List of archaeological sites in southern Africa
This is the list of archaeological sites in southern Africa , i.e. the finds of the remains of human civilization up to the year 1700 in Angola , Botswana , Lesotho , Malawi , Mozambique , Namibia , South Africa , Zambia , Zimbabwe and Swaziland . Geographically, this area is limited by the Lundaschwelle and the southern Tanzanian highlands .
First and foremost are the sites and - where necessary - the closest existing place today. In second place is the country within whose national borders the site is located today. In third place is today's region. In the fourth place the finds are listed, in the fifth the date is noted, in the sixth they are culturally and in the seventh they are assigned ethnically. The eighth column is for explanatory comments, which should refer to essential contexts, systems and facts. Please note references and corresponding web links in the article for the relevant location.
Other sites in southern and eastern Africa without previous specification: Thandwe , Kansanshe , Luanzaf , Bwana Mkubwa , Sanga (city) , Kamnama , Uvenza , Ivuna , Manekweni , Nalatale .
list
Location | country | region | Finds | Dating | Cultural assignment |
Ethnic classification |
comment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kgaswe B55 | Botswana | Foundations of huts, ceramics, several thousand glass beads, ostrich egg shells | approx. 990-1010 | Toutswe culture | Bantu, not yet a Tswana | ||
Mmamagwa on Limpopo | Botswana | Central District , near the border triangle with South Africa and Zimbabwe | Stone buildings, pottery, glass beads, shells | 1200-1330 1450-1650 |
Mapungubwe culture and Khami culture ( Munhumutapa successor state) | Bantu | |
Moeng I. | Botswana | Numerous evidence of iron processing | approx. 650-1350 | Toutswe culture | Bantu, not yet a Tswana | ||
Okavango -Makgadikgadi | Botswana | North West District | Ceramics | 200 BC Chr.- | Iron Age Bambatha culture (agriculture) | Bantu | |
Tswapong Hills near Palapye / Molepolole / Tsodilo Hills |
Botswana |
Central District / Kweneng District / North West District |
Rock painting, pottery, iron mines | 190-800 | Neighborhood from the Iron Age since the 3rd or 4th century and the Stone Age until the 20th century. | San, Bantu | |
Kipushi | Democratic Republic of Congo | Katanga | Traces of settlement, fireplace, charcoal, ceramics | 900-1440 | iron age | Bantu, connections to Bakongo? | missing stratigraphy (superficial position), pottery similar to Kansanshi , Kapwirimbwe , Chondwe , Luano cave, Roan Antelope, Kangonga |
Mahilaka , on Ampasindava | Madagascar | Northwest coast, 1550 km south of the equator , 1700 km northwest of Sofala |
Settlement remains, stone houses, mosques, ceramics, glass production, iron processing | 1100-1400 | Islamic Middle Ages | Arabs , Swahili | Settlement of 60 hectares, constructions like in Kilwa Kisiwani , mining |
Kapeni ( Balaka / Ntcheu ) | Malawi | Shire , Shire Highlands | Ceramics, traces of settlement, | 800-1100 1200-1400 |
Kapeni culture | Inconsistent assignment, sometimes before the Nkope culture , sometimes after, with some identical to the Longwe culture or at the same time | |
Longwe | Malawi | Mulanje | Ceramics | 1200-1400 | Longwe culture | with some identical or simultaneous Kapeni culture | |
Mawudzu ( Chipoka ) |
Malawi | Chipoka, Shiretal | Ceramic, Indian glass beads, copper | 1200-1750 | Mawudzu culture | Bantu ( Chewa ) | ethnic overlap (?), ceramics (from 1400) is independent and is not based on Nkope culture |
Nkhudzi ( Salima ) |
Malawi | Salima , Senga | Ceramics | after 1700 | Nkhudzi culture | objects of the Nkope culture, the Namaso culture and the Nkhuzi (also: Mkhudzi) culture were found here | |
Nkope south of Monkey Bay | Malawi | Mangochi | Pottery, traces of settlement, cattle bones, rub stones | 300-1000 | Nkope culture | near Nkopola (a little south of Nkope), further finds also in Chencherere cave near Dedza , similar finds in eastern Zambia and Mozambique ( Matope ) | |
Chibuene | Mozambique | Inhambane | Trading center, ceramics, Arabic, glazed goods | 500 (?) -1500 | Swahili trade, Munhumutapa Empire | Swahili | Pottery similar to Kilwa Kisiwani , earlier evidence of coastal trade |
Manyikeni | Mozambique | Inhambane | Stone architecture, traded glass beads and shells | 1100 to 1600 | Munhumutapa Empire (?) | Bantu | Ceramics of the Gokomere / Ziwa tradition |
Matola | Mozambique | Maputo | Pottery, shells | 200-400 | early iron age | Bantu?, Swahili ? | Ceramic decor very similar to the one at the same time in Kwale in Kenya |
Matope | Mozambique | House remains , bones of domestic animals, grinding stones, glass beads and cowrie shells , 81 finds | Nkope culture | Cowries are only found in the Maldives , South India and Southeast Asia. Their shells (colloquially called cowrie shells) were currency in large parts of Africa before 1800, even in the upper Niger | |||
Quelimane | Mozambique | Zambezia | Trading place (Portuguese reports) | ~ 1300-1550 | Swahili trade, Munhumutapa Empire | ||
Sena | Mozambique | Sofala | Trading place (Portuguese reports) | ? -1500 | Swahili trade, Munhumutapa Empire | Bantu, Swahili | also finds that correspond to the Gokomere culture, also in Chinde and Matola |
Sofala | Mozambique | Sofala | Trading place (Arabic and Portuguese reports) | 900 or earlier -1500 | Swahili trade, Munhumutapa Empire | Bantu, Swahili | |
Tete | Mozambique | Tete | Trading place (Portuguese reports) | ? -1500 | Swahili trade, Munhumutapa Empire | Bantu, Swahili | |
Zumbo | Mozambique | Tete | Trading place (Portuguese reports) | ? -1500 | Swahili trade, Munhumutapa Empire | Bantu, Swahili | |
Places of worship | Namibia | Khomas | San | ||||
Apollo 11 cave | Namibia | ǁKaras | 27,000-23,000 BC Chr. | San | |||
Bom Jesus | Namibia | ǁKaras | 1533 | Portuguese | |||
Bushman paradise | Namibia | Erongo | 4400 BC Chr. | San | |||
Elephant relics | Namibia | Khomas | 3000 BC Chr. | ||||
Farm Aar | Namibia | ǁKaras | 635 million years ago to about 541 million years ago | ||||
ǁKhauxaǃnas | Namibia | ǁKaras | sunken city | 18th century | Nama | ||
Paula cave | Namibia | Erongo | Rock painting | 3,000 BC Chr. | San | ||
Phillips cave | Namibia | Erongo | Rock painting | 3,300 BC | San | ||
Smallpox Bank Grotto | Namibia | ǁKaras | Rock art, stone artifacts | Middle Stone Age | |||
Twyfelfontein | Namibia | Kunene | Rock art | 4,000 BC Chr. | San | National monument and world heritage site | |
White lady | Namibia | Erongo | Rock art | San | |||
Batoka plateau | Zambia | Southern province | Ceramics | 1200– | Luangwa tradition | Bantu | is associated with Kansanshi, different dates: ceramic 1200, cattle (?) 1000 (?) |
Dambwa in Livingstone | Zambia | Southern province | Traces of settlement | 900-1200 | Dambwa culture (Iron Age) | Khoisan assimilated by Bantu | |
Gundu | Zambia | Lundazi | Ceramics | 1200– | Luangwa tradition | Bantu | Finds similar to those on the Batoka Plateau, matrilineally organized Bantu like Chewa |
Ingombe Ilede near Siavonga | Zambia | Southern province | Indian fabrics, gold, copper, bells, ceramics | 700-1600 | late Iron Age, Munhumutapa Empire ? | Khoisan assimilated to Bantu | The finds are kept in the Livingstone Museum, Iron Age Dambwa culture |
Kalomo | Zambia | Southern province | Traces of settlement | 900-1200 | Dambwa culture Munhumutapa Empire | Khoisan assimilated by Bantu | semi-nomadic, first agriculture |
