The Swahili: The Social Landscape of a Mercantile Society (Peoples of Africa)
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
The Swahili are one of the best known of the peoples of Africa. Living along the East African coast, they acted as commercial middlemen, exchanging the commodities of continental Africa, such as gold, copper, slaves, ivory, skins and timber with the luxury items of the classical, oriental and Islamic worlds. They were central participants in a global economy, long before the era of European expansion. This book is one of the first to draw on recent archaeological findings and a re-assessment of the historical and anthropological evidence to provide an account of this remarkable African civilization covering some two thousand years.This book is essential reading not only for Africanists, but also for those dealing with the history of Islam, Mediterranean history, and Indian Ocean studies, and for those who wish to understand how trading societies organize their landscape, society, governance and belief systems.
From the Author
Mark Horton is a Reader in Archaeology at the University of Bristol.
The Swahili: The Social Landscape of a Mercantile Society (Peoples of Africa)
The Swahili (Peoples of Africa),Mark Horton,John Middleton,Blackwell Publishing, Incorporated,063118919X,Africa - Central,Africa - General,Anthropology - Cultural,Commerce,East Africa - History,History,History - General History,History: World,Merchants,Social life and customs,Swahili Language,Swahili-speaking peoples,AFRICA, EAST_SOCIAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS,Black studies,Cultural studies,East Africa,History of specific racial & ethnic groups,MERCANTILE SYSTEM,MUSLIMS_AFRICA,Madagascar,Political Science / Economic Policy,kiSwahili (Swahili)
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