Definition:
Great Zimbabwe is an Iron Age settlement and dry-stone monument located near the town of Masvingo in central Zimbabwe, and the largest of about stone 250 structures in Africa. In the Shona language "Zimbabwe" means "stone houses" or "venerated houses"; the residents of Great Zimbabwe are considered the ancestors of the Shona people. First occupied during the Chifumbaze period, the first structures at Great Zimbabwe were built beginning in the late 10th century AD.
Ordinary houses at Great Zimbabwe were circular pole-and-clay houses about three meters in diameter. The people raised cattle and goats or sheep, and grew sorghum, finger millet, ground beans and cowpeas. By 1250-1280, the first dry stone wall construction was used to erect enclosed walls and platforms for pole-and-clay houses.
Elaboration at Great Zimbabwe
The elaborate stone buildings at Great Zimbabwe were built between the late 13th and mid-15th centuries AD. By then, the town was fairly large, covering about 78 acres and holding about 18,000 people. Some evidence exists that Great Zimbabwe was tied into the extensive trade system of the Swahili coast, in the form of large numbers of imported objects, such as Persian and Chinese pottery and Near Eastern glass. A coin was recovered bearing the name of one of the rulers of Kilwa.
Archaeological investigations at Great Zimbabwe have been conducted by Thomas N. Huffman and Edward Matenga, who published a fascinating book on soapstone bird carvings discovered at the site.
Sources
Matenga, Edward. 1998. The Soapstone Birds of Great Zimbabwe. African Publishing Group, Harare.
Phillipson, David W. 2005. African Archaeology, third edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology. Any mistakes are the responsibility of Kris Hirst.
