This book engages globalization from an archaeological and long-term perspective by using the case study of the historical interaction between China and East Africa. It raises questions of whether the greater connectivity that has emerged from globalization will lead to homogenization of culture, or the creation of a monoculture.

Preface: China and East Africa Ancient Ties and Contemporary Flows. Chapurukha KusimbaPart I: Ancient TiesChapter 1: The Emergence of Stone Tool Technology: A Comparative Study between Some Early Stone Age Assemblages in East Africa and ChinaLouis De WeyerChapter 2: Tracing Prehistoric Trade and Economic Links between the East African Coast and East AsiaEmmanuel K NdiemaChapter 3: Ancient Connections between China and East AfricaChapurukha KusimbaChapter 4: The Biological and Cultural Identity of The Early Swahili Peoples of Coastal KenyaJanet Monge, Allan Morris, Sloan Williams and Chapurukha KusimbaChapter 5: Incipient Globalization in First Millennium CE China and East Africa and ChinaHerman KiriamaChapter 6: Siyu Intertwined Exchange Networks from the Early Beginnings to the 15th CenturyIbrahim Busolo NamunabaChapter 7: Unravelling the Links between the Tanzania's Coast and Ancient ChinaElgidius IchumbakiChapter 8: Chinese Porcelain as Proxy for Understanding Early Globalization Between China and Eastern AfricaTiequan Zhu and Chapurukha KusimbaChapter 9: The Sources of East African Chinese Longquan Celadon and Imitation CeladonMin Wang, Tiequan Zhu, Khalfan Bini Ahmed and Chapurukha KusimbaChapter 10: The Consumption of Glass Beads in Ancient Swahili East AfricaLaure Dussubieux, Gilbert Oteyo and Chapurukha KusimbaPart II: Contemporary FlowsChapter 11: Six Hundred Years of Harmony: Comparing Zheng He's West Ocean Navigation with China's African PolicyLi XinfengChapter 12: Impacts of Chinese Influence in Contemporary East AfricaAngela KabiruChapter 13: Becoming Mitumba: Transnational Secondhand Clothing Trade between China and KenyaBoyang MaChapter 14: The Potentials, Opportunities and Challenges of Underwater Cultural Heritage for Understanding Early Global NetworksCaesar BitaChapter 15: Opportunities and Challenges of Preserving Cultural Relics in a Globalized WorldZhan ChangfaChapter 16: China and East Africa Ancient Ties and Contemporary Flows. A Critical AppraisalAugustin F.C. Holl