Kalomo | Zambia | Southern province | Traces of settlement | ? -900 | Kalundu culture | Khoisan | Hunters and collectors |
Kalomo | Zambia | Southern province | Graves | 1400 | Munhumutapa Empire | Khoisan assimilated by Bantu | Graves with ornaments made of sea shells and glass |
Kansanshi at Solwezi | Zambia | Northwest Province Geologically Copperbelt | Copper bars | 1000-1900 | Munhumutapa Empire ? | Bantu | |
Cape Wirimbwe , Chondwe | Zambia | Lusaka , Copperbelt | Traces of settlement, ceramics | after 500 | Nkope culture Gokomere / Ziwa tradition | Bantu | Iron-working arable farmers with copper extraction, cattle farming, similar finds in Roan Antelope and Kangonga, no evidence of population exchange |
Lubusi | Zambia | Western province | Traces of settlement, fireplace, metal, ceramics | 900-1000 | iron age | Bantu | Ceramic of the same type as further north in what is now DR Congo |
Mwerusee | Zambia | Luapula | Traces of settlement | 800– | northern Tonga culture | Bantu | |
Bambatha cave | Zimbabwe | South Matabeleland | Sheep bones 140 BC Chr., In the same layer of ceramic, but possibly. 400 AD | Bambatha culture (late Stone Age), ceramics, possibly Iron Age | Khoisan | The Bambatha cave has served as a shelter for thousands of years, most recently in 1906 | |
Baranda north of Mazowe 32 ° 50 ′ E, 16 ° 50 ′ S | Zimbabwe | Central Maschonaland | Settlement, ceramics, glassware, glass beads, imported ceramics (Europe and the Near and Far East) | 1500-1900 |
Munhumutapareich , (2nd phase) |
Karanga (Shona), Portuguese | Perhaps identical to the Massapa known from Portuguese sources |
Chinhoyi | Zimbabwe | West Maschonaland | Clay pots | 650 | before Munhumutapa Empire | Wide cave system used as a huge storage tank with year-round water-bearing pool and underground water system | |
Dambarare | Zimbabwe | East Machonaland | Settlement remains | since 1500 |
Munhumutapareich (2nd phase), Portuguese |
Karanga (Shona), Portuguese | Aristocratic seat of the Karangas, trading post of the Portuguese until 1693 |
Danangombe between Bulawayo u. Gweru | Zimbabwe | South Matabeleland | Palace with buildings made of layered stones, terraces, more ornaments than in Khami, later again coarser | 16th century - 1830 | Munhumutapa Successor State, Torwa Dynasty, and Changamire Dynasty | Rozvi (Shona) | Second residence of the Torwa, building taken over by the Changamire and further expanded, native ceramics unchanged, objects from Europe (including Portuguese cannons) and China |
Gokomere at Masvingo | Zimbabwe | Masvingo | 30 rock carvings as well as early Iron Age finds | 300-650 | Gokomere / Ziwa tradition (before Munhumutapa empire ) | San and Bantu | Located eight kilometers from Masvingo in a rocky terrain. The Iron Age Gokomere people are believed to be the ancestors of today's Shona. |
Greater Zimbabwe near Masvingo | Zimbabwe | Masvingo | Ruler's seat and city-like settlement, enclosing walls made of dry masonry | 700 and 1200-1450 | early Iron Age and Munhumutapa Empire | Bantu (probably Shona) | individual ceramic finds are much older than the walls and objects from the heyday |
Inyanga |
Zimbabwe Mozambique
|
Manicaland | Terrace systems | 17th-19th Century | Manica | Manica (Shona) | The manica culture is located across borders in Zimbabwe and Mozambique (Vila de Manica) |
Khami 15 km west of Bulawayo | Zimbabwe | North Matabeleland | Palace with buildings made of layered stones, terraces | 1450-1683 | Munhumutapa - successor state to the Torwa dynasty | Bantu, probably Shona | Items from China and Europe |
Mazowetal | Zimbabwe | Mashonaland Central | Irrigation systems | 700-1400 | Munhumutapa Empire | Bantu | |
Mazowetal | Zimbabwe | Mashonaland Central | Settlements | 1500– |
Munhumutapa empire (2nd phase) |
