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Minerals and Managers:: production contexts as evidence for social organization in Zimbabwean prehistory
Uppsala University, Humanistisk-samhällsvetenskapliga vetenskapsområdet, Faculty of Arts, Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, African and Comparative Archaeology.
2008 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

In the Zimbabwean past, farming societies utilized mineral resources for their own use and for exchange to local and regional populations, as well as to markets beyond African borders. Successful agriculture was constrained by environmental hazards, principally unpredictable and often inadequate rainfall. Farming communities managed this predicament in various ways. It is likely that some groups used mineral resources found in the vicinity of their settlements to produce materials or items to exchange. The social contexts that defined the nature of mineral production and exchange altered between the mid-first and mid-second millennium AD, as social ranks emerged and political and economic systems became increasingly complex. The thesis is a commentary on how the motivation of society to broaden its resource base, to improve the benefits to households and to society in general, contributed to the emergence of leaders and, ultimately, of an elite class. The focus of the research is on iron and copper production because the author has examined gold production thoroughly in a previous study. Four published papers outline the history of iron and copper production in Zimbabwe. The papers provide case studies of the scale and social context of iron and copper production and exchange.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Uppsala: Archaeology and Ancient History , 2008. , p. 55
Series
Studies in Global Archaeology, ISSN 1651-1255 ; 12
Keywords [en]
Archaeology, Zimbabwean past, farming communities, environment, mineral resources, mineral production, social organization, social change
Keywords [sv]
Arkeologi
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-8588ISBN: 978-91-976865-1-8 (print)OAI: oai:DiVA.org:uu-8588DiVA, id: diva2:171680
Public defence
2008-04-28, 2/1024, English Park Campus, English Park Camput, Uppsala, 10:00
Opponent
Supervisors
Available from: 2008-04-07 Created: 2008-04-07Bibliographically approved
List of papers
1. Forests, farmers and furnaces:: the potential ecological impact of prehistoric mining and metallurgy in Zimbabwe.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Forests, farmers and furnaces:: the potential ecological impact of prehistoric mining and metallurgy in Zimbabwe.
2003 In: 39-: Studies in the African Past 3, 2003, p. 39-58Chapter in book (Other academic) Published
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-96935 (URN)9976 60 392 4 (ISBN)
Available from: 2008-04-07 Created: 2008-04-07Bibliographically approved
2. Early iron manufacturing industries in semi-arid, south-eastern Zimbabwe
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Early iron manufacturing industries in semi-arid, south-eastern Zimbabwe
2007 (English)In: Journal of African Archaeology, ISSN 1612-1651, E-ISSN 2191-5784, Vol. 5, no 2, p. 315-338Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Recent research about the history of human settlement and impact on the environment has focused on part of the semi-arid, south-eastern lowveld of Zimbabwe. Two iron-smelting sites were excavated in 2004. Both sites indicated use of local magnetite resources for production beyond immediate subsistence needs. The Kwali Camp smelting site was used by some of the first farmers in the region, associated with the Gokomere tradition on the southeastern Zimbabwean plateau. The Mhangula smelting site was used in a later period and probably supplied iron to elite communities associated with the Zimbabwe State.

Keywords
Early farming communities, Iron ore, Iron smelting, Resources, Semi-arid environment, Specialists, Zimbabwe period
National Category
Archaeology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-96936 (URN)10.3213/1612-1651-10096 (DOI)000259064100007 ()
Available from: 2008-04-07 Created: 2008-04-07 Last updated: 2017-12-14Bibliographically approved
3. Excavations at Copper Queen Mine, northwestern Zimbabwe.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Excavations at Copper Queen Mine, northwestern Zimbabwe.
2002 In: South African Archaeological Bulletin, ISSN 0038-1969, Vol. 57, no 176, p. 64-79Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-96937 (URN)
Available from: 2008-04-07 Created: 2008-04-07Bibliographically approved
4. Economic and ideological roles of copper ingots in prehistoric Zimbabwe
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Economic and ideological roles of copper ingots in prehistoric Zimbabwe
2007 (English)In: Antiquity, ISSN 0003-598X, E-ISSN 1745-1744, Vol. 81, no 314, p. 999-1012Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

As well as being modes of supplying metal, cross-shaped copper ingots in Zimbabwe are shown to be emblems of currency and status. The author dates them to the first half of the second millennium AD and connects the appearance of ingots to increased social stratification.

Keywords
Copper, Ingots, Middle ages, Social structure, Zimbabwe
National Category
Archaeology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-96938 (URN)000252302700015 ()
Available from: 2008-04-07 Created: 2008-04-07 Last updated: 2017-12-14Bibliographically approved

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CiteExportLink to record
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Citation style
  • apa
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Output format
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