Discovering Ancient Zimbabwe

Africa Before the Kingdom of Zimbabwe

Before the ancient Zimbabwe kindom, as well as the other West African kingdoms came into the picture, Africa had already been settling into villages as well as taming animals and growing crops for a while. The locations that the hunters had settled in were near major rivers, which helped to expand many early forms of trade, as well as provide sources of of water...But, the hunters had settled near deserts as well, which prevented most trade by land.

Africa before the kingdom of Zimbabwe (continued)

Africa Before the Kingdom of Zimbabwe (continued)

The Berber, people of North Africa, determined to find a way, tried to promote the use of horses and donkeys to travel across, but this didn't work, as the animals overheated. This is then when the Romans introduced the camel to Africa- they quickly became a staple for Africans who lived the desert region. Camels could store food in their humps, and travel for day without water, making them the perfect way to make it across a desert to trade. The Berbers formed caravans-long lines of camels- and began to travel all over Africa. As Saharan trade grew, propensity was brought to West Africa, and powerful cities began to emerge- including Zimbabwe.

Camels

Sa van na

Sa van na

noun

a grassy plain in tropical and sub- tropical regions, with few trees

Gold Mining

Religion

Some people believe that religon helped to trigger the rise of Great Zimbabwe, and that a tall conical tower found amongst its ruins was used for worship. Known as the "Great Enclosure", the remains of its outer wall measure up to 800 feet long and 32 feet high. As for the actual religion itself, most ancient Zimbabweans were thought to have believed in Mwari, the supreme god in the Shona religion. Mwari suppsedly had powers over rainmaking, as well as agriculture, as well as illness. Commmunication through God was through a medium, which in most cases, was a chosen person- sometimes the king.

Government

The empire of Great Zimbabwe was ruled by a hereditary monarchy of elites. This meant that power stayed within the family. Other than the elites, there was a "parliament", which was comprised of families close to the monarch. Outside of the monarchy, there was only one group of people that held any power- mambos. In the center of the city lied the "Great Enclosure", and as already mentioned, it was a place for worship, yes, but it was also where the elites lived. All other citizens were spread out and positioned around the tower; this made them easier to rule over.

Art

Great Zimbabwe was, and still is admired for their excellant stonework. In fact, they are its enduring and most impressing remains to this day. The majestic stone walls were constucted from granite blocks gathered from the exposed rock from the surrounding hills. Since this type of rock naturally splits into even slabs, and can be broken into portable sizes, it provided a conveniant and readily available building resource. Early walls didn't require mortar; instead, they were coarsely fitted using rough blocks, andby incorporatig features of the nearby landscape, such as boulders. Over the years, the technique was refined, and later walls were fitted closely together, and evenly over long flat courses, which helped to produce remarkably finished surfaces.

Objects

Two important objects used in Great Zimbabwe were pottery as well as an assortment of iron tools.

Objects

Zimbabwean Flag

Recipe

Peel and remove the seeds of the papaya. Cut it into 1/8 - 1/4 inch thin square slices with about 1 x 1 inches sides. Secure the candy thermometer on the edge of a big saucepan. Place all ingredients in the saucepan, turn the heat up to a medium and stir with a wooden spoon just until the sugar dissolves.

Recipe