Unmasking the forgotten foragers of the Mapungubwe landscape

Abstract

The middle Limpopo Valley is best known because it was here that Mapungubwe arose, southern Africa’s first state-level society, appearing around AD 1220. The Mapungubwe state was the culmination of a series of changes and events that date back to about 300 years prior when Zhizo farmers began settling in the region. However, these changes have their roots somewhat earlier when the first farmer groups settled the valley in the early first millennium AD. For nearly a century, Iron Age research has dominated archaeological studies in the valley. Hardly any attention has been paid towards Stone Age foragers, commonly known as hunter-gathers. This article reviews research in the region and presents evidence that depicts foragers as active participants in the rise of Mapungubwe. Through contact with farmers, foragers were able to obtain wealth, participate in the craft economy and develop local status in society. Moreover, during these periods, they were able to maintain their Stone Age lifeways and use their technologies and innovations to contribute to broader social patterns. The article ultimately attempts to more concertedly place foragers into the larger sequence of the Mapungubwe region and recognises their role in local socio-political and economic systems.