Cognitive Archaeology and Imaginary History at Great Zimbabwe

Beach, David N.

doi:10.1086/204698

Cited by 100 publications

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“…CatonThompson also noted that it was virtually impossible to interpret the Zimbabwe culture without making recourse to local history. Ever since, every archaeologist has taken up this advice, but the failure to engage historians lamentably has resulted in an improper and almost perfunctory use of historical information (Beach 1998).…”

Section: A Historiography Of the Zimbabwe Culturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Not surprisingly, researchers familiar with the archaeology of the region that encompasses southern and southwestern Zimbabwe, eastern Botswana and the Limpopo Depression have long expressed their reservations about the validity and appropriateness of this widely held view (Robinson 1965(Robinson , 1985Garlake 1982;Hall 1984;Beach 1994Beach , 1998Chipunza 1994;Manyanga et al 2000;Lane 2005;Chirikure and Pikirayi 2008;Chirikure et al 2012). For example, Robinson (1985), who excavated Great Zimbabwe extensively and spent most of his professional life excavating in southwestern Zimbabwe, argued that Huffman's opinions about the beginning of sociopolitical complexity in southern Africa did not accurately reflect the archaeology on the ground.…”

Section: A Historiography Of the Zimbabwe Culturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, Lane (1994Lane ( /1995Lane ( , 1998Lane ( , 2005 has pointed out the problems associated with the selective use of ethnographic evidence, which tended to promote singular interpretations of the past while downplaying change. Furthermore, Beach (1998) and Beach et al (1997) have decried the failure by archaeologists to incorporate more of local history into their interpretations. The most pertinent point here is that even if one were to remove elements of cognitive structuralism from understanding the second millennium AD in southern Africa, the same historical baseline would remain.…”

Section: A Historiography Of the Zimbabwe Culturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most pertinent point here is that even if one were to remove elements of cognitive structuralism from understanding the second millennium AD in southern Africa, the same historical baseline would remain. Beach (1998) also criticised the lack of rigour in the use of historical information by archaeologists. And yet, some researchers have argued that the distribution of material culture must play an important role in understanding the use of enclosures at places such as Great Zimbabwe (Chirikure and Pikirayi 2008).…”

Section: A Historiography Of the Zimbabwe Culturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Three former capitals, Great Zimbabwe, Khami and Mapungubwe, are all UNESCO World Heritage Sites. For a very long time, the culture has attracted the awe of foreign observers such that when Karl Mauch reported it to the outside world in 1871, amateur and academic archaeologists engaged with Great Zimbabwe and associated places in mesmeric detail (Bent 1896;Hall and Neal 1902;MacIver 1906;Caton-Thompson 1931;Hall 1987;Huffman 1996;Beach 1998;Pikirayi 2001;Kim and Kusimba 2008;Chirikure et al 2012). However, most of this took place without the participation of local scholars and communities, resulting in an archaeology that is incompatible with local understandings and expectations (Garlake 1982;Pwiti 1996;Kusimba 2006;Chirikure and Pikirayi 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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New Pathways of Sociopolitical Complexity in Southern Africa

Chirikure¹,

Manyanga²,

Pikirayi

et al. 2013

Afr Archaeol Rev

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Much is known about the economy and spatial organization of Zimbabwe culture entities of Mapungubwe, Great Zimbabwe and Khami but less in terms of their origins and relationship with each other. Based on little tangible evidence, it is believed and widely accepted that the societies based at Mapungubwe (AD 1220-1290), Great Zimbabwe (AD 1300-1450) and Khami (AD 1450-1820) rose, developed and eclipsed in tandem. A recent reexamination of the relationship between these settlements and related ones using local ceramics, imported artefacts, stone architecture and Bayesian modelling suggests this may not have been the case. The synthesis proffered revelations which temper the widely accepted assumption that sociopolitical complexity in southern Africa began in the Shashi-Limpopo Valley before anywhere else in the region. Firstly, there are numerous Zhizo and Leopard's Kopje sites that predate Mapungubwe but contain prestige goods and stone structures dating from the late first millennium AD. Secondly, material culture studies and modelled radiocarbon dates indicate that Great Zimbabwe evolved out of Gumanye while Khami, like Mapungubwe, may have developed out of the Leopard's Kopje. In fact, Great Zimbabwe was already a place of importance when Mapungubwe collapsed. Thirdly, Khami and Great Zimbabwe overlapped for over a century, before the latter buckled. Therefore, the evolution of sociopolitical complexity in southern Africa may have followed trajectories that are different from what the current understanding implies. (1450-1820 ap. J-C) auraient été fondés, se seraient développés et se seraient effondrés successivement. De récentes recherches ont exploré les relations entre ces différents sites ainsi que ceux qui y sont rattachés, en étudiant les céramiques locales, les objets importés, la typologie des murs de pierres et notamment les préférences résidentielles, et la modélisation Bayesienne. La synthèse permet de tempérer la vision dominante selon laquelle la complexité sociopolitique dans le Sud de l'Afrique a commencé dans la vallée du Shashi-Limpopo, avant tout autre site dans la région. Tout d'abord, il y a de nombreux sites antérieurs à Mapungubwe, Zhizo et Leopard's Kopje, avec des biens de prestige et des fortifications en pierre datant de la fin du premier millénaire ap. J-C. Ces caractéristiques seraient apparus à K2 et Mapungubwe dans la dépression du Limpopo. Deuxièmement, la culture matérielle et les datations carbones indiquent que Great Zimbabwe était déjà un lieu important quand Mapungubwe s'est effondré. Enfin, Khami et Great Zimbabwe coexistent pendant plus d'un siècle, avant que ce dernier ne tombe en déchéance. Par conséquent, la complexité sociopolitique dans le Sud de l'Afrique a probablement emprunté des trajectoires différentes de celles qui sont actuellement tracées avec les connaissances disponibles.

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Section: A Historiography Of the Zimbabwe Culturementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A Historiography Of the Zimbabwe Culturementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A Historiography Of the Zimbabwe Culturementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A Historiography Of the Zimbabwe Culturementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

New Pathways of Sociopolitical Complexity in Southern Africa

Chirikure¹,

Manyanga²,

Pikirayi

et al. 2013

Afr Archaeol Rev

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Contested Cultural Heritage

Silverman

2011

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except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights.

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Carving the Nation: Zimbabwean Sculptors and the Contested Heritage of Aesthetics

Larkin

2010

Contested Cultural Heritage

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Cognitive Archaeology and Imaginary History at Great Zimbabwe

Cited by 100 publications

References 0 publications

New Pathways of Sociopolitical Complexity in Southern Africa

New Pathways of Sociopolitical Complexity in Southern Africa

Contested Cultural Heritage

Carving the Nation: Zimbabwean Sculptors and the Contested Heritage of Aesthetics

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