It is about a small region in Africa that nobody really knows about, Study Guides, Projects, Research of History of Africa

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Adia Scott November 24, 2022 Professor Spencer D. Tyrus Africa History Antiquity until 18th^ Century (AFH4100)

The Origins of Mapungubwe and Great Zimbabwe

Geography: As we can see, Mapungubwe (aka Hill of the Jackals) is located on Botswana's southeastern outskirts; it is in the Shashe-Limpopo River province. It is divided into three parts, Mapela, K2 (Bambandyanalo), and Thulamela. It is more likely located in the center of the three regions Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Botswana. A journey to Mapungubwe city will lead to a farm called Greefswald, surrounded by the flowing Limpopo and Shashe rivers, and an area called Savannah bushveld; is now a National Park. Geographically, this made Mapungupwe the center site for southern African trading. The people of Mapungupwe lived in unity but in social divides; a segregation system was practiced and instilled on this hill. The elites and everybody important or rich lived near the top or on top of the hill; the workers and the regular everyday people lived on the bottom level or the surrounding area, which is Savannah Bushveld. This system would also repeat at the graveyard and funeral traditions at the top of the hill over the region, where the elites would be buried placed upright like they are sitting on a throne; their corpses were decorated with Gold, copper ornaments, and glass beads to indicate to others that the residents of Mapungupwe were experts at working with Gold. Of course, the working class and commoners were buried at the bottom of the hill in Savannah Bushveld. Fast forwarding to the future, in 1934, right after the discovery of this region in 1933, there was an expedition. The explorers found much much more within the valuables the first settlers left behind. According to the Ancient Bantu Civilization on the Limpopo, the visual aspects of Mapungubwe were better explained; they seemed to come to the conclusion of there being multiple races of people residing there; No noticeable difference was detected between the uppermost and the lowest levels which would indicate that the site had been occupied by more

during this time. The settlers set out to migrate in 1500 BCE when Precolonial Africa was beginning. Accomplishments/Contributions: Mapungubwe was a substantial international trading center. The reason is that the Shashe river is connected to the Limpopo River. The source of the Limpopo River is the Indian and the Southern part of the South Atlantic Ocean. Southern Asia, like Korea, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, and China. India, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan are residential near the Indian Ocean as well. All of these advantages would result in international trading; the people of Mapungupwe had much to exchange. Mapungupwe was wealthy and affluent in goods, so they had plenty of cargo to trade, like salt, cattle, fish, Gold, iron, ivory, and wood. They could trade with China, Arabia, India, and throughout Africa. The farm animals in the region were used as meat and hides, and the residents hunted and gathered their food often, so they were always plentiful in that. This tremendous peak lasted for about 80 years (1220-1300) until the inhabitants abandoned their beloved Mapungupwe. Mapungupwe was such a beneficial addition to trading, and it was South Africa's first state in 1200-1300. According to the south African history online article, It was also the center of ancient artifacts from the ancient ruins; This lesson also focuses on Mapungupwe as the first state in Southern Africa in 1200-1300BCE, as well as the underlying symbolism of various artifacts found at the ancient ruins (South African History Online, 2011)(https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/kingdoms-southern-africa-mapungubwe). Another reason why this region was so wealthy was that the people of Mapungupwe were like a well-

oiled and functioning machines. There were the commoners, like how there were the royals. Whatever the royals demanded of their people, they sought to work hard for everything they had. Livestock was used as hides, but the residents were always hunting, plentiful in Gold and the tools they crafted themselves. Challenges/Strategies: Mapungupwe never had many challenges, but one lousy downfall led all residents to abandon Mapungupwe in the 1100s. There are many theories and predictions about why the kingdom has been deserted. Many archeologists seem to believe that it was climate change; it became Much colder, and the crops began to dry out, making it challenging to farm and raise cattle. Some believe that the trading routes have changed too. However, there is no evidence of why the residents just up and left. There were just valuable remains that would remind others about life existing during those periods, like the Iron Age. Conclusion: In ancient South Africa, Mapungupwe was not discovered until 1933; its landscape is described as a mountain sitting on top of a small farm named Greefswald with a societal hierarchy system practiced by the people. During the Iron Age(about 200 BCE~1000 BCE), Mapungupwe was a region of wealthy people that were the only residents ever. They had plenty of cattle, dogs, and livestock and were an important trading port for southern Africa. The settlers,