The East African Coast and the existing archaeological evidence in east Africa
Answer Text: CONTACTS BETWEEN EAST AFRICA AND THE OUTSIDE WORLD UP TO THE 19TH C.-The early contacts were initially at the coast but later spread inland. The early visitors included the Arabs, Greeks, Chinese, Persians, Portuguese,British, French and the Dutch.The East African coast.-The existing documentaries and archaeological evidence about the historical information on the east African coast include;-The Graeco- Roman Documentary which only makes indirect references to the east African coast.-The Swahili chronicles written by the people of the coast. E.g the Kilwa chronicle-The writings of Pliny, a Roman Geographer who wrote about the high cost of trade with India in his book, The Natural History.- Periplus of the Erythrean Sea; by a Greek merchant in 1st C AD describes the people and places along the coast and the Indian Ocean Trade.-Geopgraphia by Claudius Ptolemy makes reference to eastAfrican coast and the trade along Somalia and Kenyan coasts.-Renowned travelers like Al- Mosudi, Al Idrisi and Ibn Battuta wrote firsthand accounts about the places they visited-The existing archaeological evidence in east Africa include the remains of pottery , iron tools, beads and coins which prove the presence of international trade.
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