Stephanie Wynne-Jones

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Stephanie Wynne-Jones is an Africanist archaeologist, whose research focuses on East African material culture, society and urbanism. She is Professor and Deputy Head of the Department of Archaeology at the University of York. [1] She previously worked as assistant director of the British Institute in Eastern Africa (2005-2008) and remains a Trustee and Member of the BIEA Governing Council. [2] In 2016, Wynne-Jones was elected to Fellowship of the Society of Antiquaries of London. [3] Wynne-Jones is one of the Core Group at the Danish National Research Foundation Centre of Excellence in Urban Network Evolutions (Urbnet), Aarhus University. Between 2015 and 2017 she was a Pro Futura Scientia Fellow at the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study, Uppsala. [4]

Contents

Research

Wynne-Jones' research has explored the medieval history of eastern Africa, with a focus on the Swahili coast and the caravan trade that connected it with the African interior. [5] She has directed a series of projects across east Africa, including at Kilwa Kisiwani in southern Tanzania, at Vumba Kuu on the Kenya coast, on Mafia Island, at Ujiji by Lake Tanganyika and on Zanzibar. [6] Her 2016 monograph draws on these multiple research projects to develop the idea of a distinctive system of value and engagement with material culture to be found on the precolonial Swahili coast. [7] She is joint editor with Adria LaViolette of The Swahili World. [8]

She is part of a network that have been exploring the Global Middle Ages and has co-written a response to Gordon Childe's seminal article What Happened in History? [9] Her current[ when? ] research project examines the urban ecology of early settlement on Zanzibar. [10] Wynne-Jones research also focuses on archaeological theory - exploring social complexity by challenging the idea unilineal social progress through archaeology. [11]

Excavation

Wynne-Jones has directed excavations at multiple sites across eastern Africa. These include:

Objects and materials

Wynne-Jones has a particular interest in objects and materials and has published extensively on the ways that people interacted with material culture in the African past. She has published on the role of money and the ways that coinage was part of a wider set of objects that held value through the ways people interacted with them. [18] Together with Jeffrey Fleisher she has explored the ceramic dataset of the Early Tana tradition. [19] With Jason Hawkes, she has explored the lapidary trade in the east African coast and suggested that connections with India began in the first millennium AD. [20]

Co-production

Wynne-Jones was Principal Investigator for CONCH (Co-Production Networks for Community Heritage in Tanzania). This project explored the built environment of the Swahili coast to further understanding of the area's past, both locally and globally. [21] She is lead on community production and material culture for Rising From the Depths, an AHRC-funded project exploring the potential for tourism through maritime heritage on the east African coast. [22] [23] She has advocated for greater depth in understanding of how coastal communities interact with sites and objects relating to their heritage. [24]

Education

Wynne-Jones was awarded a PhD by the University of Cambridge in 2005, for a thesis exploring the settlement of the Kilwa region during the period of urbanisation at Kilwa Kisiwani. [25] Her BA(Hons) in Archaeology was from the University of Bristol (1995-1998), followed by an MPhil in African Archaeology at the University of Cambridge. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zanzibar</span> Autonomous part of Tanzania

Zanzibar is an insular semi-autonomous region which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, 25–50 km (16–31 mi) off the coast of the African mainland, and consists of many small islands and two large ones: Unguja and Pemba Island. The capital is Zanzibar City, located on the island of Unguja. Its historic centre, Stone Town, is a World Heritage Site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pemba Island</span> Tanzanian island of the Zanzibar Archipelago

Pemba Island is a Tanzanian island forming part of the Zanzibar Archipelago, lying within the Swahili Coast in the Indian Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stone Town</span> Town in Zanzibar, Tanzania

Stonetown of Zanzibar, also known as Mji Mkongwe, is the old part of Zanzibar City, the main city of Zanzibar, in Tanzania. The newer portion of the city is known as Ng'ambo, Swahili for 'the other side'. Stone Town is located on the western coast of Unguja, the main island of the Zanzibar Archipelago. Former capital of the Zanzibar Sultanate, and flourishing centre of the spice trade as well as the Indian Ocean slave trade in the 19th century, it retained its importance as the main city of Zanzibar during the period of the British protectorate. When Tanganyika and Zanzibar joined each other to form the United Republic of Tanzania, Zanzibar kept a semi-autonomous status, with Stone Town as its local government seat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kilwa Kisiwani</span> Island, hamlet and an archaeological Swahili city-state site of Lindi Region, Tanzania.

