HUNTING REPUTATIONS: TALENT, INDIVIDUALS, AND COMMUNITY IN PRECOLONIAL SOUTH CENTRAL AFRICA

2012 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 279-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
KATHRYN M. DE LUNA
Keyword(s):  
Central Africa ◽  
Social Dimensions ◽  
Technological Basis ◽  
South Central ◽  
The Face ◽  
Political Traditions ◽  
History Of ◽  
Longue Duree ◽  
First Millennium ◽  
Foregone Conclusion

ABSTRACTThe familiar mystique of African hunters was not a foregone conclusion to the practitioners, dependents, and leaders who created it. Late in the first millennium, Botatwe farmers’ successful adoption of cereals and limited cattle sustained the transformation of hunting from a generalist's labor into a path to distinction. Throughout the second millennium, the basis of hunters’ renown diversified as trade intensified, new political traditions emerged, and, eventually, the caravan trade andmfecaneravaged established communities. The story of Botatwe hunters reveals alongue duréehistory of local notables and the durability of affective, social dimensions of recognition in the face of changes in the material, political, and technological basis sustaining such status.

The Origin, Formation and Early History of the Chikunda of South Central Africa

1972 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 443-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allen Isaacman
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Historical Linguistic ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
Military History ◽  
Early History ◽  
South Central ◽  
History Of

Although historians have examined the process of pre-colonial political integration, little attention has been paid to the complementary patterns of ethnic and cultural assimilation. The Chikunda, who were initially slaves on the Zambezi prazos, provide an excellent example of this phenomenon. Over the course of several generations, captives from more than twenty ethnic groups submerged their historical, linguistic, and cultural differences to develop a new set of institutions and a common identity. The decline of the prazo system during the first half of the nineteenth century generated large scale migrations of Chikunda outside of the lower Zambezi valley. They settled in Zumbo, the Luangwa valley and scattered regions of Malawi where they played an important role in the nineteenth-century political and military history of south central Africa.

Archaeology in West Africa: A Review of Recent Work and a further list of Radiocarbon Dates

1982 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 291-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. E. G. Sutton
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Copper Smelting ◽  
Northern Ghana ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Late Stone Age ◽  
South Central ◽  
African Populations ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Millennium

This article surveys the latest archaeological research and dating results for West Africa. For the Iron Age, recent fieldwork has been spread widely: especially noteworthy is that bearing on the history of ancient Ghana and Mali. Work on the Late Stone Age appears by contrast to have been rather patchy lately, although various palaeoecological researches continue to improve our understanding of the changing environments affecting West African populations over the last 10,000 years. In south-central Niger, moreover, remains of copper-smelting by a stone-using community are dated to around 2000 B.C. From the same region, as also from northern Ghana, comes further evidence for the inception of the Iron Age during the first millennium b.c.The article is prefaced by some critical comments on the citing and interpretation of radiocarbon datings in historical discussions, and on the meaning of ‘corrected’ and ‘calendar dates’.

The Recent Political History of South Central Africa

1977 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 155
Author(s):  
Melvin E. Page ◽  
Lawrence Vambe ◽  
Peter S. Garlake ◽  
Allen F. Isaacman ◽  
Bridglal Pachai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Political History ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
South Central ◽  
History Of

Relocating Ingombe Ilede in the history of south-central Africa

Antiquity ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 91 (358) ◽  
pp. 1092-1094 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Keech McIntosh ◽  
Brian M. Fagan
Keyword(s):  
Southern Africa ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
Glass Beads ◽  
Chemical Analyses ◽  
Important Data ◽  
South Central ◽  
History Of

We thank the four commentators for adding new dimensions and important data relevant to interpreting the new Ingombe Ilede dates. These contribute to the recent wave of reassessments and critiques of earlier interpretations and frameworks for the development of trade and complexity in southern Africa. Such reconsiderations are made possible by more sophisticated and precise radiocarbon dating, expanded investigation of both new and previously excavated sites, and by the use of chemical analyses to identify differently sourced groups of glass beads and metals (e.g. Pikirayi 2009; Robertshaw et al. 2010; Chirikure et al. 2013, 2014, 2016; Koleini et al. 2016).

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