by 2030 (UN 2015), three of which relate to sustainable tourism. The latter is not a new category of tourism but a new ethic to guide tourism. World Heritage, including Cultural Heritage, Natural Heritage, and Mixed Heritage, especially Cultural and Mixed heritage properties, link closely with local communities’ development and become tourist attractions with physical stability, historical continuity, archeological authenticity or aesthetic harmony. Cultural Heritage begins with capital letters in this paper indicating it as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage.
The chapter introduces: 1) - an overview of Africa’s Cultural Heritage; 2) - explains why Africa’s Cultural Heritage is significant for sustainable development from a theoretical perspective, based on relevant UN documents; 3) – highlights the challenges faced by all stakeholders: African governments, local communities, tourist agencies, national and international visitors, etc., on how to enhance the value of Africa’s Cultural Heritage through tourism; 4) - analyzes potential value of Africa’s Cultural Heritage, as a driver and resource for sustainable development; and finally, 5) – concludes with the economic, social, and environmental value of Cultural Heritage in African sustainable development.

The 1100-kilometre long Caucasus mountain ranges extend between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, bounded by the rivers Kuban and Terek in the north and Kura and Araxes rivers in the south (Fig. 9.1). The rich archaeological record suggests extensive human occupation since the Upper Palaeolithic (Adler DS, et al., 2014, Pinhasi R, et al., 2013, Lordkipanidze D, et al., 2013). A Neolithic lifestyle based on food production began in the Caucasus after 6000 calBCE (Helwing B, et al., 2017). As a region rich in natural resources such as ores, pastures and timber, the Caucasus gained increasing importance to the economies of the growing urban centers in northern Mesopotamia (Kohl P, Trifonov V., 2014 and Stein GJ 2012). The 4th millennium BCE archaeological record points to the presence of the Maykop and Kura-Araxes Bronze Age (BA) cultural complexes in the region (Fig. 9.1, Supplementary Note 1). The Maykop culture is well known for its large and rich burial mounds, especially at the eponymous Maykop site in today’s Adygea. They reflect emergence of a new system of social organization (Kohl P., 2007), while the Kura-Araxes is found on both flanks of the Caucasus mountain range, attesting to a connection between north and south (Kohl P, Trifonov V., 2014).

Genetics and genomics are increasingly employed in studies which construct chronological narratives treated as a form of history, or used to comment on the ancestry of living groups which is then viewed in some historical fashion which might sometimes be viewed as “origins” a term with various possible meanings and problems (Bloch 1953). Ancient DNA has also been deployed in such situations despite poor (and inadequate) sample sizes in general, and gain their greatest legitimacy when species level i.e. macro-evolutionary questions are being examined. Here the major concern involves questions about human populations for which there is some notion of identity, if only geographical, and in general there will be no further mention of human evolutionary history in the usual sense. Many studies on Holocene populations have been carried out. The data for such work in the past were often and still are in some situations morphological and morphometric observations, which can still be useful given that ancient DNA (aDNA) work is in its infancy. Molecular studies include understanding the phylogeny of genetic variants or lineages themselves versus a concern with the populations in which they are found.

Human evolution is narrowly linked with technical evolution since the very beginning. For decades it was commonly assumed that from a new hominin species came new cognitive abilities, leading to technological innovation. This hypothesis is no longer sustainable nowadays, seeing the large amount of new archaeological evidence. Besides attributing one culture for one species, the question of hominin dispersals out of the African continent is also largely debated.
Although it is still difficult to establish a clear scenario for hominin dispersals in the Old world, we can now propose several models for explaining the question of technical emergence and technological evolution. Here we discuss the question of technical convergence and multiple technical histories, by crossing the archaeological evidence from the Early Stone Age throughout East Africa, Mediterranean Europe and Eastern Asia, the geographic areas where Oldowan lithic assemblages are common.
Lithic assemblages, taken as a whole system containing stone tools, knapping techniques and their evolution are an important matter to understand local technical evolution. This evolution is ruled by many factors, such as environment adaptations (climate variability, raw material availability and access), technical traditions, that can be seen as a co-evolution with hominin species and populations.

