Dynamics of water-management systems in historical East African agricultural societies: modelling the long-term ecosystem and socioeconomic interactions in a historical agronomy in Engaruka, Tanzania

The research conducted explored the dynamics of the historical water-management system that was in use at Engaruka, Tanzania, between the 15th to 18th centuries CE, the aim being to model the primary human and environmental factors and their interactions, and to assess how these influenced the development of the system at several spatial and temporal scales. The ABMs developed in this research represent first steps in the integration of archaeological evidence with ABM techniques in order to understand the Engaruka site. This research shows how the integration of data from different sources and disciplines can help in our understanding of how the system could have developed by integrating a multitude of factors and showing how these interactions influenced the development of the system.