Faunal remains from chibuene, an Iron Age coastal trading station in central Mozambique

Abstract

We report on the small faunal assemblage from the Iron Age coastal trading station of Chibuene, situated on the coastal littoral of central Mozambique. The faunal assemblage was excavated in 1995 and contains bones from a variety of animals, including livestock, chickens, wild game animals, as well as aquatic species such as turtles and fish. Fish, turtle and shark remains dominate the assemblage. The fauna from the first and second millennium AD occupations share similarities with other contemporaneous sites to the north on the East African coast, rather than with sites located in South Africa.