A Geo-Archaeological Study of Settlement Location Selection and Associated Land Management Practices in Bokoni, Mpumalanga
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Measuring growth potential: A geo-archaeological study of settlement location selection and associated land management practices in Bokoni, Mpumalanga Lauren Solomon 378196 Supervisor: Dr MH Schoeman Department of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies Archaeology Division Faculty of Science 2013 Introduction Mpumalanga hosts an extensive complex of stone walled settlements that were built around a significant agricultural system (Delius et al. 2012). Similar to other Later Farming Communities (LFCs) the people of Bokoni balanced agriculture and livestock management (Maggs 2008; also cf. Hall & Maggs 1979). Their land management choices, such as building agricultural terraces, however are distinct, and it has been suggested that it is an example of intensive agriculture (Maggs 2008). This society, however, changed through time, and the Bokoni research project (see Schoeman & Delius 2011; Delius et al. 2012) divided the different stages of occupation into four phases. They suggested that the core of Bokoni slowly shifted from the South to the North in Mpumalanga from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. These shifts have been linked to political processes and systemic violence in the region (Delius & Schoeman 2008; Delius et al. 2012). As a result of this drift northwards Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 sites were created in different contexts, topographies and geological zones. My research will explore the change and/or continuity in the Bokoni people’s selection of settlement sites, and how this land was managed, through a comparative analysis of site location, the geology, micromorphology and soil chemistry. Aim This dissertation aims to understand the continuity and/or change in the selection of settlement locations in Bokoni, as well as land management practices during occupations. Specifically, focussing on whether these choices were based on the quality of agricultural soils, and whether the soils were improved. Rationale Previous studies have suggested that agriculture formed the core rationale of Bokoni society, for example Delius and Schoeman (2008) suggested that Magnesium-Calsium cation ratios might have been a key factor in Bokoni site selection. Similarly Maggs (2008) speculated that the Bokoni system must have rested on intensive land management practices. A deeper, scientific understanding of Phase 1 site selection and land management practices, and grappling with soil selection and land management practices in the later settlement phases will deepen our insights into the importance and dynamics of agriculture in Bokoni. 1 Literature Review History of Bokoni Bokoni settlements stretch across the Mpumalanga Province from Carolina to Orighstad (Delius et al. 2012). Sites occur in a range of topographic contexts, from gentle, rolling hills in the south to defensive structures in the northern Kloofs (Delius & Schoeman 2010). Irrespective of location, the stone walled ruins of villages and homesteads follow similar layouts, with stone walled enclosures in the centre, and outer walls separating the domestic areas from the terraces. Roads lead from the homesteads to nearby grazing and water sources. Recent research suggested that the settlements in the south of the region are the oldest, dating to around 1500 AD (for a more detailed discussion of the sequence see Schoeman & Delius 2011; Delius et al. 2012). This research derived this date from oral accounts, such as those recorded by Prinsloo (1936) and Pedi traditions. These recounted that they met SeKoni speaking people in the Crocodile valley, but not the Komati valley. The silence surrounding the southern sites, suggest that the Komati valley sites pre-dates the Crocodile valley occupations encountered by the Pedi. Recent research (Schoeman & Delius 2012; Delius et al.) classified the southern settlements have been classified as Phase 1 sites, and are located on gently sloping hills. The central animal enclosures in the homesteads are circular and additional circular lobes developed when the number of wives in a homestead increased (Delius et al. 2012). Consequently, an analyses of the number of lobes in a homestead could be used to assess the maturity (and wealth) of a homestead. Newer homesteads are built on the fringes, or overlaying abandoned homesteads inside villages (Faerch 2012). No dominant structures or features have been found that would suggest stark political hierarchies (Delius et al. 2012). Delius & Schoeman (2008); Schoeman & Delius (2011) and Delius et al. (2012) state that these Phase 1 sites are located in open areas and would not have been easily defendable. As these sites were situated along the Komati and