ABSTRACT
With 750-1,200 m of rainfall a year, Nyanga, in the eastern highlands of Zimbabwe (Fig. 12.1), cannot pretend to be a dryland or even semi-arid environment, but it can be regarded as marginal in some other respects. Furthermore, its well-preserved field systems and evidence for water management practices represent parallel responses to many of the questions addressed in this volume, even if overall aridity was not the primary driving compulsion. The landscape of Nyanga and adjacent areas to the west is indelibly printed with the ‘landesque capital’ remains of past agricultural activities. These take the form of stone-faced terraces and lowland cultivation ridges, together with associated stone-built settlement structures, in all covering around 7,000 km2 (Soper, 1996). Whilst the agricultural features themselves are difficult to date, the settlement sites range from about AD 1400 to 1900, with the earlier sites having no direct association as yet with the agricultural features.
