A-Level Notes History - Early Communities Of Zimbabwe - The Gokomere Culture 400 - 600AD
Gokomere is an early Iron Age settlement site in the South Central of Zimbabwe, dated 5th and 7th Century. From the anthropological and ethnographic evidence of descendants of this culture, this was a multi-economic community. The culture is closely related to that of Mapungubwe cultures in Vendaland, South Africa.
Gokomere is an early Iron Age settlement site in the South Central of Zimbabwe, dated 5th and 7th Century. From the anthropological and ethnographic evidence of descendants of this culture, this was a multi-economic community. The culture is closely related to that of Mapungubwe cultures in Vendaland, South Africa.
From the archaeological excavations and findings, collaborated by ethnography and anthropological findings, iron, tin, copper and gold remain a characteristic of the Gokomere settlement site. The metal fragments, were many indicating extensive use of iron. Iron rods, spears, axes, basins and anvils were unearthed attesting to a successful Iron Age Community. They mined various minerals for both domestic and foreign use and trade. They made beautiful durable jewellery and ornaments from these minerals. The objects obtained from the Gokomere settlement point to a close relationship between it and Great
At the Gokomere monumental historical site, foreign beads, bangles and fragments and Persian bows explain the trading relationship between the plateau and Asia. They traded gold, iron ornaments, copper, tin and ivory to Asia. Ceramic figurines of animals, birds and fertility dolls were discovered at Gokomere.
At a later stage, the Gokomere culture was found at Zhizo whose capital was at Schroder just across the Limpopo. The Zhizo people produced ivory, gold, tin, copper, animal skins and feathers, craftwork and ornaments for trade just like the Gokomere societies. Evidence of trade in Asian bowls, Chinese polycerin, glass and ceramic utensils were discovered, attesting to the plateau's Indian Ocean coastal trade. The Gokomere culture is a Shona culture with closely related features of the Nyasa people of Malawi and Zambia, which again is testimony of the fusion and migration of these societies. The Gokomere pottery
Bantu settlements in South Africa arrived at almost the same time, from migrations from the North and by then languages were closely related and almost inseparable. The Shona, Nyasa, Chewa and Nyanja speak a similar Bantu dialect and share a number of words, hence evidence of some traditions and words among a couple of the Shona groups on the Zimbabwean plateau. The Ziwa/ Gokomere and Zhizo cultures were replaced by the Leopard's Kopje and Gumanye cultures of the Kalundu traditions. All these traditions are closely related to other Bantu groups in South Africa of the Nguni, Sotho, Tswana, Tsonga, Nyasa and Makiwa.
The inhabitants of Gokomera practiced a plethora of economic activities. Archaeologists discovered livestock bones attesting to livestock breeding. The plushy pastures confirm to livestock theory. They kept cattle, goats, pigs, sheep and fowls. They were crop cultivators of rapoko, sorgum, nuts, gourds, beans, millet, melons and pumpkins. Cattle became a
Trade became another source of wealth as it involved hunters, traders, miners and producers of various trading product as shown through excavations of foreign items. They were also involved in pottery production on a larger scale for domestic use and foreign trade. The societies became stratified and well defined in terms of hierarchical political structures as elaborately shown by settlement pattern on the valley and higher ground. The settlements indicate transformation from mere societal settlements to state formation
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