The archaeological context of recent archaeomagnetic research in Zimbabwe

Authors

  • Thomas N. Huffman School of Geography, Archaeology & Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
  • Munyaradzi Manyanga Department of History, University of Zimbabwe, Harare
  • John A. Tarduno Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Rochester, New York
  • Michael K. Watkeys Department of Geology, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban

Abstract

Archaeomagentic research in the Mount Buhwa area of south-central Zimbabwe focused on a Silver Leaves village (2030CB19) and the famous Gokomere site of Mabveni (2030AD5). At both sites, in situ daga features were selected for sampling. These features were the remains of granaries whose burnings correlate with known droughts. The droughts, ceramics and radiocarbon dates place the two occupations in different phases of the Early Iron Age?early fifth and late seventh centuries respectively. Despite the time difference, both sites yielded evidence for interaction with people making Bambata pottery. The rich iron ores attracted faming peoples throughout the Iron Age and interaction was probably common.
KEY WORDS: Bambata pottery, Buhwa, droughts, interaction, Mabveni, paleomagnetism, Zimbabwe.

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Published

2018-12-13

How to Cite

Huffman, T. N., Manyanga, M., Tarduno, J. A., & Watkeys, M. K. (2018). The archaeological context of recent archaeomagnetic research in Zimbabwe. Southern African Humanities, 31, 205–221. Retrieved from https://sahumanities.org/index.php/sah/article/view/440

Issue

Vol. 31 (2018)

Section

Articles