Archaeology study of Amboni limestone cave Tanga in the northeastern coast of Tanzania

This research was an endeavor to establish the cultural chronology of Amboni limestone caves and ascertain its relationship with that of the Tanzania islands. It is founded on newly established knowledge that the cultural sequence of the region spans from the Stone Age period to the present. This new knowledge challenges the long held idea that the beginning of Swahili civilization can be traced to the ninth century A.D. this new knowledge is based on the incontrovertible archaeological evidence from limestone caves of the Tanzania offshore islands. This study was the first endeavor as far as the limestone caves of the mainland East African coast are concerned. In order to achieve the objectives of this research, archaeological survey was carried out in some limestone caves and rock shelters followed by selection of one cave to in which one trench was excavated. All cultural materials obtained from contexts were analyzed in the laboratory. The analysis revealed the presence of I.S.A materials (microlithics), WIW pottery, TIW pottery, Swahili materials, and Post Swahili or historic pottery. The analysis of lithic materials revealed a predominance of bipolar cores and core fragments and acute rarity of retouched or utilized (T/U) flakes suggesting that the site was mainly used for manufacturing tools at least during the LSA period. Comparatively, the cultural sequence established in this study seems to be younger than of the limestone caves of the Tanzania islands. However, this waits further research for confirmation and drawing of a more comprehensive image of the ancient East African (Swahili) coast.