Zimbabwean traditional style of stone walled settlement 10 km west of Chibuene, possibly gained control of the site after AD 1200. This is attested by the increased similarity of later occupation deposits containing pottery similar in character to Manyikeni. In addition, this is corroborated by the presence of marine shell and imports from Indian ocean trade in the context of Manyikeni deposits suggesting the coast and hinterlands were connected through trade networks. Chibuene acted as the way point for entry of materials and resources from the eastern coast and the trade network it provided. Subsistence economy The current estimate for the development of the site is estimated to be around 400 AD as a farming community on the southern coast of Mozambique. Contemporary annual and seasonal rainfall reveals very high variability in the region with most of the rainfall arriving in December and February, averaging 832 mm/per year. The summer rainfall season experiences decadal cycles of wet and dry phases. The high variability of rainfall appears to have remained consistent throughout the last 1600 years. Pollen evidence from the surrounding lakes of Nhaucati and Xiroche suggests a lengthy period of drought between 1400 and 1700, peaking in 1700. This drought accompanied a dramatic change in vegetation cover from forest savanna mosaic to forest savanna woodland. Furthermore, the surrounding area contains relatively nutrient poor dunal sand, susceptible to erosion. Agriculture was introduced to the region around 400 AD to the present. Poor soil and the unreliability of rainfall reduced the viability of agriculture as a reliable subsistence pattern. Throughout the course of the occupation of Chibuene, the inhabitants practiced a broad subsistence economy with the utilization of domestic animals, marine fauna, and wild plant life to augment agricultural production. Of particular significance to the site was the distinctive emphasis on marine fauna in the diets of the inhabitants. The 1995 excavations from a Swedish sponsored team revealed a rather high proportion of fish remains in comparison to sites in South Africa. The faunal remains of shark and turtle were notable features of the site. Shark fishing and turtle hunting are subsistence strategies more associated with East African, or Swahili coast, sites beginning in the first millennium, revealing a closer affinity of Chibuene to sites further north than the southern interior. The oldest layers of the site contained a high volume of shellfish. In addition domesticated animals such as cattle, sheep, goats,