In most African contexts, glass beads are evidence of direct and indirect exchanges between communities and are often useful chronological markers. Their analysis contributes to a better understanding of the social relationships between ancient societies. Over the last decade, the archaeometric analysis of glass beads has gained ground in Sub-Saharan Africa, but large regions across southeastern Africa have remained underexplored. Glass beads excavated from the Hora 1, Hora 5, and Mazinga 1 sites in the Kasitu Valley of the Mzimba District of northern Malawi were analyzed using laser ablation—inductively coupled plasma—mass spectrometry (LA-ICP- MS). These are granitic rock shelter sites located 40 km from Lake Malawi. They have predominantly Early Holocene and Pleistocene deposits but with a scattering of more recent material at the top. Analysis revealed that most of the beads were from European manufacture with one exception—a bead that has a composition typical of South Asia and that circulated from the fifteenth to the seventeenth century AD. Although Europeans were not present in the region before the second part of the nineteenth century, the presence of European beads testifies to trade directly or indirectly involving Europeans, most likely in association with increased trade in ivory and enslaved persons. The presence of the bead from South Asia and two cowrie beads from a fourth nearby site (Kadawonda 1) that dates to the seventh century AD show that European trade was the most recent manifestation of connections between the hinterland and the coast.

在大多数非洲背景下，玻璃珠是社区之间直接和间接交流的证据，通常是有用的年代标记。他们的分析有助于更好地理解古代社会之间的社会关系。在过去十年中，玻璃珠的考古计量分析在撒哈拉以南非洲取得了进展，但非洲东南部的大部分地区仍未得到充分探索。使用激光烧蚀电感耦合等离子体质谱法 (LA-ICP-MS) 分析了从马拉维北部姆津巴区 Kasitu 山谷的 Hora 1、Hora 5 和 Mazinga 1 遗址挖掘出的玻璃珠。这些是距马拉维湖 40 公里的花岗岩避难所。它们主要具有早全新世和更新世沉积物，但顶部散布着较新的物质。分析表明，大多数珠子都来自欧洲制造，但有一个例外——一颗具有南亚典型成分的珠子，从公元 15 世纪到 17 世纪流通。虽然欧洲人在 19 世纪下半叶之前没有出现在该地区，但欧洲珠子的存在证明了直接或间接涉及欧洲人的贸易，很可能与象牙和奴隶贸易的增加有关。来自南亚的珠子和来自附近第四个地点（Kadawonda 1）的两个贝壳珠子的存在可以追溯到公元七世纪，这表明欧洲贸易是腹地和海岸之间联系的最新表现。