Maize grindstones, Madikwe pottery and ochre mining in precolonial South Africa

Abstract

Salvage excavations at a sixteenth to seventeenth century Madikwe village near Thabazimbi, Limpopo yielded maize grindstones associated with burnt house floors. Madikwe villagers also mined red ochre with the same techniques as other Madikwe people used to mine tin at Rooiberg, only 30 km away. Maize probably entered the area from Maputo along trade networks established for the tin. The indications are that maize was cultivated in the region some 150 years earlier than in KwaZulu-Natal.

To cite this article: Huffman, T. N. 2006. Maize grindstones, Madikwe pottery and ochre mining in precolonial South Africa. Southern African Humanities 18 (2): 51-70.