Beyond Great Zimbabwe: Reimagining early cities, and states in Southern Africa

Danyale Z. English lecture

NYU Anthropology, Kriser Auditorium, 25 Waverly Place, 6 PM

Over the past half-century, scholars in the field of anthropological archaeology have dedicated significant attention to the evolution of ancient societies, particularly focusing on how they transitioned from less stratified entities to what is now generally considered the pinnacle of societal progression. In southern Africa, the prevailing narrative surrounding Iron Age (CE 200–1700) agropastoralist societies, integration and their progression into complex systems, largely stems from research conducted at “major” archaeological sites like Great Zimbabwe which is revered as the largest political center and heartland of influential civilizations, such as the Zimbabwe Culture. However, conspicuously absent from these narratives are insights into its contemporaneous “minor”sites," notably those in Mberengwa, south-central Zimbabwe and other gold belt territories on the fringes.Despite these gold-rich areas, acknowledged in most archaeological literature as sources of gold and other essential raw materials that contributed to Great Zimbabwe's prosperity, they remain underexplored. This neglect represents a missed opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of social integration and transformation dynamics beyond the “major” sites. In this talk, I will delve into the archaeology of Zimbabwe Culture communities that once inhabited ancient Mberengwa. I will discuss the multiple strands of evidence we have gathered from the three fieldwork seasons (2017–2024) we have conducted so far, framed within a decolonial anthropology perspective. When viewed collectively, this evidence suggests that Mberengwa was home to centers of power with monumental architecture, royal burials, and various symbols of political authority, akin to those found at Great Zimbabwe. More importantly, these communities were powerful actors who engaged in extensive trade networks. This suggests it is only a historical invention that can marginalize some archaeological sites as “minor”, especially in the absence of research, but once attention is directed to them, multiple layers of agency and entanglement emerge.

Biography

Dr. Robert Nyamushosho is Assistant Professor of Anthropology in the Anthropology Department at Queens College of the City University of New York (CUNY). Additionally, he serves as a Research Associate at the Palaeo-Research Institute at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa. His current research is centered on re-imagining Africa’s place, and its diaspora in world prehistory. His primary area of interest is sub-Saharan Africa, with an active research program that focuses on understanding the ancient civilizations that sprouted in Iron Age southern Africa. Dr. Nyamushosho’s research encompasses diverse topics, such as the anthropology of technology, early state formation and urbanism, the emergence of inequality, the interplay between landscapes and past societies, interpretation, and representation of heritage, decoloniality, conceptrevision, and the politics of knowledge production. Additionally, he explores Africa’s contributions to other world civilizations through trans-Atlantic and Indian Ocean-based networks, challenging previous archaeological studies that perpetuated stereotypes of precolonial Africa as underdeveloped and isolated. His research approach is both collections-based and field-based. His laboratory research revolves around working with existing collections and asking new questions. Dr. Nyamushosho applies materials analysis in conjunction with anthropological, historical, and quantitative interdisciplinary methods to generate new knowledge. In the field, his curriculum primarily focuses on archaeological surveys and excavations, complemented by ethnographic studies. His work has gained international recognition, including being a co-winner of the Antiquity Best Paper of the Year 2019 award for exceptional contributions to the field of archaeology. In 2023, he was selected as a Fellow of TheMuseumsLab, an innovative knowledge-exchange programme between African and European museums developed by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin.