Iron Age farmers in southwestern Zambia: some aspects of spatial organization

Examination of the spatial organization of prehistoric farming hamlets in southwestern Zambia permits certain suggestions about the structure of prehistoric economic and social practice. Slash-and-burn agriculture facilitated the movement of farmers into favoured microenvironments. Its extensive land requirements regulated population growth and encouraged territorial expansion. After the ninth century AD, a cyclical use of agricultural opportunities was instituted. Through this time, social constraints concentrated the dispersed population within single microenvironments. Subsequent adaptation to the simultaneous use of diverse microenvironments was supported by the expansion of herding activities and the role of cattle in maintaining socio-political prestige.

---

Résumé L'étude de l'organisation spatiale des hameaux agricoles préhistoriques du Sud-Ouest de la Zambie nous permet d'avancer certaines suggestions au sujet de la structure des pratiques économiques et sociales pendant la préhistoire. La culture sur brûlis de forêt a facilité la déplacement des agriculteurs vers des microenvironnements Préférés—et comme ces défrichements utilisaient beaucoup de terrain, ils ont réglé la croissance démographique, et ont encouragé l'expansion territoriale. Après le neuvième siècle après J.C., une utilisation cyclique des possibilités agricoles s'est établie. Pendant cette période des contraintes sociales ont concentré la population dispersée dans des microenvironnements particuliers. L'adaptation plus tard à l'utilisation simultanée de microenvironnements divers était soutenue par l'expansion de l'élevage et par le rôle du bétail dans le maintien du prestige socio-politique.

     

Urbanization in Iron Age Europe: Trajectories,Patterns, and Social Dynamics

The development of the first urban centers is one of the most fundamental phenomena in the history of temperate Europe. New research demonstrates that the earliest cities developed north of the Alps between the sixth and fifth centuries BC as a consequence of processes of demographic growth, hierarchization, and centralization that have their roots in the immediately preceding period. However, this was an ephemeral urban phenomenon, which was followed by a period of crisis characterized by the abandonment of major centers and the return to more decentralized settlement patterns. A new trend toward urbanization occurred in the third and second centuries BC with the appearance of supra-local sanctuaries, open agglomerations, and finally the fortified oppida. Late Iron Age settlement patterns and urban trajectories were much more complex than traditionally thought and included manifold interrelations between open and fortified sites. Political and religious aspects played a key role in the development of central places, and in many cases the oppida were established on locations that already had a sacred character as places for rituals and assemblies. The Roman conquest largely brought to an end Iron Age urbanization processes, but with heterogeneous results of both abandonment and disruption and also continuity and integration.     

Finding Fear in the Iron Age Of Southern France

Abstract

Changes in settlement organisation in Mediterranean France throughout the Iron Age have long been viewed as a social and cultural by-product of contact with Greece and Rome. While relationships with the state societies of the Mediterranean would doubtless have left their mark on settlement structures, it is possible that changing habitat-forms during this period could also be used to extrapolate patterns of conflict in the region.

Recent anthropological research has revealed a correlation between 'warlike', non-state societies and 'socialization for fear'. In ethnographic accounts this manifests itself as an increased delineation of personal space and reductions in social access on an individual level. It is possible that the fairly commonplace sets of evidence which reveal this 'fear' are apparent in the settlement record of the later Iron Age throughout the Bouches du Rhone.     

Exotica in Context: Reconfiguring Prestige,Power and Wealth in the Southern African Iron Age

Prestige goods, in various combinations and permutations, feature prominently in anthropological and archaeological templates of the emergence of social inequality and early state formation in premodern societies. In Africa, discussion of the contribution of prestige goods to the evolution of cultural behaviours such as class distinction and statehood has been conducted primarily through theoretical lenses that allocate significant weight to the proceeds of external long distance trade. The major outcome is that archaeologists have rarely paused to evaluate not just the definition of prestige goods but also the congruity between global ‘universals’ and African ‘particularities’. Using empirical evidence from the southern African historical and archaeological records, this paper seeks to evaluate the concept of prestige goods and to assess their contribution to the evolution of Iron Age (AD 200–1900) communities of different time periods, from locally centred positions. It reveals that the distribution, use and deposition of exotic imports in southern Africa is not compatible with the pattern suggested by the prestige goods model, and points towards their valuation as embedded within situational contexts of meaning. In fact, hinterland elites controlled neither the source nor the distribution of exotic goods from producer regions, making them a volatile source of power and prestige. While local elites used exotic imports when available, and imposed taxes on their citizens—payable in both local and external goods—land, cattle, religion and individual entrepreneurship were far more predictable and stable sources of prestige, wealth and power. This provides the basis for reassessing the development of complexity in the region and potentially contributes towards global debates on the impact of long-distance trade in the development of complex states.     

