First Evidence of Burial Practices and Stone Constructions from the 15th Century a.d. Pre-Colonial Middle Cuanza River, Angola

Caculo Cabaça is a newly identified site located in the middle course of the Cuanza River in Angola documenting an extended human settlement dated to the 15th century a.d. It displays the earliest known evidence of dry-stone architectural practices in central Angola, including tumuli, stone platforms, and wall foundations. We present the first series of radiocarbon dates recovered from burial contexts, including the only known archaeological cremation in Angola to date. Results present the architectural diversity of the Caculo Cabaça archaeological complex along with the associated ceramic assemblages and the characteristics of the human burials. Finally, our results highlight a spatially dynamic interaction between funerary, domestic, and iron production practices in the Middle Cuanza River landscape, contributing new archaeological insights into the cultural complexity of south-central Africa prior to the colonial period.