I mean, if you'll recall, they were just trading like tortoise shells and stuff. Not again! Africans also exported slaves along the East Coast, although not in huge numbers, and they exported gold, and they imported luxury goods like porcelain and books. In fact, archaeological digs in Kilwa have revealed that houses often featured a kind of built-in bookshelf. Learning of books through architecture nicely captures the magic of studying history. Archaeology, writing, and oral tradition all intermingle to give us glimpses of the past. And each of those lenses may show us the past as if through some funhouse mirror, but if we're conscious about it, we can at least recognize the distortions.