Kilwa Kisiwani is an island, national historic site, and hamlet community located in the township of Kilwa Masoko, the district seat of Kilwa District in the Tanzanian region of Lindi Region in southern Tanzania. Kilwa Kisiwani is the largest of the nine hamlets in the town Kilwa Masoko and is also the least populated hamlet in the township with fewer than 1,000 residents.

The Swahili people comprise mainly Bantu, Afro-Arab and Comorian ethnic groups inhabiting the Swahili coast, an area encompassing the Zanzibar archipelago and mainland Tanzania's seaboard, littoral Kenya, northern Mozambique, the Comoros Islands and Northwest Madagascar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zanj</span> Name used by medieval Muslim geographers to refer to a portion of Southeast Africa

Zanj was a name used by medieval Muslim geographers to refer to both a certain portion of Southeast Africa and to its Bantu inhabitants. This word is also the origin of the place-names Zanzibar and the Sea of Zanj.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kilwa District, Lindi</span> District of Lindi Region, Tanzania

Kilwa District is one of six administrative districts of Lindi Region in Tanzania. The District covers an area of 15,000 km2 (5,800 sq mi). The district is comparable in size to the land area of the nation state of East Timor. Kilwa district is bordered to the north by Rufiji District in Pwani Region, to the east by the Indian Ocean, to the south by the Lindi District, Nachingwea District together with Ruangwa District, and to the west by the Liwale District. The district borders every other district in Lindi Region except Lindi Municipal District. The district seat (capital) is the town of Kilwa Masoko. The district is named after the medieval Swahili city state of Kilwa Kisiwani. According to the 2012 census, the district has a total population of 190,744.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swahili architecture</span> Building traditions of the eastern and southeastern coasts of Africa

Swahili architecture is a term used to designate a whole range of diverse building traditions practiced or once practiced along the eastern and southeastern coasts of Africa. Rather than simple derivatives of Islamic architecture from the Arabic world, Swahili stone architecture is a distinct local product as a result of evolving social and religious traditions, environmental changes, and urban development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shirazi era</span>

The "Shirazi era" refers to a mythic origin in the history of Southeast Africa, between the 13th century and 15th century, as recorded in the 15th century Kilwa Chronicle. Many Swahili in the central coastal region claim that their towns were founded by Persians from the Shiraz region in the 13th century.

Unguja Ukuu is a historic Swahili settlement on Unguja island, in Zanzibar, Tanzania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tana ware</span>

Tana ware refers to a type of prehistoric pottery prominent in East Africa that features a variety of designs, including triangular incised lines and single rows of dots. The presence of this pottery is largely regarded as one of the best indicators for early Swahili settlement. This pottery tradition falls chronologically during the Iron Age in East Africa, during the late first millennium AD and spanning several hundred years. The name Tana ware was given because the early discoveries of these types of pottery were along the Tana River in present day Kenya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Songo Mnara</span> World Heritage Site in Tanzania

Songo Mnara is a historic Swahiili settlement in located on Songo Mnara Island in Pande Mikoma, Kilwa District in Lindi Region of Tanzania. The island is home to a Medieval Swahili stone town. The stone town was occupied from the 14th to 16th centuries. Songo Mnara has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with nearby stone town Kilwa Kisiwani. In total, archaeologists have found six mosques, four cemeteries, and two dozen house blocks along with three enclosed open spaces on the island. Songo Mnara was constructed from rough-coral and mortar. This stonetown was built as one of many trade towns on the Indian Ocean. The site is a registered National Historic Site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maritime archaeology of East Africa</span>

Maritime archaeology in East Africa spans the range from the horn of Somalia south to Mozambique, and includes the various islands and island chains dotting the map off the coast of Somalia, Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya. Primary areas along this coast include the Zanzibar, Lamu, and Kilwa Archipelagos. Although East African societies developed nautical capabilities for themselves, most of the maritime artifacts point to external merchants from Mediterranean cultures like Egypt and Greece, Indian and Chinese from South and East Asia in the early stages, to the great European powers during the Ages of Colonization and Imperialism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archaeology of Pemba Island</span>

Pemba Island is a large coral island off the coast of Tanzania. Inhabited by Bantu settlers from the Tanga coast since 600 AD, the island has a rich trading, agricultural, and religious history that has contributed to the studies of the Swahili Coast trade throughout the Indian Ocean.