Subsistence practices in an arid environment: a geoarchaeological investigation in an Iron Age site,the Negev Highlands,Israel

The Negev Highlands (southern Israel) is an arid zone characterized by settlement oscillations. One settlement peak occurred in the early Iron Age IIA (late 10th and early 9th centuries BC). The most conspicuous structure in many sites of this period is an oval compound comprised of an internal courtyard surrounded by rooms. Two hypotheses for the function of these oval compounds are that they served as Israelite fortresses which guarded the southern border and routes of the Solomonic kingdom, or that they represent local agro-pastoral groups. In order to gather more information regarding the subsistence practices conducted in these oval compounds, we carried out a small-scale excavation at the site of Atar Haroa. We focused on sediment sampling and used several geoarchaeological, as well as isotopic, techniques in order to identify macroscopic and microscopic remains related to animal husbandry and crop agriculture. The remains identified from the archaeological sediments were compared with modern reference materials collected from abandoned Bedouin camps. The excavation included two half rooms and several test pits in the courtyard of the oval compound, featuring one Iron Age occupation level composed of gray sediments and relatively small amounts of pottery, bones and macro-botanical charred remains. Micromorphological, mineralogical, dung spherulite and isotopic analyses carried out on the gray occupational sediments from the rooms show that they originate from wood ash and dung, both used as fuel. Similar analyses of the gray sediments in the courtyard show that they originate only from degraded livestock dung. Phytolith analyses show that the gray anthropogenic sediments have similar concentrations of phytoliths as in control (yellowish) sediments and in the dung of winter free-grazing desert livestock and lichen-grazing black dwarf Bedouin goats. Phytoliths indicative of cereal crops are completely absent in the archaeological dung remains, indicating that cereal crops were not processed by the site inhabitants. Based on ethnographic and archaeological parallels, and on the presence of grinding stones and absence of sickle blades in the excavated rooms, we infer that the inhabitants at the oval compound at Atar Haroa subsisted on livestock herding and bought or exchanged cereal grains. Our results support the hypothesis that the inhabitants at the oval compound at Atar Haroa were desert-adapted pastoralists, rather than garrisoned soldiers.     

Economic Restructuring,Coping Strategies and Social Change: Implications for Institutional Development in Africa

Since the early 1980s, most African countries have experienced unsatisfactory rates of economic growth and profound changes in livelihood systems, which have affected the way their modern institutions function. However, when confronted with evidence of poor economic performance in countries undergoing adjustment, the international financial institutions often blame governments for their lack of political will in regulating the activities of bureaucrats and vested interests. They recommend policies aimed at restructuring public sector institutions through privatization, public expenditure cuts, retrenchment, new structures of incentives and decentralization. Despite efforts to implement these measures in a number of countries, the problems of low institutional capacity remain. Two key contradictions appear to explain why institutions have been largely ineffective in crisis economies in Africa: the growing contradiction between the interests of bureaucratic actors and the goals they are supposed to uphold; and the contradiction between the institutional set-up itself and what goes on in the wider society. To understand how these contradictions work, it is necessary to look more closely at the set of values and relationships that anchor institutions on social systems. The issues here are social compromise and cohesion; institutional socialization and loyalties; overarching sets of values; and political authority to enforce rules and regulations. The crises in these four areas of social relations, which are linked to the ways households and groups have coped with recession and restructuring, have altered Africa's state institutions so that it has become difficult to carry out meaningful development programmes and public sector reforms without addressing the social relations themselves.     

A cultural proxy for drought: ritual burning in the Iron age of Southern Africa

In traditional Bantu-speaking societies in southern Africa, drought is caused by breaches in rules of pollution. At times of severe drought (3–5 consecutive seasons), rainmakers ascend special hills to perform special rituals. The archaeological signature of this unique activity forms a cultural proxy for drought. New research shows that burnt daga structures also correlate with high δ¹⁵N values for small stock. Burnt structures thus form a new component to the proxy. According to the ethnography, farmers implicated in the cause burnt their grain bins, and sometimes houses, as a ritual of cleansing. The dating of these structures provides a revised climatic sequence for the plateau portion of the summer rainfall region. Among other new results, there was a drought at the end of the Mapungubwe period (ca. AD 1300). At about AD 1650, droughts associated with the arrival of maize caused people to stop growing it as food for a while.     

