Experimental multisensory survey of precolonial towns on the East African coast

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F49777513%3A23330%2F25%3A43975858" target="_blank" >RIV/49777513:23330/25:43975858 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://uclpress.co.uk/book/new-sensory-approaches-to-the-past/" target="_blank" >https://uclpress.co.uk/book/new-sensory-approaches-to-the-past/</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

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Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Experimental multisensory survey of precolonial towns on the East African coast

Original language description

Archaeological heritage on the East African coast is renowned for the remains of precolonial Islamic towns, which engaged in long-distance trade along the Indian Ocean rim throughout the last millennium. The stone buildings preserved on these sites are the only standing part of this past built environment, as evidence of earthen houses is only accessible through excavations. These stone remains allow some level of direct sensory experience of the houses and towns, as opposed to other building typologies. Pushing beyond typical investigatory methods used in the region, this chapter engages with the sensory characteristics of the stone buildings, in order to show how they may advance our understanding of precolonial Swahili towns.Apart from understanding how the properties of the built environment acted on individual senses, this study taps into the current trend of multisensory analyses, experimentally addressing the complex corporeal experience of the precolonial Swahili stone-built environment by incorporating vision, sound, smell and haptic experience. Two sites in Kenya, Jumba la Mtwana and Mnarani, are used as case studies. This chapter explores the sensory implications of past spatial configurations, the distribution of public spaces, as well as sensory connotations of Swahili stone building alterations. These are considered against the background of seasonality and zoning in Swahili towns. Together with ethnographic and historical data, this chapter brings insights relevant for Swahili archaeology and informs our understanding of specific aspects of past lifestyle and social sustainability in these towns.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

C - Chapter in a specialist book

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

60102 - Archaeology

Project

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Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Book/collection name

New Sensory Approaches to the Past

ISBN

978-1-80008-867-2

Number of pages of the result

22

Pages from-to

105-126

Number of pages of the book

392

Publisher name

UCL Press

Place of publication

London

UT code for WoS chapter

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