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Mapping the Archaeology of Somaliland: Religion, Art, Script, Time, Urbanism, Trade and Empire

Mapping the Archaeology of Somaliland: Religion, Art, Script, Time, Urbanism, Trade and Empire This paper presents the results of some of the surveys conducted to map archaeological sites of Somaliland and includes almost 100 new and previously unpublished sites. The survey work was conducted by several of Somaliland’s Department of Archaeology staff, including Mohamed Ali Abdi, a Departmental survey officer, and the present author. This report is an archaeological testimony to the social complexity and cultural diversity of this region as a cultural crossroads for millennia, being strategically located on the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. However, the maps by no means exhaust the number of archaeological sites known to us in Somaliland. The region had vast Cushitic, pre-Christian and pre-Islamic Empires that at times formed part of the Himyarite and Sabaean cultures of Southern Arabia, the Aksumite Empire and early Islamic Empires of the Horn of Africa. The coastal populations were active seafarers according to Greek records as well as archaeological remains, linking to the Phoenician and Graeco-Roman worlds. They also formed part of an early global economy including the Silk Road. Islamic Empires of the Horn of Africa show an enormous wealth of long-distance trade—including material from Tang Dynasty to Ming Dynasty China—and the magnitude of some of their capitals such as the ruined town and burials of Aw-Barkhadle. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png African Archaeological Review Springer Journals

Mapping the Archaeology of Somaliland: Religion, Art, Script, Time, Urbanism, Trade and Empire

African Archaeological Review , Volume 32 (1) – Apr 14, 2015

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References (35)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © 2015 by The Author(s)
Subject
Social Sciences, general; Archaeology; Anthropology; Regional and Cultural Studies
ISSN
0263-0338
eISSN
1572-9842
DOI
10.1007/s10437-015-9184-9
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This paper presents the results of some of the surveys conducted to map archaeological sites of Somaliland and includes almost 100 new and previously unpublished sites. The survey work was conducted by several of Somaliland’s Department of Archaeology staff, including Mohamed Ali Abdi, a Departmental survey officer, and the present author. This report is an archaeological testimony to the social complexity and cultural diversity of this region as a cultural crossroads for millennia, being strategically located on the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. However, the maps by no means exhaust the number of archaeological sites known to us in Somaliland. The region had vast Cushitic, pre-Christian and pre-Islamic Empires that at times formed part of the Himyarite and Sabaean cultures of Southern Arabia, the Aksumite Empire and early Islamic Empires of the Horn of Africa. The coastal populations were active seafarers according to Greek records as well as archaeological remains, linking to the Phoenician and Graeco-Roman worlds. They also formed part of an early global economy including the Silk Road. Islamic Empires of the Horn of Africa show an enormous wealth of long-distance trade—including material from Tang Dynasty to Ming Dynasty China—and the magnitude of some of their capitals such as the ruined town and burials of Aw-Barkhadle.

Journal

African Archaeological ReviewSpringer Journals

Published: Apr 14, 2015

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