![LocationSouthernAfrica](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/LocationSouthernAfrica.png)
The history of Southern Africa has been divided into its prehistory, its ancient history, the major polities flourishing, the colonial period, and the post-colonial period, in which the current nations were formed.
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...
is the southern region of
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, bordered by
Central Africa
Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, ...
,
East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa:
Due to the historical ...
, the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
, the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
, and the
Sahara Desert. Colonial boundaries are reflected in the modern boundaries between contemporary Southern African states, cutting across ethnic and cultural lines, often dividing single ethnic groups between two or more states.
Geography
![2002 Satellite Image of Southern Africa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/2002_Satellite_Image_of_Southern_Africa.jpg)
The area located at the south of the desert is a
steppe
In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes.
Steppe biomes may include:
* the montane grasslands and shrublands biome
* the temperate grasslands, ...
, a semi-arid region, called the
Sahel
The Sahel (; ar, ساحل ' , "coast, shore") is a region in North Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid c ...
. It is the ecoclimatic and
biogeographic zone of
transition in Africa between the Sahara desert to the north and the
Sudanian Savanna to the south. The Sudanian Savanna is a broad belt of
tropical savanna that spans the
African continent
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, from the Atlantic Ocean coast in the
West Sudanian savanna
The West Sudanian savanna is a tropical savanna ecoregion that extends across West Africa.
Geography
The ecoregion stretches east and west across West Africa, from the Atlantic coast of Senegal to the Mandara Mountains on Nigeria's eastern borde ...
to the
Ethiopian Highlands in the
East Sudanian savanna.
Climate
In 15,000 BP, the
West African Monsoon
A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscill ...
transformed the landscape of
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
and began the
Green Sahara
The African humid period (AHP) (also known by other names) is a climate period in Africa during the late Pleistocene and Holocene geologic epochs, when northern Africa was wetter than today. The covering of much of the Sahara desert by grasses, ...
period; greater rainfall during the summer season resulted in the growth of humid conditions (e.g.,
lakes
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...
,
wetlands
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
) and the savanna (e.g.,
grassland
A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...
,
shrubland
Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It m ...
) in
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
.
Between 5500 BP and 4000 BP, the Green Sahara period ended.
Prehistory
By at least 170,000 BP, amid the
Middle Stone Age
The Middle Stone Age (or MSA) was a period of African prehistory between the Early Stone Age and the Late Stone Age. It is generally considered to have begun around 280,000 years ago and ended around 50–25,000 years ago. The beginnings of pa ...
, Southern Africans
cooked and ate
Hypoxis
''Hypoxis'' is a genus of flowering plants of the family Hypoxidaceae. The genus has an " almost cosmopolitan" distribution, occurring in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Australia.Singh, Y. (Natal Herbarium, Durban)''Hypoxis''.PlantZAfrica.com: ...
angustifolia
rhizomes
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...
at
Border Cave,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, which may have provided
carbohydrates
In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or may ...
for their migratory activities.
In 92,000 BP, amid the
Middle Stone Age
The Middle Stone Age (or MSA) was a period of African prehistory between the Early Stone Age and the Late Stone Age. It is generally considered to have begun around 280,000 years ago and ended around 50–25,000 years ago. The beginnings of pa ...
,
Malawian
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Malawi, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Malawi de ...
foragers
A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fungi, ...
utilized
fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products.
At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...
to influence and alter their surrounding environment.
Between 65,000 BP and 37,000 BP, amid the
Middle to Late Stone Age,
Southern Africans developed the
bow and arrow
The bow and arrow is a ranged weapon system consisting of an elastic launching device (bow) and long-shafted projectiles ( arrows). Humans used bows and arrows for hunting and aggression long before recorded history, and the practice was comm ...
.
Ancient history
Bantu expansion
From
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...
,
Bantu-speaking peoples migrated, along with their ceramics, into other areas of
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...
.
The Kalundu ceramic type may have spread into
Southeastern Africa
Southeast Africa or Southeastern Africa is an African region that is intermediate between East Africa and Southern Africa. It comprises the countries Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanz ...
.
Additionally, the
Eastern African Urewe
The Urewe culture developed and spread in and around the Lake Victoria region of Africa during the African Iron Age. The culture's earliest dated artefacts are located in the Kagera Region of Tanzania, and it extended as far west as the K ...
ceramic type of
Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface area after ...
may have spread, via African shores near the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
, as the Kwale ceramic type, and spread, via Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi, as the Nkope ceramic type.
Though some may have been created later, the earlier red finger-painted rock art may have been created between 6000 BP and 1800 BP, to the south of Kei River and Orange River by
Khoisan
Khoisan , or (), according to the contemporary Khoekhoegowab orthography, is a catch-all term for those indigenous peoples of Southern Africa who do not speak one of the Bantu languages, combining the (formerly "Khoikhoi") and the or ( in t ...
hunter-gatherer-herders, in Malawi and Zambia by considerably
dark-skinned
Dark skin is a type of human skin color that is rich in melanin pigments. People with very dark skin are often referred to as "black people", although this usage can be ambiguous in some countries where it is also used to specifically refer to d ...
, occasionally bearded, bow-and-arrow-wielding Akafula hunter-gatherers who resided in Malawi until 19th century CE, and in Transvaal by the
Vhangona people.