Adria Jean LaViolette is an American archaeologist at the University of Virginia. She is a specialist in Swahili archaeology and is the joint editor of The Swahili World.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kuumbi Cave</span> National Historic Site of Tanzania

Kuumbi Cave is an archaeological site located in Kusini District, Unguja South Region of Tanzania. It has been important in determining patterns of human occupation since its formation over 20,000 years ago. Unusual lithic and ceramic finds dated within the last 2,000 years make Kuumbi Cave a unique site. Its name in Swahili, Pango la Kuumbi, translates to "Cave of Creation".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Historic Sites of Tanzania</span> List of National Heritage Sites of Tanzania

National Historic Sites of Tanzania is an official list of places in Tanzania that have been designated as National Historic Sites as per the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism of Tanzania under the Antiquities Division. The list is not complete and is currently being updated.

Mtambwe Kuu or Mtambwe Mkuu is a Medieval Swahili historic site located in Chake Chake District of Pemba North Region. A town wall, a mosque, tombs, and residences are among the several stone constructions at the Mtambwe Mkuu site in northwest Pemba. The oldest indications of occupation date from the eleventh century and persisted successfully and unbrokenly until the fifteenth century. It was once again occupied in the nineteenth century. A cache of over 2,000 gold and silver coins from the 10 and eleventh centuries were found during an excavation at the location, demonstrating Pemba's Swahili involvement in the regional trade networks at the time.

Mduuni Ruins is protected historic site located inside Micheweni District of Pemba North Region in Tanzania. The settlement was established around 1100 CE.

Mkia wa Ng'ombe Ruins is protected historic site located inside Micheweni District of Pemba North Region in Tanzania. The settlement was established around the 15th CE and abandoned in the 16th century. There are ruins of a mosque, tombs and some stone buildings. The site is critically endangered to further erosion.