Karanga (Shona) | |
Murewa Caves | Zimbabwe | East Machonaland | Rock carvings from hunting scenes | before 1000 | Stone Age hunters and gatherers | San | In some areas, Stone Age and Iron Age populations are said to have lived side by side. |
Mvumbira (south of Murewa ) u. a. | Zimbabwe | East Machonaland | small hill fortifications made of dry masonry | 1500– |
Munhumutapareich , (2nd phase) |
Karanga (Shona) | |
Zaka | Zimbabwe | Masvingo | Ceramic, iron, remains of settlements | 1485-1695 | Khami culture | Bantu, probably Shona | |
Mapungubwe at Musina | South Africa | Limpopo , on the border with Zimbabwe | Palace (dry stone walls), city-like. Siedlg .; Copper, glass beads, porcelain, ivory | 1220-14. century | at the same time as and similar to Greater Zimbabwe | Bantu | Artifacts in Pretoria , replicas in the Musina Museum |
Thulamela in the Kruger National Park (near Camp Punda Maria ) | South Africa | Limpopo | Fortifications (dry stone walls) and settlement; Iron, glass beads, porcelain | 1500-17. century | Similar to Greater Zimbabwe (successor) | ||
Kilwa Kisiwani | Tanzania | 200 km north of the Mozambican border, 900 km south of the equator | Trading city: palace, large mosque (13th century), bath and a., medieval column vaults | 975-1830, flowering in the 13th century | Founded by Persian emigrants, Yemeni dynasty since around 1300 | Persians , Arabs, Swahili | twice as far from Aden, more than three times as far from Persia as from Great Zimbabwe |
literature
sorted by year of publication:
- Peter Breunig: Archaeological Travel Guide Namibia. Africa Magna Verlag, 1st edition, January 15, 2014, ISBN 978-3-937248-39-4 .
- Graham Connah: African Civilizations: Precolonial Cities and States in Tropical Africa. Cambridge 1987 (therein pp. 183-213 on Great Zimbabwe and gold mining) ; Revised edition Cambridge 2001.
- Peter Hertel: To the ruins of Zimbabwe. Gotha 2000, ISBN 3-623-00356-5 .
- Thomas N. Huffman: Ceramics, settlements and Late Iron Age migrations. In: African Archaeological Review. Volume 7, No. 1 / December, 1989, pp. 155-182.
- Paul JJ Sinclair, Innocent Pikirayi, Gilbert Pwiti, Robert Soper: Urban Trajectories on the Zimbabwean Plateau. In: T. Shaw, P. Sinclair, B. Andah, A. Okpoko (Eds.): The Archeology of Africa. London / New York 1993, ISBN 0-415-11585-X , pp. 726-730.
- Paul JJ Sinclair: Archeology in Eastern Africa: An Overview of Current Chronological Issues. In: The Journal of African History. Volume 32, No. 2 (1991), pp. 179-219
- Tim Maggs, Gavin Whitelaw: A Review of Recent Archaeological Research on Food-Producing Communities in Southern Africa. In: The Journal of African History. Volume 32, No. 1 (1991), pp. 3-24.
- Yusuf M. Juwayeyi: Iron age settlement and substence patterns in southern Malawi. In: T. Shaw, P. Sinclair, B. Andah, A. Okpoko (Eds.): The Archeology of Africa. London / New York 1993, ISBN 0-415-11585-X , p. 396.
- Francis B. Musonda: The significance of pottery in Zambian Later Stone Age contexts, Humanities. In: Social Sciences and Law. Volume 5, No. 1 / December, 1987, pp. 147-158.
- Heinrich Pleticha (Ed.): Zimbabwe. Voyages of discovery into the past. Stuttgart 1985 (collection of excerpts from travelogues as well as standard works on the “Ophir” theory).
- David N. Beach: The Shona and Zimbabwe 900-1850. Heinemann (London) and Mambo Press (Gwelo) 1980.
- SIG Mudenge: Eighteenth-Century Portuguese Settlements on the Zambezi and the Dating of Rhodesian Ruins: Some reflections on the Problems of Reference Dating. In: The International Journal of African Historical Studies. Volume 10, No. 3, 1977.
- Joseph O. Vogel: The Early Iron Age in Western Zambia. In: Current Anthropology Vol. 17, No. 1 (Mar., 1976), pp. 153-154.