Crocodile rivers, trade with other people were easily established and maintained (Coetzee 2009; Delius et al. 2012). Unfortunately, the trade routes also allowed aggressors, such as slave raiders, to reach these settlements. This violence forms the starting point of Bokoni oral traditions recorded by Prinsloo (1936). These accounts indicated that sites such as Moxomatsi near Belfast was one of the first Bokoni settlements; 2 these however were attacked by 'the Mapono' (possibly Nguni groups) forcing the Bokoni people to move towards Machadadorp and Lydenburg. The settlement layouts of the Bokoni homesteads and villages near Machadodorp and Lydenburg are similar to that of Phase 1 sites (Delius & Schoeman 2010; Delius et al. 2012). These Phase 2 sites also speak to agricultural concerns being fundamental to society. According to Schoeman & Delius and Delius et al. a dramatic shift occurred in the eighteenth century where Phase 3 settlements were built in more defendable kloofs. It is likely that these sites were initially used as refuges when violent episodes first affected the region. Initial conflict was sporadic; allowing people to continue to use open valley Phase 2 settlements to live and cultivate land (Schoeman & Delius 2012; Delius et al. 2012) However, as the violence became endemic the people of Bokoni were forced to retreat completely into the kloofs (Delius & Schoeman 2010; Delius et al. 2012). The violence increased during the Maroteng (Pedi) dispute between Thulare and his brother Dikopte. Violence further escalated with the arrival of the Ndwandwe and /or Ndebele (see Rasmussen 1978; Delius 1984: 22-29; Schoeman 1997 for a more detailed discussion on the impact of the mfecane in the region). The kloofs could not provide refuge to everybody, forcing the people of Bokoni to spread out, and find refuge with neighbouring groups such as the Ndzundza (Schoeman 1997). Those who did find refuge within the kloofs developed extensive stone walled terraces. According to Delius et al. (2012) in the early 1800s, during this escalated violence, Chief Marangrang assumed leadership. He was based at Khutwaneng, a large terraced site south of Lydenburg, however, this site was eventually abandoned and people moved to the Dwars River valley. The Dwars River settlement was one of the final terraced Bokoni settlements, as a re-established Pedi polity had formed in the north. The conflict between this polity and the Marangrang led Bakoni ended Bokoni independence. It also destroyed the tradition of terrace agriculture (Delius et al. 2012). The final phase (Phase 4) of Bokoni history saw people remaining in the areas where they found refuge, joining mission stations, or returning to Bokoni settlements with their adopted communities. These returnee settlements, however, were short lived due to the expanding colonial frontier. Intensive agriculture and Bokoni 3 A common theme in previous scholarship was that African, especially Southern African, farming communities practiced slash and burn (swidden) cultivation (Sutton 1984; Delius et al. 2012). This was clearly not the case in Bokoni. Terracing and re-use of sites suggest intensive and continued use of land for farming. The people of Bokoni chose to construct terraced sites creating an agricultural system based on intensive labour investment (Delius et al. 2012). There are various debates as to what intensive agriculture is and how to classify it. According to Sutton (1989) agricultural terracing should be viewed as an intensive agricultural practice, because building terraces requires major labour mobilisation and organisation strategy. This involves the initiation of construction, as well as the continued maintenance of these stone walled sites (Sutton 1989; Stump 2010). Sutton (1989) suggests that there is sophisticated and complex reasoning behind building terraces. Stump (2010) further argues that this sophistication or intensity of the agriculture influences other aspects of society such as surplus production and size of the population. Maggs’ (2008) comparison between Bokoni and Engaruka in Tanzania and Marakwet in Kenya shows that these two settlements are similar to Bokoni because both practiced agricultural terracing. The terracing in Engaruka and Marakwet was used for irrigation (Sutton 1989; Westerberg et al. 2010). Similarly the agricultural terracing in Nyanga, Zimbabwe, has been linked to water management. Here stonewalled terracing was used in order to supplement rainfall where large canals were built off streams creating a fail-safe system for irrigation of crops. The terraces in Bokoni, however, are not informed by this rationale. According to Delius & Schoeman (2008) and Maggs (2008) the rainfall in the Mpumalanga area is relatively high (ranging between 800 mm and 1500 mm per annum) and consequently irrigation is not required. Therefore various questions have arisen