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Precursors of Great Zimbabwe Civilization

Type Object Region Africa Time c. 1075–1220

In the mid-12th century, stone-built settlements such as Mapungubwe on the Zimbabwe Plateau represented the direct precursors of Great Zimbabwe civil…

Timeline

  1. c. 1171–1180Mapungubwe Hill · South AfricaIn the 1170s Mapungubwe was at its height; rulers lived on the hilltop terrace, commoner settlements below were enclosed by stone walls, and excavated gold foil, beadwork, and Indian Ocean glass beads reveal the elite's trading wealth.
  2. c. 1173–1180Zimbabwe Plateau (Mapungubwe–Great Zimbabwe zone) · ZimbabweMortarless dry-stone walling technology was already mature in this period; walls were built following the terrain's contours, enclosing livestock pens and storage areas, and this technology was directly transmitted to the later Great Enclosure construction at Great Zimbabwe.
  3. c. 1175–1200Limpopo River valley · Southern AfricaPlateau elites controlled gold mines and ivory collection along the Limpopo River, transporting them via Shona merchant networks to Indian Ocean ports such as Sofala in exchange for ceramics, cloth, and glassware; trade profits sustained the expansion of stone-built settlements.

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