Ancient Chinese Coin Found on Kenyan Island by Field Museum Expedition
A joint expedition of scientists led by Chapurukha M. Kusimba of The Field Museum and Sloan R. Williams of the University of Illinois at Chicago has unearthed a 600-year-old Chinese coin on the Kenyan island of Manda that shows trade existed between China and east Africa decades before European explorers set sail and changed the map of the world.
The coin, a small disk of copper and silver with a square hole in the center so it could be worn on a belt, is called “Yongle Tongbao” and was issued by Emperor Yongle who reigned from 1403-1425 AD during the Ming Dynasty. The emperor’s name is written on the coin, making it easy to date. Emperor Yongle, who started construction of China’s Forbidden City, was interested in political and trade missions to the lands that ring the Indian Ocean and sent Admiral Zheng He, also known as Cheng Ho, to explore those shores.
“Zheng He was, in many ways, the Christopher Columbus of China,” said Dr. Kusimba, Curator of African Anthropology at The Field Museum. “It’s wonderful to have a coin that may ultimately prove he came to Kenya,” he added.
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Coins Useful in Tracking Ancient Trade Routes
Alice C. Linsley
According to researchers, the coin is further confirmation that trade took place between Africa and China as late as the 15th century A.D.
The Kushites moved out of Africa between 12,000 and 10,000 years ago. They were great kingdom builders who established their centers of commerce on the major water systems. Kushite populations still inhabit southwestern China. They are called Kushan-Yuezhi or Gueis-Huang. The Kushan capital was Hucao at the lower Wakhsh (Oxus) and the Darya-i Pandj (Ochus) river valley towards Aï Khanum.
Another Kushite group is the Ainu of China, described as a "caste of circumcisers." They number approximately 6,500 people. Most live scattered over northwest China in the counties of Hetian, Luopu, Moyu, Shache, Yingjisha, and Shulekuche, near the ancient oasis city of Kashgar. They keep sheep and goats.
In 1944, Australian soldier Maurie Isenberg, stationed on an island to man a radar station, found a trove of 1000 year coins on an island off northern Australia. The coins came from the former Kilwa Sultanate, now a World Heritage ruin on an island off Tanzania. Kilwa was a trade port with links to India and Asia between the 13th and 16th century. In 1331-1332, Ibn Battouta stayed in Kilwa and described the it as one of the most beautiful cities of the world.
The coins were minted in sub-Saharan Africa.
Another Kushite group is the Ainu of China, described as a "caste of circumcisers." They number approximately 6,500 people. Most live scattered over northwest China in the counties of Hetian, Luopu, Moyu, Shache, Yingjisha, and Shulekuche, near the ancient oasis city of Kashgar. They keep sheep and goats.
In 1944, Australian soldier Maurie Isenberg, stationed on an island to man a radar station, found a trove of 1000 year coins on an island off northern Australia. The coins came from the former Kilwa Sultanate, now a World Heritage ruin on an island off Tanzania. Kilwa was a trade port with links to India and Asia between the 13th and 16th century. In 1331-1332, Ibn Battouta stayed in Kilwa and described the it as one of the most beautiful cities of the world.
The coins were minted in sub-Saharan Africa.
The trade with gold, silver, pearls, perfumes, Arabian stone ware, Persian ceramics and Chinese porcelain made Kilwa one of the most influential ports in East Africa.
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