HISTORY ’s Iron Age Kingdoms In Africa, unlike Europe and Asia, the Iron Age did not follow on a Bronze or Copper Age, but rather all the metals were brought together.

Neolithic Period:

Featured the Agricultural Revolution (Neolitic Revolution) = change from a nomad life of Hunting and Gathering – to Agriculture and Settlement People in communities started to domesticate plants- beginning of farming

Where did Agriculture start? It is not fully known where it began, but the picture on left below, shows where agriculture started with the Fertile Crescent in west Asia on right:

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HISTORY Southern Africa’s Iron Age Kingdoms It is thought to have started about 12,000 years ago with the domestication of livestock in the Fertile Crescent in western Asia, soon to be followed by the cultivation of crops. What did they cultivate? Plants: Seedless Figs, cereals, legumes including peas, lentils and chickpeas were domesticated in this region. Animals: that were domesticated- cattle, sheep, goats, domestic pigs, cates & geese.

Migration away from Fertile Crescent:

People from Fertile Crescent moved 1) westward to Europe and North Africa, 2) Northward to Crimea (Russia) and 3) eastward to Mongolia. The locals of those areas inter-married with the migrants; and absorbed their agricultural way of life.

Languages were also very diverse in that area- Arabic languages are still used in modern Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Sinai, South Turkey and Northwest Iran. The Sumerian language is still used in parts of Iraq, and in the mountain areas different dialects are used.

Timeline of Movement from Bronze Age to Iron Age: 1. 1500 BC- Middle East 2. 1200 – 800 BC- Egypt 3. 800-700 BC- Central Europe 4. 700- 500 BC- China 5. 500-400 BC- Nordic Region

Iron tools from about 600-800 AD, found in Norway

Migration of Africans to Southern Africa:

Iron Age technology was spread across Africa by vernacular speaking people who migrated to the south from North and Central Africa (the so-called African Migration) (a vernacular language is the everyday language spoken by the general population of a geographical area/ region) Their languages and cultures mixed with those of the groups they met, which is why many African people are vernacular speakers.

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HISTORY Southern Africa’s Iron Age Kingdoms

Before the African migration, Africa had various African Kingdoms:

At that stage Southern Africa was inhabited by Khoisan people, who were mainly Herders and Hunter-gatherers. Their descendants have mixed with other peoples and adopted many languages. Some of them are still living around the Kalahari Desert, where they work on farms for income. The Nama peoples are living in Namibia in much larger numbers than Khoisan in , where they continue their traditional living by raising livestock in Namibia and in parts of South Africa. (Herders and Hunter-Gatherers will be fully covered at a later stage).

San rock art- showing an African warrior. African settlers, who migrated southwards and settled in the summer rainfall regions of Southern Africa over the past 2000 years, started relationships with the indigenous San people ranging from bitter conflict to ritual interaction and intermarriage.

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HISTORY Southern Africa’s Iron Age Kingdoms

Where did the African Migration start?

First Migration: I. A core of African speaking people (mostly farmers) started moving from their home area in West Africa around 4000-3500 BC. Some moved south-west through the Congo to reach Central Angola by around 500 BC. II. Another group moved East through the great Central African rainforest, and by 500 BC, the first groups moved into the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola and Zambia.

Second Migration: I. Another stream of migrants moved around 1000 BC southeast to the Great Lakes region, where they started farming. II. By 300 AD pioneers had moved more south and reached KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa along the coast, while others had settled in the Province (formerly Northern Transvaal) by 500 AD.

The migrants brought iron smelting technology and agriculture to the south; and founded great African kingdoms like Great , Mapungubwe and Thulamela.

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HISTORY Southern Africa’s Iron Age Kingdoms

Start of Trading: Farming allowed people to settle in towns. As towns grew and developed, societies became more complex, paving the way for more sophisticated administration and politics. Now that communities could cultivate plant crops and raise livestock, especially cattle, they sometimes had too much of both. This surplus became the object of trade. Groups began to exchange their products for goods they couldn't produce themselves – this is called TRADING. Trade routes were established and ivory and gold from Africa was traded for cloth, glass beads and other luxury products from afar.

Between 11th and 15th centuries relatively powerful African-speaking states emerged on a largescale: in the Great Lakes region, the savanna south of the Central African rainforest, as well as in the present-day South Africa region: , Thulamela in north-east South Africa, and the Zambezi River where the Monomatapa kings built the famous complex.