Ceramics, Ethnohistory, and Ethnography: Locating Meaning in Southern African Iron Age Ceramic Assemblages

For ceramics to be relevant in the Southern African Iron Age, archaeologists must broaden their theoretical base to include social and other contexts when interpreting material culture items such as pottery. Pottery remains critical in understanding cultural dynamics in the region for the past two millennia, but current usage is narrow in scope. Using ethnohistorical data and archaeological examples from South Africa and Zimbabwe, we argue that pottery provides valuable information on the region's Iron Age, if archaeologists address the social meaning of ceramic assemblages. Ceramic production among rural communities provides the basis on which a wide range of social issues are discussed and used to critique pottery recovered from archaeology. Ethnography suggests that ceramic assemblages are context specific, and archaeologists are cautioned against making generic statements on the basis of similarities of vessel shape and decoration motif.     

Climate change during the Iron Age in the Shashe-Limpopo Basin,southern Africa

Recent research refines previous interpretations about the role of climatic factors in the development of Mapungubwe. First, the Medieval Warm Epoch started at about AD 1000, rather than 900. At about AD 900, Zhizo people moved into the Shashe-Limpopo Basin, most likely to hunt elephants for the East Coast trade. Secondly, a dry period at about AD 1200–1250 affected farming societies over a wide area. In the Basin, multiple rainmaking episodes occurred at this time. A similar situation took place around Makapansgat and at Great Zimbabwe. Thirdly, Mapungubwe was probably abandoned in AD 1300 because of cooler and drier conditions. At this time, it would have been impossible to maintain floodplain agriculture at the intensity necessary to support the large population. Agricultural failures probably undermined political authority, contributing to Mapungubwe's abandonment and shift in power to Great Zimbabwe. This detailed sequence challenges the re-calibrated climatic series from Makapansgat.     

Animal Remains from Industrial Iron Age Communities in Phalaborwa, South Africa

The Phalaborwa region in the Northern Province of South Africa has one of the richest copper- and iron-bearing deposits in southern Africa. These deposits have been worked for 1200 years and are still being worked. The abundance of ore reduction and metal production sites, dating mostly to the Late Iron Age, testifies to the importance of these deposits. Those sites that were excavated provide valuable insight into the industrial processes, economy, rituals, and use of animals by these specialized communities. The faunal remains reflect different lifestyles, but also indicate that animal husbandry was not of primary importance. The communities were focused predominantly on metal production. The soils and climate of the region are not very suitable for herding and agriculture. Subsequently products of the metal working activities such as hoes were used as replacement for cattle in bride wealth. La région Phalaborwa dans la province Nord d'Afrique de Sud constitue l'un des dépôts les plus riches de cuivre et de fer du sud d'Afrique. Ces dépôts ont été exploités pendant 1200 années et le sont toujours. L'importance de la réduction du minerais et de la production de métal de ces sites, datés pour la plupart sur la fin del'Age de Fer, témoignent de la richesse de ces dépôts. Deux sites qui furent fouillés, donnent des renseignements valables à propos des processus industriels, de l'économie, desrites et de l'utilisation des animaux par ces communautes spécialisées. Les ossements de la faune reflètent différents modes de view, mais indiquent également que l'économie animalière n'était pas de la première importance. Les sols et le climat de la région ne sont propices, ni à l'agriculture. D'autres produits issus du travail du fer, comme des houes, ont été utilisées en remplacement de l'élevage.     

Some Evidence for Seasonality amongst Later Stone Age Hunter-gatherers in Southern Africa

Abstract

The Later Stone Age (LSA) period in Southern Africa is characterised by a succession of cultural traditions. The LSA hunter-gatherer populations were ancestral to the present-day San. They moved around in small bands, within a semi-fixed territory visiting open air and shelter sites to coincide with available resources.

The hunter-gatherers filled every niche in the environment, including the high mountains, deserts and semi-deserts, bush savanna and grass lands. They were well aware of the food sources available in their territories during the course of a year and utilized these opportunities. As winters in southern Africa are relatively mild, and most regions have foods available throughout the year, seasonality is difficult to demonstrate.

In only a few instances there is some evidence for seasonal use or seasonality. Age profiles of seals at Elands Bay Cave suggest short occupation periods during late winter and early spring. In the high mountains of South Africa and Lesotho, where winters are cold and frost and snow common, the faunal and floral remains suggest occupation during late spring, summer and early autumn. Abbot's Cave in the semi-arid central Karoo was used as a hunting lodge during September, relating to the lambing season and migratory behaviour of springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis).     

