deposits located in Manyikeni at roughly 1200 AD. Ceramic samples taken from the earliest occupation levels at Manyikeni reveal dissimilarity with ceramics of the earliest levels at Chibuene. The most distinct Manyikeni ceramics are ovaloid vessels with shell impressed motifs and independent restricted vessels with graphite decoration which are absent from the assemblages within Chibuene in the first phase of occupation between 600-1000 AD. The discontinuity of imported glazed ceramics and introduction of Manyikeni styles is suggestive of the site becoming under the influence of Manyikeni. The ceramics in this period appear to be completely dominated by shell stamping in a similar manner to Manyikeni. Glass and shell beads The first occupation phase of Chibuene contained a multitude of glass beads, glass fragments, and shell beads. Glass beads classified as Zhizo beads have been found at sites further south and in limited numbers in sites further north. These same beads appear less frequently in the later occupation levels in the second millennium. Furthermore, glass beads appear most frequently in the early occupation sites and show a dramatic decrease in the later occupation levels. These reveal the significance of Chibuene as an important point of entry for glass and glass beads to sites located in the interior of southern Africa and to a lesser degree regions north of the site. Written sources in from the fifteenth century revealed that ivory, animal skins and slaves were traded for glass beads. In archaeological surveys performed between 1995 and 2001 from the lower levels of occupation (600-1000 AD), 2800 beads were collected from the site with the vast majority being of the Zhizo tradition and the discovery of a new typology, named the Chibuene series. The Zhizo beads were made of plant-ash glass which suggests a Near Eastern origin, as only sites west of the Euphrates utilized plant-ash glass at this time, but the beads were manufactured with South Asian technology, making the place of manufacture difficult to ascertain. The Chibuene series is distinct from other glass beads in the area in morphology and chemistry. The beads are tubular in shape with ends that have been rounded through reheating and suggested to be older than Zhizo beads at the site. These only match beads located at Nqoma in western Botswana, contemporaneously. The glass used to manufacture the beads appear to have a Near East origin. Archaeological evidence reveals that Chibuene played an important role