1. Great Zimbabwe The word "Zimbabwe" is thought to be derived from a Shona phrase meaning "stone enclosure" or "house of rock." The immense stone ruins comprise the city and tell the story of the people who created and resided in it some 900 years ago.

Shona Settlement

The first inhabitants of Great Zimbabwe were Shona-speaking peoples who likely settled in the region as early as 400 C.E. Back then, the land was full of possibilities: plains of fertile soil to support farming and herding, and mineral rich territories to provide gold, iron, copper, and tin for trading and crafting. It was a fine place for the Shona to call home.

Over the years, descendants of the Shona made transitions from simple farming communities to more complex, stratified societies. By 1000 C.E., the population of Great Zimbabwe was divided and ranked by status — from elite leaders and their cattle to the peasants who did all the work. Page 5 of 10

HISTORY Southern Africa’s Iron Age Kingdoms Cattle were very desirable and more valuable than most of the workers.

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

In response to the changing social, political, and economic landscape, new buildings were gradually built. Tremendous stone houses were constructed by the peasants for their kings. Sophisticated workplaces were designed for conducting trades such as blacksmithing.

The buildings were made of heavy granite blocks, stacked tightly together. Stones were arranged carefully, and no mortar was used to seal them together. The largest and most impressive building was an elliptical structure known today as the Great or Western Enclosure.

The remains of its outer wall measure over 800 feet long and up to 32 feet high. The wall enclosed several huts and a tall, cone-shaped tower. The enclosure was the city's center and was occupied only by the elite. It was the dividing line between the rich and the rest.

Remnants of exotic items from overseas were found within the enclosure. No evidence of cooking was found within the walled area. Most likely, this means that food was prepared elsewhere by servants and delivered to the wealthy inhabitants upon demand. And third, evidence of only 100-200 residents is shown, while many thousands occupied the city.

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HISTORY Southern Africa’s Iron Age Kingdoms Outer wall of Great Zimbabwe

Where did everyone else live? They lived in mud huts surrounding the enclosure. Although the huts were not quite as glamorous as the granite "palaces," they were well constructed.

By 1200 C.E., the city had grown strong, and was well known as an important religious and trading center. Some believe that religion triggered the city's rise to power, and that the tall tower was used for worship. The people of Great Zimbabwe most likely worshipped Mwari, the supreme god in the Shona religion.

The ruins of Great Zimbabwe

Discoveries of Chinese porcelain, engraved glass from the Middle East, and metal ornaments from West Africa provide evidence that Great Zimbabwe participated in a comprehensive trade network during the 13th and 14th centuries. Gold was probably its chief export and East African cities — especially those along the coast that had overseas connections — were most likely its primary trading partners.

Zimbabwe's prosperity continued until the mid-15th century. At this time, the city's trade activity declined and the people began to migrate elsewhere. The exact cause of the evacuation remains a puzzle, but many scientists agree that a decline in soil quality and fertility was probably a major factor.

2. Thulamela

Thulamela is in the north-eastern part of South Africa near the South African border with Zimbabwe and in the Limpopo Province. This area is also known as the Pafuri area of the and sits next to the Levuvhu River, which flows into the . The city lies at the edge of a plateau that borders on the floodplain of the Levuvhu Rive

What does Thulamela mean? Thulamela is a word that means "the place of giving birth".

Who lived at Thulamela? The city of Thulamela has been carbon dated. This confirms that the kingdom existed between about 1240 AD to 1700 AD. This was determined by the researchers from the Thulamela Project, a venture by the Gold Fields Foundation and the Kruger National Park to explore and develop the site for educational purposes.

Scientists believe that the ancestors of the Shona people established Thulamela.

Some of the archaeologists studying the site found two skeletons that had been buried with gold jewellery, pottery, metal hoes and spear blades.

The man was wearing gold jewellery and may have been the king of Thulamela. Page 7 of 10

HISTORY Southern Africa’s Iron Age Kingdoms The workers and archaeologists decided to call him "King Ingwe", which means "leopard".

The woman's skeleton was also tested, and it was discovered that she was not one of the king's family members, but that she was possibly also from a noble family. She was discovered lying on her side with her palms together and her hands under her left temple. In the Venda tradition women greet men in this way, which is why we can say that the people of Thulamela were the ancestors of the today.

This greeting and sign of respect is called "losha" in the Venda culture, so the skeleton was named "Queen Losha".

