Historical archaeology, heritage and ecology in the Indian Ocean

The historical archaeology of the Indian Ocean World remains much less studied than the Atlantic. Since 2008, Seetah has directed the Mauritian Archaeological and Cultural Heritage (MACH) project, research investigating the environmental and socio-cultural implications of colonial activity in the Indian Ocean.

Conceptually, this project has approached the island ‘as site’, uniting a range of previously unconnected archaeological locations to better understand interactions between incoming peoples. Our team comprises from ~25 colleagues, based in the USA, UK, Italy, Denmark, and Canary Islands. Working with the island’s two world heritage institutions, local government, university and NGOs, this project has pioneered a program of systematic archaeological investigations of slavery and indenture on the island, uncovering a unique post-emancipation cemetery, and undertaking the first aDNA analysis to establish ethnicity, isotopic assessment to understand migration and diet, we well as osteological study to investigate occupation and disease. A key achievement is that the project has set a precedent for ‘the archaeology of indenture’, a topic that remains virtually unstudied from a material viewpoint.