Dr. Nathan J. Anderson on “The Archaeology of Islamization in Northern Madagascar”

Beneath the dense jungles and sandy deserts of Northern Madagascar lies a breathtaking terrain of uncovered, fascinating historical artifacts. For archeological professor Dr. Nathan J. Anderson, deciphering these pre colonial relics is not linear, but an intricate and tedious process.  

I was initially drawn to Anderson’s field of research because of its uniqueness and eccentric focus. Being relatively new to the differing subfields of anthropology, archeology is a relatively new and uncovered (no pun intended) subject for me, and after reading Anderson’s publication on such a niche topic, I was inspired to learn more about archeological anthropology. 

Anderson’s archeological journey sparked from an naive orientalist interest in the Middle East and worldwide religions as a child, prompting him to seek out education in the field of international archeology. Prior to exploring the developments of Islam, Anderson adopted a curiosity for ancient artifacts and their histories, specifically within the Islamic world. Growing up in the Mojave Desert of Southern California, Anderson identified similarities between his home desert and those of the Islamic world, encouraging him to explore the various mythologized deserts commonly seen on television. 

“Archeology seemed like a natural kind of blend of the two where I could work outside, get to travel, and also explore those untold histories through material remains of our past,” Anderson said.

In addition to his curiosity about the Middle East, Anderson acknowledged the scientific imperialism commonly surrounding many ancient artifacts and their histories—due to the (customary) biased perspectives of history coming from the literate elite. Explaining his aims to combat prejudiced historical views, Anderson said, “I want to make sure that I am a part of a larger process that is useful to these places and getting to know the communities.”

During his undergraduate studies at UC Santa Cruz, Anderson was directed to archeology within Africa through inspiration from storied archeologists like Diane Gifford-Gonzalez and James Cameron Monroe and a demand for more researchers in the unexplored regions of the continent. His interest piqued during a field school in Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara in Southern Tanzania, where he worked with Jeffrey Fleisher and Stephanie Wynne-Jones. 

Anderson explained, “I fell in love with East Africa before… following along the thread of Islam and Islamization.” 

During his years in university, Anderson’s interest in Islam was further intensified through a partnership with Timothy Insoll, who exposed him to cultural forms in East Africa. “At this point, I was trying to understand East African archeology from an outside perspective, and I really needed to think about the cultural context with a religious view in mind,” Anderson said, “ Partnerships like these helped bridge that gap.”

Prior to working in Kingany, Anderson worked in Mozambique, but due to growing security concerns near his work site, he relocated himself to the ancient city of Kingany, a coastal region within Madagascar. Noticing parallels between the two countries close in proximity, Anderson began working in Kingany where he focused his studies on the travels of Islamization from northern and northeastern countries during the pre colonial period. 

“There’s a very intimate connection between Northwestern Madagascar and Northern Mozambique and the Comoros—there were likely shared lineages and trade

 networks—there might have been families living on either side of the channel since It’s only a two to three day sail between the two regions,” Anderson explained, “I could bring my knowledge from Southern Tanzania and Northern Mozambique over to Madagascar, and it translated very well.”

Due to the extremely small population of Morafeno (the present-day village surrounding Kingany)—roughly 200 citizens—-filtered water and electricity were absent. After a nine-hour flight from Southern England to Antananarivo and a sixteen hour rocky dirt bus ride to Mahajanga, Anderson negotiated with Magalasy fisher captains to catch a day-long ride along the high tides and winds of the Madagascar coast to reach Boeny Aranta. After a short night there, Anderson continued his journey through a three-hour sail ride to Morafeno, where he spent most of his time away from the excavation site. 

Following a long journey to reach Madagascar, Anderson spent multiple lengthy, hot, and assiduous periods on the Kingany site, excavating, recording, processing, and analyzing thousands of artifacts discovered from large and ancient mosques in the small village. Anderson said, “I stayed with a [village elder] named Dezy, and he and his family welcomed me to their life with open arms, and I really got to have this transplanted slice of life—seeing what it’s like to live day-to-day in a very remote fishing village in a part of the world that is well beyond what I mainly think that most of us know.”

In order to acquire clean water before a six to seven-hour day of excavating, Anderson begins his day at 4:30 AM to boil water from the village well. “The typical field day involves—depending on what phase of the archeology we might do—-surveying systematically and mapping and walking through the sites; taking GPS coordinates on any visible above-ground architecture; mapping, measuring, and plotting it so that it can be GEO-referenced for future study,” Anderson said. 

While the morning consists of working through the archeological steps for the mosque sites, afternoons are spent cleaning and sorting the artifacts, and making sure that the paperwork is accurate for the written journal. In addition to the archeological aspect of his research, Anderson had the opportunity to explore Magalasy culture from the villagers themselves in Kingany and Morafeno.

“Along with working hard, we also had those moments where we’re kicking back and drinking Bon Bon soda on [the elder’s] bench and playing soccer in the sand,” he reflected. 

Anderson reported on the importance of mundane objects in the archaeological field, explaining how they contributed heavily to scoping out how day-to-day life looked in the pre colonial time period. “[Mundane objects] tell us a lot about what people were doing, how they were using spaces, and a lot about the reality of their life and the places,” he said. 

“While rather mundane, the artifacts related to the consumption patterns and the foodways of Kingany were some of the strongest evidence towards Islamization at the site,” Anderson said. 

Additionally, Anderson found numerous insightful colonoware objects, which are transplanted styles made in local materials. For example, incense burners found in Kingany were identical to the ones found in Aden of Southern Yemen, yet the local burners were formed of clay from Kingany. “This could mean two things,” Anderson said, “this could either mean that there were Yemeni people living in Northwestern Madagascar in the 13th and 14th century AD, or it could mean that there was a very intimate connection between the inhabitants of Kingany and Aden, enabling those those people to emulate these incense burners.” 

“I think this is something that early archeology missed out on: community connections. For a long time archeology suffered, and in some senses, it still suffers from scientific imperialism,” Anderson said. 

Much of the four-year timeline of analyzing and exactaving artifacts consisted of a tedious and delicate process, Anderson recalled. “Around 30% was pre-excavation research: the foundational research, learning the history, making sure that you know all the important details going into it; 10% is negotiations and logistics; 40% analyzing artifacts; and lastly 20% interpreting what you found.”

Anderson’s archeological excavations in Madagascar not only contributed to challenging the historical record of Mahilaka being older than it was previously recorded, but also helped overcome older, skewed perspectives of history through ancient artifacts that reveal realistic expectations of life from the pre-colonial period in Madagascar.

“With archeology, anyone has the potential for their way of life to be reflected within their cultural heritage,” Anderson said. 

Throughout his four months in Kingany, Anderson analyzed over 80% of the artifacts in the hot afternoons of his workdays, working through roughly 24,000 out of the 30,000 artifacts discovered. Dealing with heat exhaustion, regional illnesses, and water sickness were all obstacles he had to overcome while in the remote region of Africa.  

As of now, Anderson has published his culmination of research in multiple journals, and is ongoing his 12th year of professional archaeological research as a professor at Santa Clara University.