Bantu-speaking farmers, or their
Proto-Bantu
Proto-Bantu is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Bantu languages, a subgroup of the Southern Bantoid languages. It is thought to have originally been spoken in West/Central Africa in the area of what is now Cameroon.Dimmendaal, Gerrit J. (2 ...
progenitors, created the later white finger-painted rock art in some areas of Tanzania, Malawi, Angola, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, as well as in the northern regions of Mozambique, Botswana, and Transvaal.
The Transvaal (e.g.,
Soutpansberg,
Waterberg) rock art was specifically created by Sotho-speakers (e.g.,
Birwa
Al-Birwa ( ar, البروة, also spelled ''al-Birweh'') was a Palestinian Arab village, located east of Acre (Akka). In 1945, it had a population of 1,460, of whom the majority were Muslims and a significant minority, Christians. Its total l ...
, Koni,
Tlokwa) and
Venda people
The Venḓa (VhaVenḓa or Vhangona) are a Southern African Bantu people living mostly near the South African-Zimbabwean border.
The history of the Venda starts from the Kingdom of Mapungubwe (9th Century) where King Shiriyadenga was
the fi ...
.
Concentric circles, stylized humans, stylized animals, ox-wagons, saurian figures, Depictions of crocodiles and snakes were included in the white finger-painted rock art tradition, both of which were associated with rainmaking and, crocodiles in particular, were also associated with fertility.
The white finger-painted rock art may have been created for reasons relating to initiation rites and puberty rituals.
Depictions from the rock art tradition of Bantu-speaking farmers have been found on divination-related items (e.g., drums, initiation figurines, initiation masks); fertility terracotta masks from Transvaal have been dated to the 1st millennium CE.
Along with
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
archaeological sites from the 1st millennium CE, this indicates that white finger-painted rock art tradition may have been spanned from the Early Iron Age to the Later Iron Age.
Post-classical history
Kingdom of Mapungubwe
The largest settlement from what has been dubbed the
Leopard's Kopje culture is known as the K2 culture and was the immediate predecessor to the settlement of Mapungubwe. The people of the K2 culture, probably derived from the ancestors of the Shona and Kalanga people of southern Africa, was attracted to the Shashi-Limpopo area, likely because it provided mixed agricultural possibilities. The area was also prime elephant country, providing access to valuable ivory. The control of the gold and
ivory trade
The ivory trade is the commercial, often illegal trade in the ivory tusks of the hippopotamus, walrus, narwhal, mammoth, and most commonly, African and Asian elephants.
Ivory has been traded for hundreds of years by people in Africa and Asia, ...
greatly increased the political power of the K2 culture. By 1075 CE, the population of K2 had outgrown the area and relocated to Mapungubwe Hill.
[Hrbek, page 324]
Kingdom of Zimbabwe
![Tower, Great Zimbabwe1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Tower%2C_Great_Zimbabwe1.jpg)
The kingdom taxed other rulers throughout the region. The kingdom was composed of over 150 tributaries headquartered in their own minor zimbabwes.
Kingdom of Mutapa
Mutota's son and successor, Nyanhewe Matope, extended this new kingdom into an empire encompassing most of the lands between Tavara and the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
.
[Oliver, page 204] This empire had achieved uniting a number of different peoples in
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...
by building strong, well-trained armies and encouraging states to join voluntarily, offering membership in the Great council of the Empire to any who joined without resistance.
Matope's armies overran the kingdom of the Manyika as well as the coastal kingdoms of Kiteve and Madanda.
By the time the Portuguese arrived on the coast of Mozambique, the Mutapa Kingdom was the premier state in the region.
He raised a strong army which conquered the Dande area of the Tonga and Tavara. The empire had reached its full extent by the year 1480 CE a mere 50 years following its creation.
Kingdom of Butua
Prior to becoming a part of the
Rozwi kingdom, the Togwa dynasty ruled the kingdom of Butua until 1683 CE.
Torwa dynasty
At Khami, the
Kalanga people, along with people from
Great Zimbabwe
Great Zimbabwe is a medieval city in the south-eastern hills of Zimbabwe near Lake Mutirikwi and the town of Masvingo. It is thought to have been the capital of a great kingdom during the country's Late Iron Age about which little is known. Con ...
, founded the Torwa dynasty.
Kingdom of Maravi
Between the 16th century CE and the 19th century CE, the kingdoms of Maravi (e.g., Undi, Lundu, Kalonga) prospered.
Modern history
Merina Kingdom
By the early 19th century CE, the Merina were able to overcome rival tribes such as the
Bezanozano
The Bezanozano are believed to be one of the earliest Malagasy ethnic groups to establish themselves in Madagascar, where they inhabit an inland area between the Betsimisaraka lowlands and the Merina highlands. They are associated with the ''v ...
, the
Betsimisaraka, and eventually the Sakalava kingdom and bring them under the Merina crown. It is through this process that the
ethnonym
An ethnonym () is a name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms (whose name of the ethnic group has been created by another group of people) and autonyms, or endonyms (whose name is created and used ...
"Merina" began to be commonly used, as it denotes prominence in the
Malagasy language
Malagasy (; ) is an Austronesian language and the national language of Madagascar. Malagasy is the westernmost Malayo-Polynesian language, brought to Madagascar by the settlement of Austronesian peoples from the Sunda islands around the 5th ce ...
