Niamara: um lugar central do século XV AD, nas terras altas de Manica, em Moçambique

Abstract

One of the areas of archaeological interest is the study of urban origins in Mozambique, which date back to the end of the first millennium AD. Niamara was an inland urban center located in the highlands of Manica province, with a building associated with the Zimbabwe-Khami Tradition complex, dating from the 15th 15th centuryAD. The aim of this study was to show how urbanization emerged in Niamara, highlighting the formation of the central place. The knowledge that proves urbanization in Niamara is conveyed, in this study, from two fundamental elements of analysis: the physical-geographical sources and the archeological evidence archeological evidence, for interpretations about the formation of the central place. This reading highlights the existence of a complex architecture of the walled wall made of shale stones and the dwellings of dhaka. These structures are generically classified as of the Zimbabwe-Khami tradition. However, the dhaka dwellings at Niamara are peculiar to this tradition However, the dhaka dwellings at Niamara are peculiar to this tradition in that, contrary to the common pattern, they also had walls made of shale stone. These structures are associated with a number of local and imported movable objects. imported objects. The analysis of imported objects, as exotic goods is crucial to understanding understanding of the form of their appropriation, for the strengthening of the power of the ruling class, through long-distance trade, whose route is still unclear. However, looking However, looking at the geographical environment there is the possibility that this route was the Pungué River, connecting the the interior in Manica, where Niamara is located, with the Bay of Sofala, on the Indian Ocean coast. The study shows that the Central Place in Niamara may have followed the linear pattern of urbanization.