The city of Thulamela shows similar social structures to those of Great Zimbabwe and Mapungubwe. There are signs of different social classes indicated by stone walls built around the royal area to give the royal family privacy and to separate them from the commoners.

At Thulamela the royal enclosure was big enough to house 1 000 people. There are collapsed walls and signs of houses on the hills around the enclosure that prove that about 2 000 people lived in the city.

Why did they leave?

It is difficult to say why the residents of Thulamela left their home. Archaeologists and social anthropologists have presented many theories that range from traditions surrounding the death of a ruler, an environmental disaster or war over the control of land and resources.

The importance of cattle, gold and ivory

The Shona people initially practiced agriculture and bred animals, especially cattle, to make a living. During the 14th century, or the 1300's, they began trading gold and ivory with Arab and, after them, Portuguese traders along the eastern coast of Africa.

Archaeologists discovered gold beads, gold wire, gongs and a potsherd with traces of molten gold at Thulamela. There were also forged tools and weapons which show that they had begun to extract and use metals around 800 years ago and had converted it to steel without any European influence.

Like all other cities Thulamela's rubbish dump tells a great deal about the people who lived there. Archaeologists found gold jewelry, iron tools, ceramic potsherds, glass beads, spinning whorls, sewing needles and a piece of Chinese porcelain.

This shows that metal was smelted, which means they had advanced technology and trade contacts with the Far East.

3. Mapungubwe

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HISTORY Southern Africa’s Iron Age Kingdoms The Kingdom of Mapungubwe, a predecessor to the Kingdom of Zimbabwe. The Kingdom of Mapungubwe was a rich iron age civilization that flourished in the area of modern-day Zimbabwe, , and South Africa, from the 10th to the 13th century AD. It was a pre-colonial state located at the confluence of the Shashe and Limpopo rivers. The kingdom’s development culminated in the creation of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe in the 13th century, as a normal evolution of itself, and with gold trading links to Rhapta and on the African east coast.

The people of Mapungubwe were of the Khoi/San people ancestry and were attracted to the Shashe-Limpopo area because of its fertile soils for agriculture, and also because it was an area rich with elephants, thus rich with ivory. The area of Mapungubwe was also rich in gold, and the people traded in gold and ivory, snail shells, pottery, wood, and ostriches’ eggs (eggshells), with places as far as Egypt, Persia, India, and China.

Stone walls were used to define important areas, and important residences were built with stone and wood.

Life in Mapungubwe was centered around family and farming. The kingdom, as well as the way people lived, was divided into a three-tiered hierarchy, with the commoners inhabiting low-lying sites, district leaders occupying small hilltops, and the kingdom’s elites residing at the capital at Mapungubwe hill as the supreme authority.

Important men maintained prestigious homes on the outskirts of the capital.

The kingdom was named after its capital city, the city of Mapungubwe. In Shona, the language spoken by the majority of people in Zimbabwe, Mapungubwe means “rocks of the Bateleur eagle,” a bird which has deep spiritual connotations in the Shona culture (ma = many; pungu =suffix for chapungu = bateleur eagle, the massive bird which once graced the entrance of the royal complex of Great Zimbabwe; bwe = diminutive for ibwe = stone).

The site was rediscovered in 1932. At the top of Mapungubwe, they found many golden objects: bangles, beads, nails, miniature buffalo, rhino, a skeleton, and gold anklets, about 2.2 kg of gold and many other clay and glass artifacts. Between 1933 and 1998, the remains of about 147 individuals were excavated from the Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape.

References:

1. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-africa/southern-africa/zimbabwe/a/great- zimbabwe?utm_account=Grant&utm_campaignname=Grant_Science_Dynamic&gclid=C jwKCAjw3- bzBRBhEiwAgnnLCn5V3toHx5b8J2iG7KNcQXW3_4fsgtbbacSOqB8N0VhJZ9sbIFXYbx oCf8gQAvD_BwE 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Zimbabwe 3. https://www.ducksters.com/history/africa/ 4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_history_of_South_Africa 5. https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/rsa/thulamela.htm 6. https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/kingdoms-southern-africa-thulamela Page 9 of 10

HISTORY Southern Africa’s Iron Age Kingdoms 7. https://theculturetrip.com/africa/south-africa/articles/a-brief-history-of-south-africas-pre- colonial-kingdom-of-mapungubwe/ 8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Mapungubwe

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