First archaeological excavations along the Atlantic Ocean coastline of the Democratic Republic of Congo: the Iron Age sites at Muanda
Clist, B.; Béarez, P.; Mougne, C.; Lesur, J.; Hubau, W.; Bostoen, K. (2023). First archaeological excavations along the Atlantic Ocean coastline of the Democratic Republic of Congo: the Iron Age sites at Muanda. African Archaeological Review 40(4): 711-739. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10437-023-09535-8
In: African Archaeological Review. Springer: New York. ISSN 0263-0338, more
|  |
| Authors | | Top |
- Clist, B.
- Béarez, P.
- Mougne, C.
|
- Lesur, J.
- Hubau, W., more
- Bostoen, K., more
|
|
| Abstract |
This article reports on new archaeological data obtained in 2018 from the coastal region of the Kongo Central province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The area’s ancient history is virtually unknown but is potentially of paramount importance in the context of the development of early village communities in Central Africa. The article focuses on the Muanda 6 site, dated to ⁓ 1400 BP, and offers a multidisciplinary analysis of the finds uncovered there. The site’s pottery is associated with shell and stone beads, ironworking remains, a stone quern, and biological remains testifying to a mixed subsistence system that took advantage of the region’s ecological diversity. The Early Iron Age occupants of Muanda 6 practiced ocean and mangrove fishing, gathered beach and mangrove gastropods and bivalves, hunted, and exploited oil palms. The article also discusses the Muanda 13 site, which is more recent (⁓ 1100 BP), and the results of the profile sampling at the Katala village. Both Muanda 6 and Muanda 13 yielded different ceramic types. Other pottery styles, surface collected between the Congo River and the Angolan province of Cabinda and probably of more recent date, are briefly described. The results provide new perspectives about the Iron Age in the DRC, providing further evidence of the cultural diversity in the Lower Congo region and an outline of the cultural sequence along the Atlantic Ocean coast. |
|
