Plant Remains from Songo Mnara: Preliminary Results from Fieldwork and Laboratory Analyses.

Archaeobotanical remains have the potential to generate important information concerning past environmental use, agricultural patterns, fiber production, and the construction of social relations through production and consumption. This method has recently proven successful in coastal eastern African archaeological sites and is beginning to be more widely applied in this region. Macrobotanical remains were sampled during the 2009 field season at Songo Mnara, yielding 47 flotation samples for laboratory analysis. Fresh water scarcity necessitated the use of semi-saline well-water for flotation and the development of a water-recycling system. We discuss the
preliminary results of the archaeobotanical analyses conducted to date, focusing on grain crops and cotton.