. Though some sources describe the Merina expansion as the unification of Madagascar, this period of Merina expansion was seen by neighboring tribes such as the Betsimisaraka as aggressive acts of colonialism. By 1824 CE, the Merina captured the port of
Mahajanga
Mahajanga (French: Majunga) is a city and an administrative district on the northwest coast of Madagascar. The city of Mahajanga (Mahajanga I) is the capital of the Boeny Region. The district (identical to the city) had a population of 220,629 i ...
situated on the western coast of the island marking a further expansion of power. Under
Radama I
Radama I "the Great" (1793–1828) was the first Malagasy sovereign to be recognized as King of Madagascar (1810–1828) by a European state. He came to power at the age of 18 following the death of his father, King Andrianampoinimerina. Under Ra ...
, the Merina continued to launch military expeditions that both expanded imperial control and enriched military chiefs.
The ability of the Merina to overcome neighboring tribes was due to British firepower and military training. The British had an interest in establishing trade with the Merina kingdom due to its central position on the island since 1815 CE. Merina imperial expeditions became more frequent and violent after the renunciation of the
second Merina-British treaty
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...
. Between 1828 CE and 1840 CE, more than 100,000 men were killed and more than 200,000 enslaved by Merina forces. Imperial rule was met with resistance from escaped slaves and other refugees from imperial rule numbering in the tens of thousands. These refugees formed raiding brigands that were dealt with by imperial troops who hunted them down in 1835 CE. Notably, the rate of escaping refugees only heightened the demand for slave labor in the Merina kingdom, further fueling campaigns of military expansion.
Throughout the middle of the 19th century CE, continued imperial expansion and increasing control in coastal trade solidified Merina predominance over the island. The Merina kingdom nearly consolidated all of Madagascar into a single nation before
French colonization
The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French Colonial Empire", that exist ...
in 1895 CE.
Rozwi Empire
Records from the Portuguese show that the Rozvi were sophisticated military strategists. They were noted for using the
cow-horn formation
Shaka kaSenzangakhona ( – 22 September 1828), also known as Shaka Zulu () and Sigidi kaSenzangakhona, was the king of the Zulu Kingdom from 1816 to 1828. One of the most influential monarchs of the Zulu, he ordered wide-reaching reforms that ...
years before the great Zulu leader
Shaka adopted it in the 19th century CE. Armed with spears, shields, bows and arrows, the aggressive Rozvi took over the Zimbabwe plateau.
Ndwandwe Kingdom
The kingdom of Ndwande developed in the 19th century CE due to various kinds of changes (e.g., socioeconomic, political).
Mthethwa Paramountcy
According to Muzi Mthethwa (1995), the Mthethwas are descended from the
Nguni tribes of northern Natal and the
Lubombo Mountains, whose modern identity dates back some 700 years. They are among the first Nguni-Tsonga groups who left the
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
in
Central Africa
Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, ...
between 200 CE and 1200 CE. On arrival in
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...
, they settled around modern-day
Swaziland
Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...
, mainly on the
Lubombo Mountains, before leaving in the 17th century CE to settle in modern-day
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...
, in the
Nkandla region. It consisted of roughly 30 Nguni Chiefdoms, lineages, and clans. Unlike its successor, the
Zulu Kingdom
The Zulu Kingdom (, ), sometimes referred to as the Zulu Empire or the Kingdom of Zululand, was a monarchy in Southern Africa. During the 1810s, Shaka established a modern standing army that consolidated rival clans and built a large following ...
, the Mthethwa Paramountcy was a confederation. After Zulu prince
Sigidi kaSenzagakhona (better known as Shaka Zulu) became king, he forged a nearly homogeneous nation with a single king (''nkosi'').
The Mthethwa Paramountcy was consolidated and extended under the rule of
Dingiswayo
Dingiswayo () (c. 1780 – 1817) (born Godongwana) was a Mthethwa king, well known for his mentorship over a young Zulu general, Shaka Zulu, who rose to become the greatest of the Zulu Kings. His father was the Mthethwa king, Jobe kaKayi. I ...
. The chief entered into an alliance with the
Tsonga
Tsonga may refer to:
* Tsonga language, a Bantu language spoken in southern Africa
* Tsonga people, a large group of people living mainly in southern Mozambique and South Africa.
* Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (; born 17 April 1985) i ...
to the north in the early 19th century CE and began trading
Ivory and other things with the
Portuguese in
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
.
Zulu Kingdom
Shaka was the
illegitimate son of
Senzangakhona, King of the Zulus. He was born 1787 CE. He and his mother,
Nandi
Nandi may refer to:
People
* Nandy (surname), Indian surname
* Nandi (mother of Shaka) (1760–1827), daughter of Bhebe of the Langeni tribe
* Onandi Lowe (born 1974), Jamaican footballer nicknamed Nandi
* Nandi Bushell (born 2010), South Afri ...
, were exiled by Senzangakhona, and found refuge with the
Mthethwa Mthethwa may refer to:
* Mthethwa Paramountcy, a Southern African state that arose in the 18th century south of Delagoa Bay and inland in eastern southern Africa
* Nathi Mthethwa
Emmanuel Nkosinathi "Nathi" Mthethwa is a South African politician ...
. Shaka fought as a warrior under Jobe, and then under Jobe's successor,
Dingiswayo
Dingiswayo () (c. 1780 – 1817) (born Godongwana) was a Mthethwa king, well known for his mentorship over a young Zulu general, Shaka Zulu, who rose to become the greatest of the Zulu Kings. His father was the Mthethwa king, Jobe kaKayi. I ...
