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Pottery Production, Iron Working, and Trade in the Early Iron Age: The case of Dakawa, east-central Tanzania

The remains of a Late Stone Age and Early Iron Age occupation site at Dakawa on the Wami River, Tanzania (fig. l ) , were investigated archaeologically between 1992 and 1993. A preliminary description of the site has been published previously in Amnia (Hiland 1994/5; see also Hiland 1993). In this paper, our main concern is to examine the possible position of Dakawa during the Early Iron Age (EM) in a broader context of production and exchange in East Africa. More specifically, the pottery recovered from the site, which lies roughly 200 km inland, is similar to material found at numerous, roughly contemporary sites along the coast. This latter material, referred to variously in the literature as ‘Wenje ware’, ‘kitchen ware’, ‘Tana Tradition’ and ‘Triangular Incised Ware’ has been dated to around 600-1000 AD, and is widely regarded as being diagnostic of early Swahili settlement (for a recent review, see Chami 1998). In this paper, we argue that the similarities between the Dakawa and coastal pottery relate to the emergence of a trading network between the coast and the hinterland. Dakawa is located in a favourable environment rich in resources. Iron ore and the extensive remains of iron smelting are found on the site. Judging from the material remains and the location of the site, it seems that it was important as a point of collection of inland products destined for the coast, such as iron, ivory, ebony, and perhaps slaves.