ABSTRACT
Conditioned by local ways of knowing and doing, Great Zimbabwe develops a new interpretation of the famous World Heritage site of Great Zimbabwe.
It combines archaeological knowledge, including recent material from the author’s excavations, with native concepts and philosophies. Working from a large data set has made it possible, for the first time, to develop an archaeology of Great Zimbabwe that is informed by finds and observations from the entire site and wider landscape. In so doing, the book strongly contributes towards decolonising African and world archaeology. Written in an accessible manner, the book is aimed at undergraduate students, graduate students, and practicing archaeologists both in Africa and across the globe.
The book will also make contributions to the broader field such as African Studies, African History, and World Archaeology through its emphasis on developing synergies between local ways of knowing and the archaeology.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part I|110 pages
Learning, relearning, and unlearning Great Zimbabwe
chapter 1|23 pages
Unveiling a ‘confiscated’ past
chapter 2|30 pages
Background to ‘Shona’ concepts and the Great Zimbabwe nyika (territory)
chapter 3|22 pages
Biography of Great ZimbabweLate 18th to 21st centuries
chapter 4|33 pages
Chronology of Great Zimbabwe – relative, absolute, and integrated
part II|112 pages
Objects, their context, and meaning
chapter 5|24 pages
Misha nedzimba On homesteads and households
chapter 6|28 pages
Hari, or pottery
chapter 7|33 pages
Crafts, science, technology, and innovation
chapter 8|25 pages
ExoticsFame, prestige, and value
part III|80 pages
Native cosmologies and ways of knowing