Archaeology Society of Staten IslandApril 2015: Dr. Chap Kusimba, Trade and Civilization in Medieval East Africa
April 19, 2015 at 3pm
Archaeological Institute of America Lecture
Dr. Chap Kusimba
Trade and Civilization in Medieval East Africa
Ongoing research on the East African coast has revised early models that proposed immigration as the primary catalyst of regional cultural transformations. Could bonds, pacts, treaties and alliances that bound cities to their hinterlands and merchants across the sea have served as the kernel upon which global connections, contributions, and complexity arose? Drawing on on-going research investigating Medieval East African port cities, this lecture will illustrate the roles of the individual merchant, the state and the technical conditions for land and sea transport in creating civilizations.
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