Early Great Zimbabwe construction and settlement expansion

Name: Early Great Zimbabwe construction and settlement expansion
Start: 1060
End: 1069

Type Event Region Southern Africa Time 1060–1069

In the 1060s, Shona polities on the Zimbabwe Plateau began early construction at Great Zimbabwe, building terraces and enclosures with dry-stone tech…

Timeline

1060–1065Great Zimbabwe Hill Complex (early layers) · Southern AfricaShona craftsmen built defensive terraces and ritual building foundations with mortarless stacked stone on granite bases; settlement population grew, and specialized stonemasons and grain storage structures appeared.
1065–1069Trade route from Zimbabwe Plateau goldfields to Sofala · Southern AfricaPlateau polities exchanged glass beads, cloth, and ceramics with Indian Ocean port cities such as Sofala by controlling gold mines and cattle resources; trade revenues supported early stone city expansion and the formation of an elite class.

Sources

Great Zimbabwe: Reclaimed — Shadreck Chirikure (2021)
A History of Zimbabwe — Alois S. Mlambo (2014)