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Unusually large ash heaps are a remarkable Late Iron Age feature of Kweneng, near Johannesburg. They are not randomly distributed across the site. What can a spatial analysis of their distribution tell us about their significance? Our results show that the prominent ash heaps of Kweneng are principally associated with only one of the three styles of stone-walled architecture found at this site. They also show that the ash heaps were associated with wealth in cattle. Furthermore, there is a clear spatial association with stone-lined avenues or roads, possibly cattle drives. The spatial analysis indicates that the prominent ash heaps of Kweneng were not ordinary household rubbish dumps. We propose that, by the terminal phase of occupation at Kweneng, they had become a significant part of a vast stage where the extraordinary wealth of this Sotho-Tswana city was displayed. Built of a supernaturally potent substance, the prominent ash heaps elevated and displayed the elite of Kweneng along the route of the cattle processions, which daily celebrated the wealth of the polity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vryheid (MNR04) is a small, isolated Late Iron Age homestead dated between the 18th and 19th centuries, located in northern South Africa. During excavations in 2014, a carved ivory artefact was exposed on the floor of a burnt-down hut. Because the item was extremely fragmented and fragile, but also a rare local example of carved ivory, directed conservation steps were implemented to reconstruct and conserve it. Microscopy, microtomography and X-ray diffraction analyses were conducted to determine the species of ivory. The results show that it was likely made from the lower incisor of a hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius). Comparisons with ethnographic objects from the region suggest that the artefact could have been a pommel or decorative knob on the sheath of a ceremonial knife. The fire that consumed the hut seems to have been a sudden event since several valuable objects - in addition to more mundane ones - were still inside the hut when it burned down. This allows us to interpret the ivory object in relation to its multiple contexts. By adopting a 'relational biography' approach (Joy 2009), this article draws together evidence from diverse sources to bring 'drama' to our understanding of the object, and helps situate it within its specific social, economic and material nexus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diverse classification systems exist for stone-walled structures on the Highveld. Although they all adhere to the aim of the typological method, generally their types are inadequately described; consequently, their application does not produce replicable results. In the main, the evidentiary base of the classification systems has been the low-resolution aerial photograph, in which architectural details are not visible. Higher resolution LiDAR imagery in tandem with ground surveys show much diversity in architectural details at Kweneng. These details help to refine the existing classification systems. In adding cost surface analysis, detailed maps of the stone-walled structures can produce testable hypotheses to interpret the use and organisation of space within these compounds. Furthermore, the architectural detail allows the precolonial stone-walled structures to be seriated, perhaps into a chronological sequence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stonewalled architecture first appeared on the South African highveld some five or six centuries ago in the landscape between Johannesburg and the Vaal River. The style of these oldest stonewalled structures is referred to as Type N. This paper describes Type N structures and the relevant archaeological details, before presenting their distribution patterns as observed in the remote sensing survey of a 9000 km2 study area in the northern highveld, between Johannesburg and the Vaal River. Combined with previous studies of the Type N structures in the southern highveld, these data allow a reappraisal of the Type N cultural expression. In this landscape, the rank-size distribution of Type N structures shows a hierarchy centred on the Suikerbosrand Hills. This suggests a degree of cultural continuity with the early nineteenth century Tswana capital that formed at their foot. The archaeological period described in this paper — that of the Type N cultural expression — can thus be considered the formative phase of a sequence leading to complex, urbanised state level organisation in this part of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eight skeletons from six rock shelters, dating mostly from the 14th to mid-17th centuries, were excavated from the uThukela region of the Drakensberg (South Africa) in the 1930s. One was older, dating to between the 7th-9th centuries. These skeletons have not been extensively analyzed before. The aim of the study was to assess these remains particularly with regard to disease, diet and stress. The remains included adults of both sexes and children. Craniometric and stature assessments suggest that they were Bantu-speakers. Three individuals were juveniles, which may suggest high mortality for younger individuals. The only juvenile with teeth available showed clear enamel hypoplastic lines and subperiosteal bone growth. Of the four individuals with teeth, three had carious lesions and advanced dental wear. This suggests a diet that was both cariogenic and abrasive. One adult individual had inactive cribra orbitalia, and two others presented with healed fractures. A young adult female with faint enamel hypoplastic lines were associated with a fetal bone, suggesting death during pregnancy / childbirth. Stable isotope analyses indicated a predominantly plant-based diet. The dates correspond to the Late Iron Age Moor Park phase of the Blackburn branch and represent the early movement of Bantu-speaking farmers into the higher-altitude interior regions of South Africa. Migration to the higher-altitude regions suggests a defensive purpose in response to social instability, perhaps brought on by environmental impacts on agriculture caused by the Little Ice Age (AD 1300 - 1800). These hardships are supported by the skeletal analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bridging the somewhat arbitrary divide between history and archaeology remains a critical aim of the study of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries in the South African interior. Despite the prejudice inherent in the oral records collected by state ethnologist P.L. Breutz and others, it is argued that they still play a fundamental role in ascribing a historical identity to the countless Late Iron Age stone-walled sites that have been attributed to Tswana speakers. The focus of this study is on the settlement sequence of a Tlokwa branch along the Kgetleng (Elands) River in the Rustenburg region of present-day North West Province. More specifically, it examines the evidence that identifies the stone ruins on Vlakfontein and adjoining farms as Marothodi, the capital of the Rustenburg Tlokwa, prior to their dispersal during the difaqane. Though it was renowned for its copper industry and constituted one of the largest African towns in the interior prior to the difaqane, Marothodi has largely faded from historical memory. This article explores the historical roots of the Tlokwa, their settlement history at Marothodi, and their interaction with near neighbours, such as the Fokeng, the Tlhako and the Kgatla. It highlights the potential contribution of an integrated historical and archaeological study of late precolonial Tswana society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined starch grains from a number of Late Iron Age grindstones to verify the presence of maize at Thabazimbi 2427 CB14, a sixteenth/seventeenth century site in Limpopo Province, South Africa. To analyse the archaeological samples, it was necessary to create a comparative collection and secondly a starch grain typology. Typical starch grain assemblages helped to identify different storage organs, such as tubers, beans and seeds. I analysed samples from 18 grindstones, including some from Mgoduyanuka, the oldest site so far to yield carbonised maize cobs. Because maize and sorghum overlap in grain shape and size, and because the archaeological samples contained few starch grains, I was unable to verify the presence of maize at the Thabazimbi site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salvage excavations at a sixteenth to seventeenth century Madikwe village near Thabazimbi, Limpopo yielded maize grindstones associated with burnt house floors. Madikwe villagers also mined red ochre with the same techniques as other Madikwe people used to mine tin at Rooiberg, only 30 km away. Maize probably entered the area from Maputo along trade networks established for the tin. The indications are that maize was cultivated in the region some 150 years earlier than in KwaZulu-Natal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]