Late hunter-gatherers & first farmers in Southern Mozambique

In April 2023, a project meeting was held at the KAAK with project manager Jörg
Linstädter, cooperation partner Decio Muianga from the Eduardo Mondlane Universidade
and the project partners Martina Seifert and Sabrina Stempfle. The focus
of the meeting was on the current status of work and the work plan for 2023
and the sample selection for further analyses. For the residual analyses at Bristol University
Bristol University, 30 sherds from the Daimane Shelter were selected, both from the existing
from the existing data set as well as other finds from the current excavation.
excavation. For the latter, comprehensive documentation was first carried out, including a
a 3D profilometer to enable comparability with the rest of the archaeometric dataset.
data set. The residual analyses were completed at the end of the year.

The thin sections for the new sherds added in 2022 were successively produced at the University of Hamburg. As part of this was initially intended for
residual analyses, the last thin sections were not available until September.
available. In general, the archaeometric analyses using portable X-ray fluorescence analysis (pRFA) and polarized light microscopy were continued or continued for the
started for the three newly added sites. The analyses using pRFA were
completed. The results of the geophysical prospection campaign from 2022
were processed and published in the Journal of Global Archaeology. The archaeometric and geophysical data were presented in lectures at the 26th SAFA meeting,
the Hamburg Day of Archaeology and at the TANA annual meeting. The
DFG project ends in April 2024, meaning that the analyses will be completed in 2024 and the
publication of the results, initially as part of a doctoral thesis by Sabrina Stempfle and subsequently in articles focusing on various topics.
is planned. The project will be followed by an evaluation of the geophysical
results in the context of test excavations.