States, agency, and power on the ‘peripheries’: exploring the archaeology of the Later Iron Age societies in precolonial Mberengwa, CE 1300-1600s

Abstract

In southern Africa, as elsewhere, the tendency of Iron Age (CE 200-1900) researchers has been to focus on the more prominent places on the landscape, especially those believed by pioneering archaeologists to have been centres of big states. Consequently, most research foci were accorded to Mapungubwe, Great Zimbabwe, Khami, Danamombe and many other places considered as centres (mizinda) of expansive territorial states. However, landscapes away from, and in-between these states and their centres are traditionally viewed as 'peripheries' where resources that made them prosperous were extracted. The inhabitants of such 'peripheries' are presented as if they possessed little or no agency. One such area is Mberengwa, a gold-rich area situated between the edges of Mapela, Mapungubwe, Great Zimbabwe, Danamombe, and Khami. This thesis explores the archaeology of Chumnungwa, a drystone-walled muzinda located in Mberengwa. Because of abundant gold, and a landscape optimal for cattle production and crop agriculture, Chumnungwa is often marginalised as a docile 'periphery' of the more powerful and territorial states that surrounded it. Stratigraphic excavations were performed in different parts of the site to recover artefactual and chronological evidence. Indications are that the inhabitants of Chumnungwa exploited locally acquired resources such as gold, iron, and soapstone, but mixed these with resources from distant areas. Cumulatively, this evidence, when assessed in relation to chronology, suggests that Chumnungwa flourished more or less at the same time as Mapela, and the later phases of Mapungubwe, Great Zimbabwe, Khami, and Danamombe. As a powerful actor in Mberengwa, Chumnungwa also networked and was therefore entangled not only with local, but also with regional, and inter-regional politicoeconomic processes. This suggests it is only a historical invention that can marginalise some landscapes as 'peripheral', especially in the absence of research, but once attention is directed to them, multiple layers of agency and entanglement emerge.

Modelling Land Use in The Gold Belt Territories of Iron Age Southern Zambezia

“…We also inventoried relevant archaeological finds that were recovered by the previous excavators. This included excavation data from recent fieldwork at Chumnungwa (see [77]), which provided additional insights into the settlement history and technological aspects. Generally, the archaeological data were useful in the reconstruction of the land use behaviors of the Zimbabwe people across the sites and the broader surrounding landscapes.…”

“…Generally, the archaeological data were useful in the reconstruction of the land use behaviors of the Zimbabwe people across the sites and the broader surrounding landscapes. However, because of the legacy of colonial and postcolonial vandalism that resulted in the partial and complete destruction of some sites by mining corporations, land developers, local villagers, artisanal miners, treasure hunters, and antiquarians who unscientifically dug sections of these places in search of gold and other valuable finds (see [36,38,77,78]) (as well as massive post-depositional processes mainly characterized by soil erosion and the intrusion of modern settlements and crop farming into some of the archaeological landscapes), it was difficult to achieve this. Therefore, recourse was made to Shona anthropology (i.e., [79][80][81][82][83][84][85][86][87][88][89][90]) and history [31,[91][92][93][94][95] to make meaningful inferences that are conversant with the local epistemologies, ontologies, and practices of land use.…”

“…The remainder were open mines largely characterized by shafts and soil mounds that were heavily eroded. Associated material culture recorded at R2880 and the other mines included human remains, dolly holes, a bowl, and a smoking pipe, both made of soapstone, and pieces of Zimbabwe pottery that were regularly designed with beaded rims and triangle decoration motifs on their shoulders [36,39,77]. Remnants of clay furnaces, including tuyeres, crucibles, ore, charcoal, and numerous slag nodules and pellets, were found scattered in open spaces both in the walled and unwalled spaces of most sites [35,36,39,77].…”

“…Associated material culture recorded at R2880 and the other mines included human remains, dolly holes, a bowl, and a smoking pipe, both made of soapstone, and pieces of Zimbabwe pottery that were regularly designed with beaded rims and triangle decoration motifs on their shoulders [36,39,77]. Remnants of clay furnaces, including tuyeres, crucibles, ore, charcoal, and numerous slag nodules and pellets, were found scattered in open spaces both in the walled and unwalled spaces of most sites [35,36,39,77]. Hall and Neal [36] chronicled five open-bowl-shaped furnaces they documented in situ in a semi-complete state at Mundi and others consisting of a pit and very low wall above the ground at Gorongwe and Escep(g)we.…”

“…Some recorded at Mundi had visible impressions of a tong that was used to take them out of a furnace, and their diameter ranged from 5 to 8 cm [36]. However, at most sites, slag (Figure 5) and other oxide waste products formed bulky of the smelting debris [36,39,77]. [35,36,38,77,105]).…”