The Organization of Later Stone Age Lithic Technology in the Caledon Valley, Southern Africa

Paleoclimatic data indicate that the Pleistocene/Holocene transition was a period of considerable ecological change in the Caledon Valley of the southern African interior. Stone artefact assemblages from sites in one part of this region, the Phutiatsana ea Thaba Bosiu (PTB) Basin of western Lesotho, were analyzed in order to investigate whether changes in settlement and subsistence strategies during this period are also reflected in the organization of lithic technologies. It appears that although technological solutions to the problems of subsistence risk may have been emphasized during the late Pleistocene, social means, such as exchange, dominated at the Pleistocene/Holocene boundary. Subsequent innovation or adoption of new formal tool types suggests that both strategies were important from the middle Holocene onwards.Dans la vallée de Caledon à l'intérieur sud-africain les données paléoclimatiques indiquent que la transition du pléistocène à l'holocène était une période de changement écologique considérable. Les résultats des analyses des outils lithiques découverts aux gisements dans une partie de cette région, le Bassin de la Phuthiatsana ea Thaba Bosiu (PTB) du Lesotho occidentale, sont présentées pour examiner si des changements aux stratégies de subsistance et de l'occupation des sites se réfletent à l'organisation des technologies lithiques. Il semble que on a employé les solutions technologiques pour éviter les risques de subsistance pendant le pléistocène tardif, mais que des solutions sociales, comme l'échange, prédominaient à la frontière pléistocène-holocène. L'innovation ou l'adoption plus tard des nouvelles outils lithiques suggère que tous les deux stratégies étaient importantes depuis le début du moyen Holocène.     

Intensive El Niño and the Iron Age of South-eastern Africa

Burnt daga structures in Iron Age villages serve as proxies for severe drought on the plateau of southern Africa. The distribution of burnt daga remains in two other rainfall areas, KwaZulu-Natal and the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone over Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi, establishes a sequence of simultaneous burnings that parallels the severe droughts recorded for the interior plateau. These widespread correspondences suggest a common cause. Another correspondence with natural proxy data from South America indicates that intensive El Niño events most likely caused the droughts.     

Iron Age ceramic studies in Great Lakes eastern Africa: a critical and historiographical review

The influence of Merrick Posnansky's work on the development of Iron Age Great Lakes ceramic studies is traced and an historiographical analysis of the published material of associated African, American, Belgian and British Iron Age Africanist archaeologists is offered. The article examines the methodologies and concepts employed by archaeologists from the 1950s to the present, as they defined the chronological, classificatory, regional and stylistic boundaries of Urewe and rouletted pottery. Particular attention is paid to the influence of American, British and Belgian worldviews on Iron Age research priorities and consequent disparities between Early Iron Age and Later Iron Age studies. Also examined are conclusions about the ethnic identities of the makers of the ceramic material and the significance of the shift from Urewe to rouletted pottery. The paper concludes with some alternative explanations about the relative scarcity of Early Iron Age ceramics and the swift but widely dispersed introduction of rouletted pottery.

---

Résumé Cet article retrace l'influence du travail de Merrick Posnansky sur le développment des études sur la céramique de l'âge de fer dans la région des grands lacs et présente une analyse historiographique des documents publiés par des archéologues africains, américains, belges et britanniques spécialisés dans l'âge de fer en Afrique. Cet article examine les méthodologies et les concepts utilisés par ces archéologues, des années 50 à maintenant, pour leur définition des limites chronologiques, classificatoires, régionales et stylistiques de la céramique d'Urewe et de la céramique décorée à la roulette. Il accorde une attention spéciale à l'influence des points de vue américains, britanniques et belges sur les priorités de la recherche sur l'âge de fer et les différences qui en découlent entre les études sur le début et sur la fin de cette période. Cet article examine également des conclusions sur les identités ethniques des fabricants de céramique et la signification du passage de la poterie d'Urewe à la poterie décorée à la roulette. Il conclut en donnant de nouvelles explications possibles sur la relative pénurie du début de l'âge de fer et l'introduction rapide mais largement disséminée de la poterie décorée à la roulette.

     

Democracy and Conflict in Post-apartheid Southern Africa: Dilemmas of Social Change in Small States

The article examines the process of political change in the small southern African kingdoms of Lesotho and Swaziland. After an overview of the post-colonial political and economic history of the two states, the author analyses the pressures for, and resistance to, political liberalization and shows how moves in this direction have failed to assauge internal conflict, and indeed, have in some respects exacerbated such conflict. The intervention of outside actors in the attempt to resolve conflict poses a danger to the fragile national sovereignty of these states.     

Claudia Abatino: Exploitation and Management of Animal Resources During the Middle Iron Age,Northern Limpopo Province,South Africa

African Archaeological Review -