Mapungubwe
Mapungubwe documents the development of social hierarchy and state formation in southern Africa. The site corrects colonial views that denied the scale and international connections of pre-colonial African societies.
Photo: JJ van Zyl · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Facts
- Place
- Near the Limpopo River, South Africa
- Civilisation / patron
- Kingdom of Mapungubwe
- Built
- c. 1220 – 1290
- Status
- Ruins
- UNESCO World Heritage since
- 2003
- UNESCO World Heritage
History
A royal centre emerged on and around Mapungubwe Hill in the thirteenth century, within a landscape settled earlier. The elite lived on the hill, while other residents lived in surrounding settlements. Burial finds, including a small golden rhinoceros, attest to specialised craftwork and trade with the Indian Ocean. Around 1300 the regional centre of power shifted and the site was largely abandoned; archaeological remains now lie within a protected cultural landscape.
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Sources: Wikipedia — Mapungubwe · UNESCO — Cultuurlandschap Mapungubwe