References

  1. 1 2 "Stephanie Wynne-Jones - Archaeology, The University of York". www.york.ac.uk. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
  2. ↑ "Charity Details - British Institute in Eastern Africa". beta.charitycommission.gov.uk. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
  3. ↑ "Stephanie Wynne-Jones". Society of Antiquaries of London. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
  4. ↑ "SCAS: Stephanie Wynne-Jones". www.swedishcollegium.se. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
  5. ↑ "Stephanie Wynne-Jones: Africa in the Medieval World Lecture Series: 'Objects and Encounters on the Medieval East African Coast'". hutchinscenter.fas.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
  6. ↑ "Stephanie Wynne-Jones". A Corner of Tenth-Century Europe. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
  7. ↑ Wynne-Jones, Stephanie (2016). A Material Culture: consumption and materiality on the precolonial East African coast. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780198759317.
  8. ↑ "The Swahili World: 1st Edition (Hardback) - Routledge". Routledge.com. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
  9. ↑ Leyser, Conrad; Standen, Naomi; Wynne-Jones, Stephanie (2018-11-01). "Settlement, Landscape and Narrative: What Really Happened in History". Past & Present. 238 (suppl_13): 232–260. doi: 10.1093/pastj/gty031 . ISSN   0031-2746.
  10. ↑ "Staff". Urban Ecology and Transitions of the Zanzibar Archipelago. 2019-04-23. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  11. ↑ Levy, Janet E. (2009). "Socialising Complexity: Structure, Interaction and Power in Archaeological Discourse, edited by Sheila Kohring & Stephanie Wynne-Jones, 2007. Oxford: Oxbow Books; ISBN-13 978-1-84217-294-0 paperback £32 & US$64; iv+244 pp., 40 figs., 4 tables". Cambridge Archaeological Journal. 19 (1): 137–139. doi:10.1017/S0959774309000201. ISSN   1474-0540.
  12. ↑ Welham, K.; Fleisher, J.; Cheetham, P.; Manley, H.; Steele, C.; Wynne‐Jones, S. (2014). "Geophysical Survey in Sub-Saharan Africa: magnetic and Electromagnetic Investigation of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Songo Mnara, Tanzania". Archaeological Prospection. 21 (4): 255–262. doi: 10.1002/arp.1487 . hdl: 1911/97372 . ISSN   1099-0763.
  13. ↑ Wynne-Jones, Stephanie (2013-12-01). "The public life of the Swahili stonehouse, 14th–15th centuries AD". Journal of Anthropological Archaeology. 32 (4): 759–773. doi: 10.1016/j.jaa.2013.05.003 . ISSN   0278-4165.
  14. ↑ "Jeffrey Fleisher | Department of Anthropology | School of Social Sciences | Rice University". anthropology.rice.edu. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
  15. ↑ Wynne-Jones, Stephanie (2010). "Remembering and Reworking the Swahili Diwanate: The Role of Objects and Places at Vumba Kuu". The International Journal of African Historical Studies. 43: 407–427.
  16. ↑ Fitton, Tom; Wynne-Jones, Stephanie (2017). "Understanding the layout of early coastal settlement at Unguja Ukuu, Zanzibar". Antiquity. 91 (359): 1268–1284. doi: 10.15184/aqy.2017.141 . ISSN   0003-598X.
  17. ↑ Sulas, Federica; Kristiansen, Søren Munch; Wynne-Jones, Stephanie (2019-03-01). "Soil geochemistry, phytoliths and artefacts from an early Swahili daub house, Unguja Ukuu, Zanzibar". Journal of Archaeological Science. 103: 32–45. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2019.01.010. ISSN   0305-4403. S2CID   134305615.
  18. ↑ Wynne-Jones, Stephanie; Fleisher, Jeffrey (2012). "Coins in Context: Local Economy, Value and Practice on the East African Swahili Coast". Cambridge Archaeological Journal. 22 (1): 19–36. doi:10.1017/s0959774312000029. hdl: 1911/71217 . ISSN   0959-7743. S2CID   41661941.
  19. ↑ Wynne-Jones, Stephanie; Fleisher, Jeffrey (2013). "Ceramics and Society: Early Tana Tradition and the Swahili Coast (Data Paper)". Internet Archaeology (35). doi: 10.11141/ia.35.7 . ISSN   1363-5387.
  20. ↑ Hawkes, Jason D.; Wynne-Jones, Stephanie (2015-12-25). "India in Africa: Trade goods and connections of the late first millennium". Afriques. Débats, Méthodes et Terrains d'Histoire (6). doi: 10.4000/afriques.1752 . ISSN   2108-6796.
  21. ↑ "Stephanie Wynne-Jones | CONCH". www.conchproject.org. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
  22. ↑ "Rising from the Depths » Stephanie Wynne-Jones" . Retrieved 2019-12-28.
  23. ↑ Henderson, Jon; Breen, Colin; Esteves, Luciana; La Chimia, Annamaria; Lane, Paul; Macamo, Solange; Marvin, Garry; Wynne-Jones, Stephanie (2021-06-22). "Rising from the Depths Network: A Challenge-Led Research Agenda for Marine Heritage and Sustainable Development in Eastern Africa". Heritage. 4 (3): 1026–1048. doi: 10.3390/heritage4030057 . hdl: 20.500.11820/449889ff-23a3-4823-9210-b6ff41390abc . ISSN   2571-9408.
  24. ↑ Wynne-Jones, Stephanie (2007). "It's what you do with it that counts". Journal of Social Archaeology. 7 (3): 325–345. doi:10.1177/1469605307081392. ISSN   1469-6053. S2CID   144788677.
  25. ↑ Wynne-Jones, Stephanie Anne (2005). Urbanisation at Kilwa, Tanzania, AD800-1400 (PhD thesis). University of Cambridge. doi:10.17863/cam.20445.
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