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Article Excerpt: The 600-year-old coin is made of copper and silver and has a hole in the center. It’s called a Yongle Tongbao and was issued by Emperor Yongle, who reined during the Ming Dynasty between the years 1403 to 1425 AD. It was found on Manda, an island in Kenya, announced researchers from The Field Museum and the University of Illinois, and it’s a tangible piece of evidence of Chinese exploration and trade in Africa, years before European explorers reached this part of the world. Continue Here
I am skeptical of this find and the conclusions being drawn from it. The article does not explain how they know for certain that it was carried to that exact spot in Kenya by the Chinese and not by trade. Does anyone know What kind of evidence they would need to prove that the coin was taken to Kenya by Chinese Explorers?
There are genetic studies that seem to confirm mixing of Chinese and Swahili on the Kenyan coast. There have also been excavations of mass graves that are thought to be the bodies of Chinese sailors from Zheng and who may have been in a fleet of boats, that most likely reached East Africa, so this claim may not be all that far fetched. If anyone knows more please feel free to enlighten us.
Submitted by T Payne
