David Ruiz Mejivar

African archaeology, Historical archaeology, Indigenous Studies, Urbanism, Archaoeology of everyday life 

My research interests focus on historical Swahili archaeology looking at the Portuguese period from the 15th-18th centuries in Zanzibar, an area that has been largely understudied in the academic literature. I intend to examine the roles and changes in everyday Swahili life during periods of foreign occupation. Also, I aim to uncover the indigenous influences of Swahili culture during these times of external influence, and provide a view into the role of indiginiety in the Swahili coast. To accomplish this I draw on methods from Indigenous Studies and community based archaeology.