, leader of the
Mthethwa Paramountcy. When Senzangakona died, Dingiswayo helped Shaka become chief of the Zulu Kingdom. After
Dingiswayo
Dingiswayo () (c. 1780 – 1817) (born Godongwana) was a Mthethwa king, well known for his mentorship over a young Zulu general, Shaka Zulu, who rose to become the greatest of the Zulu Kings. His father was the Mthethwa king, Jobe kaKayi. I ...
's death at the hands of
Zwide, king of the
Ndwandwe, around 1818 CE, Shaka assumed leadership of the entire Mthethwa alliance.
Shaka initiated many military, social, cultural and political reforms, forming a well-organized and centralised Zulu state. The most important reforms involved the transformation of the army, through the innovative tactics and weapons, and a showdown with the spiritual leadership,
witchdoctor
A witch doctor (also spelled witch-doctor) was originally a type of healer who treated ailments believed to be caused by witchcraft. The term is now more commonly used to refer to healers, particularly in regions which use traditional healing ...
s, effectively ensuring the subservience of the "Zulu church" to the state.
The alliance under his leadership survived Zwide's first assault at the
Battle of Gqokli Hill in 1818 CE. Within two years, Shaka had defeated Zwide at the
Battle of Mhlatuze River in 1820 CE and broken up the Ndwandwe alliance, some of whom in turn began a murderous campaign against other
Nguni tribes and clans, setting in motion what became known as
Difaqane or
Mfecane, a mass-migration of tribes fleeing the remnants of the Ndwandwe fleeing the Zulu. The death toll has never been satisfactorily determined, but the whole region became nearly depopulated. Normal estimates for the death toll during this period range from 1 million to 2 million people. These numbers are however controversial.
By 1822 CE, Shaka had conquered an empire covering an area of around .
Kingdom of Mthwakazi
Mthwakazi is the traditional name of the proto-Ndebele people and
Ndebele kingdom
Mthwakazi is the traditional name of the proto-Ndebele people and Ndebele kingdom and is in the area of today's Zimbabwe. Mthwakazi is widely used to refer to inhabitants of Matebeleland Province in Zimbabwe.
Etymology
The word ''Matabele'' i ...
and is in the area of today's
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
.
Mthwakazi is widely used to refer to inhabitants of
Matebeleland Province in Zimbabwe.
Slave trade
Colonial period
Scramble for Africa
Post-colonial period
History of Southern African Architecture
''Further information in the sections of
Architecture of Africa
Like other aspects of the culture of Africa, the architecture of Africa is exceptionally diverse. Throughout the history of Africa, Africans have developed their own local architectural traditions. In some cases, broader regional styles can be id ...
:''
*
Medieval Southern African Architecture
History of science and technology in Southern Africa
''Further information in the sections of
History of science and technology in Africa
Africa has the world's oldest record of human technological achievement: the oldest stone tools in the world have been found in eastern Africa, and later evidence for tool production by our hominin ancestors has been found across West, Central, ...
:''
*
Astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...
*
Mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
*
Medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
*
Agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
*
Textiles
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
*
Architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...
*
Warfare
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...
*
By country
By or BY may refer to:
Places
* By, Doubs, France, a commune
* By, Norway, a village
Codes
* Belarus ISO country code
** .by, country-code top-level domain for Belarus
* Burundi FIPS Pub 10-4 and obsolete NATO digram country code
* TUI Airwa ...
Military history of Southern Africa
Genetic history of Southern Africa
Archaic Human DNA
While
Denisovan and
Neanderthal
Neanderthals (, also ''Homo neanderthalensis'' and erroneously ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis''), also written as Neandertals, are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago. While th ...
ancestry in non-Africans outside of Africa are more certain,
archaic human ancestry in Africans is less certain and is too early to be established with certainty.
Ancient DNA
Three
Later Stone Age
The Later Stone Age (LSA) is a period in African prehistory that follows the Middle Stone Age.
The Later Stone Age is associated with the advent of modern human behavior in Africa, although definitions of this concept and means of studying it ar ...
hunter-gatherers carried ancient DNA similar to
Khoisan
Khoisan , or (), according to the contemporary Khoekhoegowab orthography, is a catch-all term for those indigenous peoples of Southern Africa who do not speak one of the Bantu languages, combining the (formerly "Khoikhoi") and the or ( in t ...
-speaking hunter-gatherers.
Prior to the
Bantu migration
The Bantu expansion is a hypothesis about the history of the major series of migrations of the original Proto-Bantu language, Proto-Bantu-speaking Bantu peoples, group, which spread from an original nucleus around Central Africa across much of ...
into the region, as evidenced by ancient DNA from
Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...
,
East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa:
Due to the historical ...
n
herders
A herder is a pastoral worker responsible for the care and management of a herd or flock of domestic animals, usually on open pasture. It is particularly associated with nomadic or transhumant management of stock, or with common land grazing. ...
migrated into Southern Africa.
Out of four
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
Bantu
agriculturalists of
West African
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Ma ...
origin, two earlier agriculturalists carried ancient DNA similar to
Tsonga
Tsonga may refer to:
* Tsonga language, a Bantu language spoken in southern Africa
* Tsonga people, a large group of people living mainly in southern Mozambique and South Africa.
* Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (; born 17 April 1985) i ...
and
Venda
Venda () was a Bantustan in northern South Africa, which is fairly close to the South African border with Zimbabwe to the north, while to the south and east, it shared a long border with another black homeland, Gazankulu. It is now part of the ...
peoples and the two later agriculturalists carried ancient DNA similar to
Nguni people
The Nguni people are a Bantu ethnic group from South Africa, with off-shoots in neighbouring countries in Southern Africa. Swazi (or Swati) people live in both South Africa and Eswatini, while Northern Ndebele people live in both South Africa (a ...
; this indicates that there were various movements of peoples in the overall Bantu migration, which resulted in increased interaction and admixing between
Bantu-speaking peoples and Khoisan-speaking peoples.
Botswana
At Nqoma, in
Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...
, an individual, dated to the Early
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
(900 BP), carried
haplogroup L2a1f.
At Taukome, in
Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...
, an individual, dated to the Early
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
(1100 BP), carried haplogroups
E1b1a1 (E-M2, E-Z1123) and
L0d3b1.
At Xaro, in
Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...
, there were two individuals, dated to the Early
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
(1400 BP); one carried haplogroups
E1b1a1a1c1a and
L3e1a2, and another carried haplogroups
E1b1b1b2b (E-M293, E-CTS10880) and
L0k1a2.
Malawi
=Fingira
=
At Fingira, in
Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...
, an individual, estimated to date between 6175 BP and 5913 BP, carried haplogroups
BT and
L0d1b2b.
At Fingira, in
Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...
, an individual, estimated to date between 6177 BP and 5923 BP, carried haplogroups
BT and
L0d1c.
At Fingira, in
Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...
, an individual, estimated to date between 2676 BP and 2330 BP, carried
haplogroup L0f.
=Chencherere
=
At Chencherere, in
Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...
, an individual, estimated to date between 5400 BP and 4800 BP, carried
haplogroup L0k2.
At Chencherere, in
Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...
, an individual, estimated to date between 5293 BP and 4979 BP, carried
haplogroup L0k1.
=Hora
=
At Hora, in
Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...
, an individual, estimated to date between 10,000 BP and 5000 BP, carried haplogroups
BT and
L0k2.
At Hora, in
Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...
, an individual, estimated to date between 8173 BP and 7957 BP, carried
haplogroup L0a2.
South Africa
At
Doonside
Doonside is a suburb in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Doonside is located 40 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Blacktown and is part of the Greater Western ...
, in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, an individual, estimated to date between 2296 BP and 1910 BP, carried
haplogroup L0d2.
At
Champagne Castle
Champagne Castle is a mountain in the central Drakensberg range, and is the second highest peak in South Africa. It contains a series of subsidiary peaks, amongst them, Cathkin Peak (3149 m), Sterkhorn (previously called Mount Memory), Monk's C ...
, in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, an individual, estimated to date between 448 BP and 282 BP, carried
haplogroup L0d2a1a.
At
Eland Cave, in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, an individual, estimated to date between 533 BP and 453 BP, carried
haplogroup L3e3b1.
At Mfongosi, in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, an individual, estimated to date between 448 BP and 308 BP, carried
haplogroup L3e1b2.
At
Newcastle, in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, an individual, estimated to date between 508 BP and 327 BP, carried
haplogroup L3e2b1a2.
At
St. Helena
Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...
, in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, an individual, estimated to date between 2241 BP and 1965 BP, carried haplogroups
A1b1b2a and
L0d2c1.
At Faraoskop Rock Shelter, in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, an individual, estimated to date between 2017 BP and 1748 BP, carried haplogroups
A1b1b2a and
L0d1b2b1b.
At Kasteelberg, in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, an individual, estimated to date between 1282 BP and 1069 BP, carried haplogroup
L0d1a1a.
At Vaalkrans Shelter, in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, an individual, estimated to date to 200 BP, is predominantly related to
Khoisan
Khoisan , or (), according to the contemporary Khoekhoegowab orthography, is a catch-all term for those indigenous peoples of Southern Africa who do not speak one of the Bantu languages, combining the (formerly "Khoikhoi") and the or ( in t ...
speakers, partly related (15% - 32%) to
East Africans, and carried haplogroups
L0d3b1.
=Ballito Bay
=
At
Ballito
Ballito is an affluent town located in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Ballito is about north of Durban. It forms part of the KwaDukuza Local Municipality, and iLembe District Municipality. Dolphins are common on this stretch of the North Coast sh ...
Bay, in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, an individual, estimated to date between 1986 BP and 1831 BP, carried haplogroups
A1b1b2 and
L0d2c1.
At
Ballito
Ballito is an affluent town located in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Ballito is about north of Durban. It forms part of the KwaDukuza Local Municipality, and iLembe District Municipality. Dolphins are common on this stretch of the North Coast sh ...
Bay, in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, an individual, estimated to date between 2149 BP and 1932 BP, carried haplogroups
A1b1b2 and
L0d2a1.
Y-Chromosomal DNA
Various
Y chromosome
The Y chromosome is one of two sex chromosomes (allosomes) in therian mammals, including humans, and many other animals. The other is the X chromosome. Y is normally the sex-determining chromosome in many species, since it is the presence or abse ...
studies show that the San carry some of the most divergent (oldest)
human Y-chromosome haplogroups. These haplogroups are specific sub-groups of haplogroups
A and
B, the two earliest branches on the human Y-chromosome
tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
.
Mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial D ...
studies also provide evidence that the San carry high frequencies of the earliest
haplogroup branches in the human mitochondrial DNA tree. This DNA is inherited only from one's mother. The most divergent (oldest) mitochondrial haplogroup,
L0d, has been identified at its highest frequencies in the southern African San groups.
[
]
Autosomal DNA
In a study published in March 2011, Brenna Henn and colleagues found that the ǂKhomani San, as well as the Sandawe and Hadza people
The Hadza, or Hadzabe (''Wahadzabe'' in Swahili), are a Tanzanian indigenous ethnic group mostly based in southwest Karatu District of Arusha Region. They live around Lake Eyasi in the central Rift Valley and in the neighboring Serengeti Platea ...
s of Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
, were the most genetically diverse of any living humans studied. This high degree of genetic diversity hints at the origin of anatomically modern humans.
Medical DNA
Among the ancient DNA from three hunter-gatherers sharing genetic similarity with San people
The San peoples (also Saan), or Bushmen, are members of various Khoe, Tuu, or Kxʼa-speaking indigenous hunter-gatherer cultures that are the first cultures of Southern Africa, and whose territories span Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zambia, ...
and four Iron Age agriculturalists, their SNPs indicated that they bore variants for resistance against sleeping sickness and Plasmodium vivax. In particular, two out of the four Iron Age agriculturalists bore variants for resistance against sleeping sickness and three out of the four Iron Age agriculturalists bore Duffy negative variants for resistance against malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
. In contrast to the Iron Age agriculturalists, from among the San-related hunter-gatherers, a six year old boy may have died from schistosomiasis
Schistosomiasis, also known as snail fever, bilharzia, and Katayama fever, is a disease caused by parasitic flatworms called schistosomes. The urinary tract or the intestines may be infected. Symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloody s ...
. In Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...
, a man, who dates to 1400 BP, may have also carried the Duffy negative variant for resistance against malaria.
Timeline of archaeological cultures and sites
* Lomekwi
Lomekwi 3 is the name of an archaeological site in Kenya where ancient stone tools have been discovered dating to 3.3 million years ago, which make them the oldest ever found.
Discovery
In July 2011, a team of archeologists led by Sonia Harman ...
(3,300,000 BP)
* Taung (3,030,000 BP)
* Sterkfontein
Sterkfontein (Afrikaans for ''Strong Spring'') is a set of limestone caves of special interest to paleo-anthropologists located in Gauteng province, about northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa in the Muldersdrift area close to the town of K ...
(2,800,000 BP)
* Drimolen
The Drimolen Palaeocave System consists of a series of terminal Pliocene to early Pleistocene hominin-bearing palaeocave fills located around north of Johannesburg, South Africa, and about north of Sterkfontein in the UNESCO World Heritage Site ...
(2,000,000 BP)
* Kromdraai fossil site
Kromdraai (means crooked turn in afrikaans) is a fossil-bearing breccia-filled cave located about east of the well-known South African hominid-bearing site of Sterkfontein and about northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is situated withi ...
(2,000,000 BP)
* Cooper's Cave
Cooper's Cave is a series of fossil-bearing breccia filled cavities. The cave is located almost exactly between the well known South African hominid-bearing sites of Sterkfontein and Kromdraai and about northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa an ...
(1,900,000 BP)
* Canteen Kopje
Canteen Kopje is an archaeological site, formally protected as a grade 2 provincial heritage site, and approved in 2017 for re-grading to national status, situated outside Barkly West in the Northern Cape, South Africa. The place was previously ...
(1,890,000 BP)
* Swartkrans (1,800,000 BP)
* Motsetsi
Motsetsi Cave (also known as Motsetse) is a fossil-bearing breccia filled cavity located about east of the well known South African hominid-bearing sites of Sterkfontein and Kromdraai and about north-northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa. Mot ...
(1,640,000 BP)
* Wonderwerk Cave
Wonderwerk Cave is an archaeological site, formed originally as an ancient solution cavity in dolomite rocks of the Kuruman Hills, situated between Danielskuil and Kuruman in the Northern Cape Province, South Africa. It is a National Heritage S ...
(1,000,000 BP)
* Amanzi Springs archaeological site ( Middle Pleistocene)
* Rising Star Cave (414,000 BP)
* Kalambo Falls
The Kalambo Falls on the Kalambo River is a single-drop waterfall on the border of Zambia and Rukwa Region, Tanzania at the southeast end of Lake Tanganyika. The falls are some of the tallest uninterrupted falls in Africa (after South Africa's ...
(300,000 BP – 200,000 BP)
* Duinefontein Duinefontein 1 and 2 are early prehistoric archaeological sites near Cape Town in South Africa
They have produced Acheulean stone tools and animal bones dating between 200,000 and 400,000 years ago. It was not a settlement site, but instead seems t ...
(290,000 BP)
* Gladysvale Cave (257,000 BP)
* Florisbad archaeological and paleontological site (200,000 BP)
* Mumbwa Caves
The Mumbwa Caves are an archeological site in Zambia. The site has yielded artifacts that date from the Mesolithic, Neolithic and the Iron Age. The caves are a source of stratified, in situ deposits with faunal and human remains. Mumbwa, with it ...
