World History: South Africa - Great Zimbabwe/Mapungubwe

Why that location

land was full of possibilities; there were plains of fertile soil to support farming and herding, and mineral rich territories to provide gold, iron, copper, and tin for trading and crafting

Shona

descendents of shona people built Great Zimbabwe; shonas are one of Zimbabwe's Bantu speaking groups

Source of Wealth

based on herding: cattle

traded w/ east Africa (sofala)

Indicators of social position

architecture (homes); ex. intricately carved doors, each member was assigned place in gallery according to position, location, amount of toilets

the great enclosure

walled, circular area below Hill Complex; held royal family and friends

connection to the Indian Ocean Trade

city states traded with Great Zimbabwe to get materials like gold, ivory, and iron

Apartheid

political and economic system made to give whites control; goal was to keep white domination and extend racial separation

Karl Mauch

claimed a white tribe built the ruins of Great Zimbabwe

Gertrude Capen Thompson

concluded that ancient Bantu people built great Zimbabwe but white rhodesians disagreed since didn't think the Africans were capable

Modern Theorists: Huffman, Beach, and Herbert

huffman theorized that Great Zimbabwe was very religious and gender was very important/distinct

beach theorized that the location was random and it was a succession of royal buildings built by 3 or 4 generations of shona leaders

herbert theorized that Great Zimbabwe's success was due to metal