- Peter Garlake: Zimbabwe. Goldland of the Bible or a symbol of African freedom? Bergisch Gladbach 1975 (meanwhile outdated standard work on the history and archeology of "Great Zimbabwe" from the pen of the most important researcher of the ruins, very well illustrated)
- David Chinawa: The Zimbabwe Controversy: A Case of Colonial Historiography. Syracuse, NJ 1973.
- TN Huffman: The Rise and Fall of Zimbabwe. In: The Journal of African History. Volume 13, No. 3, 1972.
- JEG Sutton: New Radiocarbon Dates for Eastern and Southern Africa. In: The Journal of African History. Volume 13, No. 1, 1972.
- DW Phillipson: An Early Iron Age site on the Lubusi River Kaoma District, Zambia. Zambia Museums Journal 1971, Volume 2, pp. 51-57.
- PS Garlake: Rhodesian Ruins-A Preliminary Assessment of Their Styles and Chronology. In: The Journal of African History. Volume 11, No. 4, 1970.
- Brian M. Fagan, DW Phillipson, SGH Daniels: Iron Age Cultures in Zambia. Volume 2: Dambwa, Ingombe Ilede, and the Tonga (Review: Robert Soper, African Historical Studies, Volume 3, No. 2, 1970, pp. 487-490).
- Brian M. Fagan: Radiocarbon Dates for Sub-Saharan Africa: VI. In: The Journal of African History. Volume 10, No. 1, 1969, pp. 149-169
- Brian M. Fagan: Early Trade and Raw Materials in South Central Africa. In: The Journal of African History. Volume 10, No. 1, 1969, pp. 1-13
- DW Phillipson: The Early Iron Age in Zambia-Regional Variants and Some Tentative Conclusions. In: The Journal of African History. Volume 9, No. 2, 1968, pp. 191-211
- Andries Johannes Bruwer: Zimbabwe: Rhodesia's Ancient Greatness. Johannesburg 1965 (typical example of a proponent of the "Ophir" theory)
- Neville Jones: Further Excavations at Gokomere, Southern Rhodesia. Man, Vol. 32, Jul., 1932 (Jul., 1932), pp. 161-162.
- Gardner: Excavations in a Wilton Industry at Gokomere, Fort Victoria, Southern Rhodesia. In: The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. Volume 58, Jul-Dec, 1928 (Jul-Dec, 1928), pp. 497-510.
- Carl Peters : Ophir. In the gold country of antiquity. Research between the Zambezi and Sabi. Munich 1902 (classic example of the "Ophir theory" shaped by racist prejudice).
- James Theodore Bent : The Ruined Cities of Mashonaland. London 1896 (classic of the “Ophir” theory) .
- Herbert WA Sommerlatte: Gold and ruins in Zimbabwe. From diaries and letters of Swabian Karl Mauch ( 1837–1875 ). Gütersloh 1987.
Web links
- The history of Shona Tribe of Zimbabwe
- Africanet: Zimbabwe History (See only the last Shona state, oriented towards Portugal, as such, without being able to name the carrier for the predecessor states)
- Issues in African History ( Memento of 30 December 2013, Internet Archive ) on the website of the University of Iowa (English)
- Mapungubwe: SA's lost city of gold
- Mmamagwa Ruins
- A Brief History of Botswana
- Giessen University: Text portrait of Botswana
- Iron Age stockbreeding in southern Africa and its spread
- Wallace G. Mills Hist. 316 2 Types of Economy
- TN Huffman: Archeology and Ethnohistory of the African Iron Age. In: Annual Review of Anthropology. 11, 1982, pp. 133-150, doi: 10.1146 / annurev.an.11.100182.001025 .
- Indian from Goa in Mozambique
- Unesco website on Manyikeni
- Settlement history in southeast Zambia
- Peter S. Garlake: Structure and Meaning in the Prehistoric Art of Zimbabwe (PDF; 3.9 MB)
- Pre-colonial Fortified Settlements in Northern Zimbabwe, 1550–1750 AD ( Memento from May 30, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
- Conference report , on p. 30 Dating for the Early Iron Age in western Zambia: 4. – 9. Century
- History of maritime transport in the Indian Ocean and settlement of Madagascar