(194,000 BP – 124,000 BP)
* Pinnacle Point
Pinnacle Point a small promontory immediately south of Mossel Bay, a town on the southern coast of South Africa. Excavations since the year 2000 of a series of caves at Pinnacle Point have revealed occupation by Middle Stone Age people between ...
(164,000 BP)
* Hoedjiespunt
Hoedjiespunt is a Middle Pleistocene aged hominid fossil-bearing site on the West coast of South Africa, near the town of Saldanha Bay. The site is an ancient brown hyena lair dug into the side of a sand dune, located on a peninsula overlooking ...
(130,000 BP)
* Ngalue
Ngalue Cave is an archaeological site located in the Niassa province of Mozambique. Excavated primarily by Julio Mercader in 2007, Ngalue is a Middle Stone Age site. Due to its relatively dry environment and the shape of the cave, Ngalue had very ...
(105,000 BP)
* Blombos Cave (84,000 BP)
* Stillbay
The Stillbay (also Still bay) industry is the name given by archaeologists A. J. H. Goodwin and C. van Riet Lowe in 1929 to a Middle Stone Age stone tool manufacturing style after the site of Stilbaai (also called Still Bay) in South Africa whe ...
(80,000 BP)
* Howieson's Poort Shelter
Howieson's Poort Shelter is a small rock shelter in South Africa containing the archaeological site from which the Howiesons Poort period in the Middle Stone Age gets its name. This period lasted around 5,000 years, between roughly 65,800 BP and ...
(80,000 BP – 60,000 BP)
* Mousteroid Mousteroid was a culture occurring during the period 80,000 - 50,000 BP of Central, Southern and East Africa. Examples of this culture are the tool-industry of the Middle Paleolithic in West Africa, known from sites at Zenebi, Nigeria and Tiemassa ...
(80,000 BP – 50,000 BP)[J. D. Clark (1967)]
* Peers Cave (75,000 BP)
* Howiesons Poort (68,000 BP – 60,000 BP)
* Boomplaas Cave
Boomplaas Cave is located in the Cango Valley in the foothills of the Swartberg mountain range, north of Oudtshoorn, Eden District Municipality in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. It has a deep stratified archaeological sequence of huma ...
(66,000 BP)
* Klasies River Caves (66,000 BP)
* Diepkloof Rock Shelter (65,000 BP)
* Plovers Lake (62,900 BP)
* Sibudu Cave (61,000 BP)
* Fauresmith (industry)
In archaeology, Fauresmith industry is a stone tool industry that is transitional between the Acheulian and the Middle Stone Age. It is at the end of the Acheulian or beginning of the Middle Stone Age. It is named after the town of Fauresmith in S ...
(60,300 BP – 32,600 BP)
* Border Cave (58,200 BP)
* Ngwenya Mine
The Ngwenya Mine is located on Bomvu Ridge, northwest of Mbabane and near the northwestern border of Eswatini (Swaziland). This mine is considered to be the world's oldest. The haematite ore deposit was used in the Middle Stone Age to extract ...
(43,000 BP)
* Apollo 11 Cave
The Apollo 11 Cave is an archeological site in the ǁKaras Region of south-western Namibia, approximately southwest of Keetmanshoop. The name given to the surrounding area and presumably the cave by the Nama people was "Goachanas".John Mason, " ...
(30,000 BP)
* Elands Bay Cave (19,398 BP)
* Tsodilo (14,500 BP)
* Mwela Rock Paintings
The Mwela Rock Paintings are a national monument of Zambia, about east of Kasama.
The rock paintings (about 700 in all) are in caves and overhangs spread over a very wide area of bush, north of the Kasama Isoka road at 10°10' S 31°13' E, where ...
(10,820 BP)
* Kalemba Rockshelter (10,000 BP – 8,000 BP)
* Matsieng Footprints
The Matsieng Footprints are natural engravings found in southern Botswana. The site contains up to 117 engravings and three natural rock-holes, dating back between 3,000 to 10,000 years. Many of the footprints are human or feline-like in design.
...
(10,000 BP – 3000 BP)
* Nelson Bay Cave
Nelson Bay Cave also known as Wagenaar's Cave is a Stone Age archaeological site located in the Robberg Nature Reserve on the Robberg Peninsula and facing Nelson's Bay near Plettenberg Bay in South Africa, and showing evidence of human occupati ...
(9000 BP)
* Jubilee Shelter (8500 BP)
* Twyfelfontein
Twyfelfontein (Afrikaans: ''uncertain spring''), officially known as ǀUi-ǁAis ( Damara/Nama: ''jumping waterhole''), is a site of ancient rock engravings in the Kunene Region of north-western Namibia. It consists of a spring in a valley flanked ...
(5850 BP)
* Rose Cottage Cave
Rose Cottage Cave (RCC) is an archaeological site in the Free State, South Africa, situated only a few kilometers away from Ladybrand, close to the Caledon River, on the northern slopes of the Platberg. RCC is an important site because of its l ...
(4000 BP)
* The White Lady (3000 BCE – 1500 BCE)
* Mussel Point
Mussel Point also known as Mike Taylor's Midden (MTM) is possibly the largest of 13 megamiddens found along the South African West Coast. MTM is the only open site with remains from the early pottery period (3000 and 2000 years before present) in ...
