Original Research - Special Collection: Celebrating Cultural Heritage within National Parks

Overview of the Early Iron Age in the Letaba region of the Kruger National Park

Alexander Antonites
Koedoe | Vol 66, No 2 | a1805 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/koedoe.v66i2.1805 | © 2024 Alexander Antonites | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 30 November 2023 | Published: 30 August 2024

About the author(s)

Alexander Antonites, Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

Abstract

Archaeological research carried out in the Kruger National Park has identified several settlements of early African farmers that date to the Early Iron Age (EIA) – c. AD 200 – AD 1000. Two large EIA settlements, Le6 and Le7, were identified in 1977 on the southern bank of the Letaba River, opposite its confluence with the Tsende. Intermittent excavations of these sites were carried out between 1977 and 1989, but results have remained largely unpublished. These sites, which date back to the ninth century, have been the focus of new and ongoing research since 2021. The research has revealed that these communities were among the very first in the South African interior to participate in trade with the wider Indian Ocean world. This article contextualises the EIA of the Letaba River and surrounds with a specific focus on the history of research at Le6 and Le7 as well as briefly discusses new research at these sites.


Keywords

archaeology; heritage; early iron age; farming communities; Letaba River; early Indian Ocean trade; glass beads; archaeology ceramics.

Sustainable Development Goal

Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities

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