During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) which falls into the MIS2 Isotope Stage, the archaeological record in Northwestern Africa has known a global tendency toward microlithisation as was the case for the other Mediterranean technocomplexes such as Upper Paleolithic of Europe (Strauss 2001), Late Paleolithic of Egypt (Leplongeon 2017) and Early Epipaleolihic of the Levant (Belfer-Cohen and Goring-Morris 2002). In Northeastern Africa, a number of microlithic industries which are attested by the presence of small chipped stone artefacts on diminutive blanks such as Kubbanian and Fakhurian appeared in the Nile Valley and Nubia just before the Last Glacial Maximum around 21 ka BP. These regional variants are characterized by the profusion of backed bladelets notably with Ouchtata retouch, as well as the microburin blow technique used for shaping geometric microliths. The climatic improvement between 16 ka BP and 10 ka BP lead to the appearance of other microlithic industries such as Sébekien, Silsilien and Afian which have witnessed the emergence of a wide exploitation of natural resources in particular wild cereals (Close and Wendorf 1986). Human occupations are characterized by seasonal base-camps related to fishing and mammal hunting activities such as auroch, hartebeest, dorcas gazelle, hare and hippopotamus (Vermeerch and Van Neer 2015). The sites were probably seasonally occupied by groups that already had a territorial and social organization as evidenced by the presence of two large cemeteries dated between 12 ka BP and 10 ka BP at Djebel Sahaba in Nubia.
In Northwestern Africa, Late Pleistocene industries are also denoted by their tendency toward microlithisation and include Iberomaurusian of the Maghreb (Pallary 1909), Southern Tunisian bladelets of Tunisia (Gragueb 1983) and Eastern Oranian of Cyrenaica (Mc Burney 1967); this last seems to be deeply related to the Dabban and might strongly result from a local development (Lucarini and Mutri 2014). Whilst the Dabban is a peculiar tradition of Cyrenaica, the definition of Eastern Oranian has been used to indicate Pleistocene culture found in Cyrenaica (Mc Burney 1967), with clear reference to the Iberomaurusian (Western Oranian). Both Iberomaurusian and Eastern Oranian were concentrated at the coastal zone of the Maghreb and Cyrenaica in the period between 25 ka and 12 ka cal BP (e.g. Barich et al. 2006; Barker et al. 2012; Linstädter et al 2012; Barton et al. 2013; Douka et al., 2014), while Southern Tunisian bladelets technology has proliferated in Southern boundaries of Tunisia (Vernet and Aumassip, 1998).
This chapter focuses on the role of Late Pleistocene societies in Northwestern Africa (Maghreb) labelled Iberomaurusian. It examines the implications of the adoption of microlithic technologies in adaptive adjustment to changing environmental conditions and the socio-ecological transformations that took place during the Late Glacial Maximum and the Late Glacial.

The Senegambian megaliths zone is located in the westernmost part of West Africa, in Senegal and the Gambia. The river Gambia and Saloum 120 to 150 km apart mark its southern and northern boundaries (Fig. 13.1). It is stretched on 250 km west-east, approximately from the cities of Kaolack to Tambacounda (Gallay 2006, Gallay et al 1982, Holl & Bocoum 2006, 2013, 2017, Holl et al 2007, Martin & Becker 1984, Thilmans et al 1980). The area measures some 33,000 square kilometers with megalithic monuments concentrated along water courses. They attracted scholarly interest as early as the mid-19th century, with sustained research efforts from the Colonial period (Duchemin 1904, Jouenne 1930) to the present (Thilmans et al 1980, Gallay et al 1982, Gallay 2006, Gallay and Laporte 2013).

How and what ways might one view technological invention, innovation, transfer, and impact of metallurgy on ancient and modern African culture and the environment? The discoveries of early copper and bronze working sites in Niger and the Central Africa has strengthened the hypothesis that knowledge of iron working independently evolved in that region and spread to other regions of Africa. The 1200 BC date for the making and use of iron Central Africa weakens the once popular notion that iron and copper working spread in conjunction with the Bantu migration. The production of carbon steel in northwest Tanzania during the first century AD and crucible steel on the Kenya coast around AD 700 provide significant evidence for technological innovation by African practitioners. What is the relationship between technological innovation and the emergence of socially complex societies? Regional scholarship posits that elite control of internal and external trade infrastructure, investment in extractive technologies, restricted access to arable land and accumulation of surplus, manipulation of religious ideology, and exploitation of ecological crises were among the major factors that contributed to the rise of the state. To what extend did elite investment and monopolization of trade, technology, and other wealth-creating resources coalesce to propel the region towards greater interaction, complexity. Major transformations in the form and increase household size, clear differences in wealth, and inequality? It appears that opportunistic use of ideological and ritual power enabled a small elite initially composed of elders, ritual and technical specialists to control the regional political economy and information flows. The timing of these transformations was continent-wide and date to the last three centuries of the first millennium AD. My chapter evaluates the emerging evidence from Eastern and Southern Africa to assess the role of technological invention, innovation, transfer on the evolution and sustenance of socially complex chiefdoms and states. 

