Pwiti, Gilbert

The debate regarding the origins and development of the Zimbabwe Culture dramatically shaped archaeological practice in southern Africa. Like many fringe archaeologies, the debates have advocated a state of worldwide archaeological, cultural and governmental conspiracy to keep the ̳truth‘ hidden. The flimsiest of ̳evidence‘ has been invoked to deny the fact that the ruins are the product of an indigenous African society. Few of the authors have been professional archaeologists or historians, but all have challenged professional findings and conclusions. This paper will identify the main actors, their ideas and their intended audience. The proponents identify themselves through established national symbols, drawn from a global context, that mean different things to different people. The agendas behind the representation and edification of some pasts and not others will be explored in a southern African context. Finally the relevance of such a debate to current archaeological practice in Zimbabwe will be evaluated.

African Archaeological Review, 1997

This paper will analyse the contestations, tensions, friction between professional archaeologist and vernacular exhumers that emerged during an exhumation exercise of liberation war fighters remains in Eastern Zimbabwe. The paper is primarily concerned with questioning who is allowed to speak on behalf of the bones and how heritage is transmitted through an authorised discursive practice of exhuming the dead. The authorised discourse will be central in understanding the role of the state in the exhumation exercises as was represented by the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ). Conversely, the discourse was also upheld by the role of vernacular exhumers as was championed by the Fallen Heroes Trust of Zimbabwe (FHTZ). It is also my objective to question the relationship between NMMZ, the government department with professional and trained archaeologists mandated to carry out the exhumations relative to the role of FHTZ which is constituted by a group of vernacular exhumers who were bestowed the power to exhume by the dead and subsequently became the authorised voice of the dead. The paper came out as result of my involvement as an archaeologist in exhumation exercises of remains of liberation war fighters who were buried in shallow mass graves at Butcher site in Rusape and at Hebert Mine and Pasihaparari Village both in the Mutasa District of Manicaland. We were called upon to carry out the exhumations working together with a group of war veterans with an affiliation to FHTZ who were guided by ‘spiritual powers’ in the exhumation and identification process. Conflicts thereafter arose between the vernacular diggers and the archaeologists on the methodological approaches to use. The tensions hinged more on the best approach possible in exhuming these remains. Archaeologists emphasised the use systematic methods driven by expert knowledge. Vernacular exhumers possessed with the 'spirit of war’ were more concerned with harvesting remains through arbitrary exhumations and constantly sought guidance by consulting the spirit of the dead. In situating all these arguments, I will analyse these contestations from an auto-ethnography perspective that is derived from my own participation in the exhumation projects. The data that is also going to be presented in this paper is also derived from the interviews, archaeological excavations/exhumations and material culture analysis.

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa, 2016

This study sought to understand the archaeology of the Zimbabwe Culture capital of Khami through synchronic and diachronic analyses of its material culture. The research employed a number of methodological approaches that included a review of historic documents, surveying and mapping, excavations, museum collection analysis, and artefact studies, in order to collect datasets from various sections of the site, including the walled and the nonwalled areas. The main indication is that there is a great deal of similarity in material culture distribution across the whole site. An analysis of objects by stratigraphic sequence exposes continuity and change in local and imported objects. Dry stone-wall architectural data suggests that the site was constructed over a long period, with construction motivated by a number of expansionary factors. The study confirms that Khami began as a fully developed cultural unit, with no developmental trajectory recorded at Mapungubwe or Great Zimbabwe, where earlier ceramic units influenced later ones. Consequently, this study cautiously suggests that Khami represents a continuity with the Woolandale chiefdoms that settled in the southwestern parts of the country and in the adjacent areas of Botswana. On the basis of the chronological and material culture evidence, Khami is unlikely to have emerged out of Great Zimbabwe. However, more research is needed to confirm these emergent conclusions, and to better understand the chronological and spatial relationships between not just Woolandale and Khami sites but also Khami and the multiple Khami-type sites scattered across southern Zambezia.

Southern African archaeology is diverse in topic and practice. Human origins to the historical period, archaeology in this region provides a kaleidoscope of life ways over a vast amount of time. The practice of archaeology is undergoing a transformation, from colonial roots, apartheid restrictions, to current initiatives to decolonise the discipline. We invited archaeologists to respond to a questionnaire about the practice and challenges of archaeology in southern Africa, and the role of students in the discipline.

Zimbabwea 9, 2007

The Great Zimbabwe, a stone monument which represented the most remarkable archaeological site in the sub-Saharan region, was thought to be built over a long period of time between the years 1200 and 1450. Over the course of the last century, various archaeologists have conducted extensive field work in this area and published a series of reports. But since the city has been abandoned and there are no written records thereof, the information is largely limited. On the basis of the archaeological evidence currently available, this essay seeks to provide a detailed overview of the society in Great Zimbabwe in terms of its social and political structures and religious beliefs. And we will be able to see that these ideological aspects are heavily associated with what the archaeological remains revealed.

1998