, CUS3701 Assignment 3 (COMPLETE ANSWERS) 2024 (629218)- DUE 6
August 2024
QUESTION 1 Read the extract below and answer the questions that follow.
MAPHUNGUBWE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE The ancient city of Mapungubwe
(meaning “hill of the jackal”) is an Iron Age archaeological site in the Limpopo
province on the border between South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana, 75
km from Messina. It sits close to the point where the Limpopo and Shashe
Rivers meet. One thousand years ago, Mapungubwe appears to have been
the centre of the largest known kingdom in the African sub-continent. The
civilization thrived as a sophisticated trading centre from around 1200 to 1300
AD, trading gold and ivory with China, India and Egypt. The site was
“discovered” on 31 December 1932, when a local informant, Mowena, led
E.S.J. van Graan (farmer and prospector), his son and three others to
Greefswald farm on Mapungubwe Hill. On the hill, they noticed stone walls
and on closer inspection, they recovered gold and iron artifacts, pottery and
glass beads. Van Graan's son recognised the academic value of the site and
contacted the head of the Department of History at the University of Pretoria,
Professor Leo Fouché. As a result of his intervention, the University
negotiated with the owner of the property, E.E. Collins. In a legal agreement,
the University took ownership of the gold and other artifacts and secured an
option and a contract for excavation rights. The University also successfully
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, requested a postponement of prospecting, mining and related activities on
Greefswald. In June 1933, Greefswald was bought by the Government and
excavation rights were granted to the University of Pretoria. The University
established an Archaeological Committee, which from 1933 to 1947 oversaw
research and excavations (read more about the excavations). Mapungubwe
Hill is 300 m long, broad at one end, tapering at the other. It is only accessible
by means of two very steep and narrow paths that twist their way to the
summit, and yet 2 000 tons of soil have been artificially transported to the very
top by a prehistoric people of unknown identity. Archaeological enquiry
uncovered the remnants of numerous dwellings, which had been built on the
ruins of predecessors over many generations, resulting in a series of
habitation phases. Radiocarbon dates show that the first buildings were
erected below the hill at the beginning of the 11th century AD. But adjacent to
Mapungubwe is the sister site of Bambandyanalo, which was settled even
earlier. It seems that the centre of the state shifted from Bambandyanalo to
Mapungubwe Hill in about 1045 AD, when the town most probably became
overcrowded. It was also at about this time that hills and mountains became
associated with royalty and the noble classes began to build their structure on
high ground. This is an important observation as it provided evidence of the
extensive wealth and social differentiation of the people of Mapungubwe; in
other words, this ancient civilization was class based. The gold findings are
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