Without doubt, in the 21st century, China eclipsed the West to become the African continent’s biggest trading partner. What however, is the antiquity and deep history of Sino-African trade and exchange relationships? Archaeological and historical evidence suggests that regions such as East Africa had over one thousand years of direct and indirect interaction with China (Casson 1989; Chaudhuri 1990; Chami 1998; La Violette 2008; Fleisher 2010; Kusimba 2016). Therefore, contrary to popular narratives in western historiography, China had been to Africa before Vasco da Gama. What is less emphasised in Eurocentric versions of the past is that between 1405 and 1433 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in Imperial China, Zheng He conducted imperial adventures that landed him in East Africa some time before Vasco da Gama (Abraham 2015; Dashu 2018; Kusimba 2018; Levathes 2014). In 1418 Zheng He commanded a giant fleet of more than 62 ships ferrying 37,000 soldiers across the Indian Ocean (Abraham 2015; Levathes 2014). Even before Zheng, historical evidence suggests that multi-directional contact had taken place between the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, the Persian Gulf, Egypt, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and various communities on the East African coast and the Indian Ocean Islands (Casson 1989; Chaudhuri 1985; Crowther et al. 2014; Hawley 2008). This set-in motion an earlier form of globalisation pivoted on the Indian Ocean rim, and where Europe featured little (Chirikure 2014, 2019).
Consequently, pivoting the center of global history on Europe, as was previously the case is not only inappropriate but has stunted the flourishing of research into the deep history of connections that predate the dominance of Europe in other parts of the world. Not surprisingly, the last two or so decades have witnessed increased and successful attempts to re-write global history, away from a Eurocentric point of view to one that acknowledges the contribution of others, particularly those referred to as ‘people without history’ - the Indian Ocean rim region included (Wolf 1982; Scott 2009). As such, the continual growth in strength of Indian Ocean studies in Africa (e.g. Chittick 1974; Horton 1996; Kusimba 1994; 2016, 2018; Pwiti 2005; La Violette 2008), when examined using local lenses, in various participating regions offers nuanced histories that show globalization with Europe in the periphery. In fact, African connections with Europe (southwards of Angola) only started much later during the buildup to the Portuguese ‘voyages of discoveries’ to India.
Recent work drawing from archaeology, archaeometry, linguistics and history continues to expose the deep history of connections between various areas within the Indian Ocean rim (Fleisher 2003; Crowther et al. 2014; Kusimba 2018). African plants, crops, and commodities ended up at different points in time in Asia, and vice versa. While the mechanics of the early history of circulations of ideas and commodities and nested biological exchanges are still being explored, from AD 700 onwards, historians and archaeologists have recorded intensified exchange relationships between the interior of southern Africa and the Swahili coast (eastern Africa) on the one hand and the wider Indian Ocean rim on the other (Curtin 1984; Chaudhuri 1985; Pwiti 2005; La Violette 2008). The Swahili coast stretches for nearly 3000 km from Mozambique in the south all the way up north, via Tanzania and Kenya to Somalia (Horton 1996; Chami 1998; Fleisher and La Violette 2005). Included in this space are the Indian Islands of Comoro and parts of Madagascar (Kusimba 2016). This coast was strategic space in the inter-continental Indian Ocean based maritime exchange in which commodities from hinterland southern Africa such as gold, iron, bark cloth, ivory, and slaves alongside those from the coast such as mangroves were traded and exchanged in return for cloth, glass beads, ceramics and among others incense (Pikirayi 2001, Fleisher and Wynie-Jones 2012; La Violette 2008). Within southern Africa, communities based at places such as Great Zimbabwe, Mapungubwe, Mapela, Bosutswe, Manyikeni and many others interacted and circulated commodities indirectly or directly with those at ports such as Chibuene, Sofala and Kilwa (Pwiti 2005; Sinclair et al. 2012; Chirikure 2014). Along the coast, the Swahili took advantage of predictable monsoon winds to have wider circulations of people, commodities and ideas linking Arabia, the Indian subcontinent, parts of Asia such as China and Africa (Chaudhuri 1990; Kusimba et al. 2013).
While there is a general acceptance of the antiquity and deep history of the Indian Ocean based circulations system, the unanswered question still revolves around the antiquity and nature of southern Africa-China interactions. As a follow on, what was the nature of the connection and trade and exchange relationship? Was it direct or indirect? Within a framework availed by archaeological, archaeometric and historical evidence, this paper seeks to provide answers to these and other questions.