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Malawi: Mankhamba
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Taken from: The Oxford Handbook of African Archaeology edited by Peter Mitchell, Paul Lane 2013
Excavations at Mankhamba suggest it was first occupied in the 13th century, but while it housed a major rain shrine, a more secular basis for the kalonga’s power came via involvement with Indian Ocean coast-directed trade. This is reflected in imported glass beads, Chinese porcelain, and other glazed ceramics, and in considerable evidence for the manufacture of ivory bangles and iron implements, both of which are known to have been significant exports (Juwayeyi 2010); spindle whorls substantiate historical evidence that cotton cloth was also valued by coastal traders (cf. Alpers 1975: 25). Connecting Mankhamba with the interior is evidence for local copper smelting, presumably using metal derived from the Copperbelt (Juwayeyi 2010).
Taken from: Archaeology and Oral Tradition in Malawi: Origins and Early History of the Chewa
Yusuf M. Juwayeyi 2020
P173
The transition period was between the twelfth century, when Namaso pottery phased out, and the fourteenth century, the earliest date available for Mawudzu pottery. This shows that the Chewa began to settle in central Malawi, Mankhamba and the remaining southern Lake Malawi area at some point during that transition period. There was some significant change, though, in the way of life of the people at Mankhamba during the fifteenth century, reflected in their use of glass beads from Asia. Some glass beads were also recovered by Davison at Namaso Bay in levels that were dated to the fifteenth century. These beads began to arrive in southern Africa during the first half of that century. The presence of the beads at Mankhamba suggests that the inhabitants of the site were already active players in long-distance trade by the fifteenth century. It was the secular leadership of the Maravi that coordinated long-distance trade. This evidence shows that the arrival of the Maravi at Mankhamba dates to at least the first half of the fifteenth century.