eastiseverywhere:thelastdiadoch:Chinese coin in Kenya(SOURCE)“Excavations on Manda, an island

eastiseverywhere:thelastdiadoch:Chinese coin in Kenya(SOURCE)“Excavations on Manda, an island off the coast of Kenya, have revealed a 600-year-old Chinese coin linked to the expedition of Admiral Zheng He, the celebrated Ming Dynasty explorer.Found in a midden by researchers from the Field Museum in Chicago, and the University of Illinois, the small copper and silver disc has a square hole in the centre to allow it to be worn on a belt.It was issued by Emperor Yongle (r.AD 1403-1425), who started construction of China’s Forbidden City, and sent Zheng He to investigate possible political and trade missions around the Indian Ocean.‘Since the coin was minted during the reign of Emperor Yongle and Manda was abandoned in the 1430s, it follows that the coin reached the island during that period,’ said project co-director Dr Chapurukha Kusimba, curator of African Anthropology at the Field Museum. ‘The likely source could be a merchant accompanying Admiral Zheng He on his East African voyage.’He added: ‘Zheng He was, in many ways, the Christopher Columbus of China. It’s wonderful to have a coin that may ultimately prove he came to Kenya.’”Africa Week!I’m sharing this because it popped up on my Facebook wall not long ago (the discovery was actually made in 2013).  But I honestly don’t know what the fuss is about.We already know that Zheng He got to Africa. We have loads of Chinese porcelain on the shores of East Africa and even Great Zimbabwe. We have folks in Kenya who claim to be the descendants of Zheng He’s crew.And a coin helps? I guess the dates are useful. Though porcelain is often easily dated as well.(Seriously, though, ancient coins are so plentiful in Chinese antique shops that any practical joker could buy a bag of them and bury them all over the place and claim that the Ming Dynasty discovered Antarctica. Anyone wanna screw over a generation of archaeologists? You heard it here first.)(Also, stop comparing Zheng He to Columbus, because Columbus was a genocidal maniac.) -- source link

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