The Fortresses of the South
Click here to download this lesson in slideshow format
Welcome to Southern Africa Level 1, Lesson 1: The Fortresses of the South
In this lesson, you will learn about:
The monuments of Great Zimbabwe
The Empire of Munhumutapa
The lifestyle of the people of the empire
Objectives
By the end of this lesson, you will understand:
The amount of people living in Great Zimbabwe at its height
What the “Temple” and “Acropolis” are
Who built the Empire of Munhumutapa
What the term “Mutapa” refers to
What goods were made and traded
What the buildings were structured to align with
The family structure in the empire
Across three square miles in southern Africa stands an ancient city with 12 massive buildings.
These are the ruins of Great Zimbabwe, a city that is thought to be 1000 years old. The buildings are made from granite bricks with walls as high as 10 metres and five metres in thickness. This style of engineering has allowed these fortresses to remain standing for centuries. At its height in the 14th century, the city was as big as medieval London, with 18,000 residents.
The most famous of these ancient fortresses is known as the “Temple.” This building has a cone-shaped tower and is enclosed in the lower valley of the city. Another famous building is the “Acropolis”, a turreted castle that dwells on top of a hill overlooking the rest of the city. Cottages within the walls of the city have also been found, built out of a clay-gravel mixture.
The city of Great Zimbabwe was the capital of an empire called Munhumutapa. This society was built by the Shona but many other people came to live here. The ruler of the empire was given the title Mutapa. Mutapa Mutota was the first, emerging from Great Zimbabwe to conquer the lands to the south and west.
Traders of the East African coast would sail down the river Zambezi to exchange goods with the merchants of Munhumutapa. Large quantities of copper, ivory and gold were traded as the empire flourished. Gold was used as a currency and also made into ornaments and artwork. Statuettes of rhinos and necklaces made from gold have been uncovered in the region. Gold was so abundant in southern Africa that the floors and ceilings of houses were plated with it!
The people of Munhumutapa had a written script composed of hieroglyphs, similar to the ancient kingdoms of the Nile Valley. They also had advanced mathematical and astronomical knowledge, with structural features of temples displaying alignment with particular stars and planets. It is thought that the buildings were aligned in such a way as to predict the seasons. This would have been very useful when it came to farming and agriculture.
Throughout the empire, each family owned its own plot of land and lived in a distinct compound within a village. Here the family would farm crops; rice, beans, cucumbers, peanuts, pumpkins, and yams were all grown. The father was seen as the head of the household, and hunting and fishing were done as a co-operative family effort. At the end of the day, the men of the village would attend a village assembly called a “dare”, and this would sort out any village-wide issues and act as a court for minor offenses.