Archaeological and Historical Reconstructions of the Foraging and Farming Communities of the Lower Zambezi : From the mid Holocene to the second Millennium AD

Abstract: In this thesis I combine new archaeological surveys and excavations together with the historical and ethnographic sources, to construct a long term settlement history and historical ecology of the lower Zambezi River valley and delta region, in Mozambique. The evidence presented indicates that people have settled in the area since the Late Stone Age, in total eight new archaeological sites have been located in archaeological surveys. Two sites have been excavated in the course of this thesis work, Lumbi and Sena, each representing different chronological phases. Lumbi has a continuous settlement from the Late Stone Age (LSA) to Early Farming Communities (EFC). In this thesis I suggest that Lumbi represents a phase of consolidation which resulted in the amalgamation of LSA communities into the EFC complex around the first centuries AD. Meanwhile, Sena has evidence of both EFC and Late Farming Community (LFC) occupation. The research in Sena provides new evidence of trade and trade networks from the mid second millennium AD and also of the Afro-Portuguese interactions. With these investigations, it is now possible to better understand an area which for a long time has been neglected. The lower Zambesi River valley and delta presents a vast cultural and archaeological heritage which needs conservation work and extended programs of research.