An Urewe burial in Rwanda: exchange, health, wealth and violence c. AD 400

Abstract

The ‘Urewe culture’ dominates the archaeology of Great Lakes Africa from approximately 500 BC to AD 800. However, whilst much is known about the production and distribution of Urewe ceramics and iron metallurgy, social and symbolic information regarding Urewe users is scarce. Within this context the discovery of an Urewe burial preserving pathological conditions, the products of iron production technology and a long distance exchange artefact, radiocarbon dated to the mid-first millennium AD, is highly significant. This article presents the first human remains analysis of two individuals associated with the ‘Urewe culture’ and the first archaeometallurgical analysis of the products of iron technology during this period. The discussion of these results allows us to explore socially important aspects of Urewe users’ lives, including health, wealth and violence.

La ‘culture d'Urewe’ domine l'archéologie de l'Afrique des Grands Lacs de 500 av. J.-C à 800 ap. J.-C. Cependant, tandis que beaucoup est connu au sujet de la production et de la distribution de la métallurgie de céramique et de fer d'Urewe, l'information sociale et symbolique concernant des utilisateurs d'Urewe est rare. Dans ce contexte la découverte d'un enterrement d'Urewe préservant des conditions pathologiques, les produits de la technologie de production de fer et un objet façonné commercial de fond, radiocarbone daté au moyen de la premiere millénaire ap. J.-C., est fortement significatif. Cet article présente la première analyse humaine de restes de deux individus liés à la ‘culture d'Urewe’ et la première analyse archaeometallurgique des produits de la technologie de fer au cours de cette période. L'examen de ces résultats tient compte des aspects socialement importants des vies d'utilisateurs d'Urewe, inclus la santé, la richesse et la violence.

Keywords:

• Urewe
• Great Lakes
• burial
• exchange
• health
• wealth
• violence

Acknowledgements

The Arts and Humanities Research Council funded John Giblin's doctoral research, with additional assistance from the Institute of Archaeology Awards, University College London Graduate School and the Central Research Fund of the University of London, and help provided in the field by the Institute National Musée de Rwanda and the British Institute in Eastern Africa. Dr Andrew Reid supervised John Giblin's doctoral research, and the radiocarbon dates were obtained through an AHRC/NERC-ORADS dating grant awarded to Dr Reid. The authors would also like to thank Dr Paul Lane and Dr Rachel Maclean for their detailed and constructive comments on this article in their capacity as reviewers.