(3500 BP)
* Byneskranskop (3200 BP – 1500 BP)
* Driekops Eiland Driekops Eiland (also called Driekopseiland) is a rock engraving or petroglyph site in the bed of the Riet River close to the town of Plooysburg, near Kimberley, Northern Cape, South Africa.
The engravings
There are more than 3500 individual engra ...
(2500 BP)
* Bambata Cave
Bambata Cave is one of the Southern Africa prehistoric sites situated in Motobo National Park along with Inanke, Nswatugi, Pomengwe and Silozwane caves in Zimbabwe.
Location
The Bambata cave is a huge archaeological cave located in the west pa ...
(215 CE)
* Ziwa (1630 BP)
* Chibuene
Chibuene is a Mozambican archaeological site, located five kilometres south of the coastal city of Vilanculos South Beach. The site was occupied during two distinct phases. The earlier phase of occupation dates to the late first millennium AD. ...
(7th century CE)
* Toutswemogala Hill
Toutswemogala Hill lies 6.5 km West of the North-South Highway in the Central District of Botswana. It is situated about 50 km north of the village of Palapye. Toutswemogala is an elongated flat-topped hill, geologically called a mesa, r ...
(7th century CE – 19th century CE)
* Leopard's Kopje (750 CE – 800 CE)
* Bambandyanalo
Bambandyanalo is an archaeological site in present-day Zimbabwe, just north of the Limpopo River. It flourished from the 11th to 13th centuries, being a predecessor to the Great Zimbabwe culture. The ruins have survived because much of the comple ...
(1000 CE)
* Great Zimbabwe
Great Zimbabwe is a medieval city in the south-eastern hills of Zimbabwe near Lake Mutirikwi and the town of Masvingo. It is thought to have been the capital of a great kingdom during the country's Late Iron Age about which little is known. Con ...
(1300 CE)
* Domboshaba
Domboshaba ruins is a cultural and heritage site in Botswana originally occupied towards the end of the Great Zimbabwe period (1250–1450 AD). The site is a respected place for the people living in the region and it is believed that the chie ...
(1300 CE – 1600 CE)
* Majojo
Majojo is a small hill found in the central district of Botswana. It is categorized under the monuments and sites in Botswana. According to history, these hill was the residence of the chief. They were called Muzinda, which means the residence ...
(1300 CE – 1650 CE)
* Mbande Hill (600 BP)
* Kingdom of Mapungubwe
The Kingdom of Mapungubwe (or Maphungubgwe) (c. 1075–c. 1220) was a medieval state in South Africa located at the confluence of the Shashe and Limpopo rivers, south of Great Zimbabwe. The name is derived from either TjiKalanga and Tshivenda. ...
(1370 CE – 1410 CE)
* Manyikeni
Manyikeni is a Mozambican archaeological site, around 52 km west of the coastal city of Vilanculos. The archaeological site dates from the twelfth to seventeenth century. It is believed to be part of the Great Zimbabwe tradition of architec ...
(14th century CE)
* Khami (1450 CE – 1820 CE)
* Dzata ruins
}
The Dzata Ruins (or Dzana ruins) are an archaeological site in Dzanani in the Makhado municipality, Vhembe District Municipality, Vhembe district, in the north of South Africa.
Scholars who have made a study of the various legends and tradition ...
(pre-1600 CE)
* Blaauboschkraal stone ruins
The Blaauboschkraal stone ruins are a provincial heritage site in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. Its neighbouring town, Emgweyna, is 10 kilometres away. The site was declared a national monument on 18 April 1975Klerk, W. A. (2019). ...
(16th century CE)
* Ingombe Ilede
Ing'ombe Ilede is an archaeological site located on a hill near the confluence of the Zambezi and Lusitu rivers, near the town of Siavonga, in Zambia. Ing'ombe Ilede, meaning "a sleeping cow", received its name from a local baobab tree that i ...
(16th century CE)
* Danangombe (1650 CE – 1815 CE)
* Burchell's Shelter
Burchell’s Shelter is a small rock overhang and archaeological site located in a kloof in the Ghaap Escarpment at Campbell in the Northern Cape, South Africa. As an archaeological site it has a shallow deposit containing late Holocene, mainly n ...
(post-1660 CE)
* Mamuno Monument (200 BP)
* Kaditshwene (1790 CE)
* Bumbusi National Monument
Bumbusi is a Zimbabwean archaeological site, surrounded by Hwange National Park, in Western Zimbabwe. It is not often visited because of its remote location and low tourist profile. The remains on the site resemble those of other archaeological si ...
(18th century CE)
* Tlokwe Ruins
The Tlokwe Ruins are the remains of Sotho-Tswana settlements on the hills surrounding Fochville in Gauteng, South Africa. They were inhabited until the inhabitants were driven away by Mzilikazi in the 1820s.
The Sotho-Tswana people lived in this ...
(19th century CE)
* Old Palapye
Old Palapye is a heritage site located in Botswana, near a town called Palapye. Old Palapye and Palapye are two different places according to the residents there, Palapye is a modernised town. The site is located 20 km away from the Palapye ...
(19th century CE)
* Dundo (1912 CE)
List of archaeological cultures and sites
* Cango Caves
* Eye of Kuruman
The Eye of Kuruman ( af, Die Oog) is a spring in the town of Kuruman (part of the Ga-Segonyana Local Municipality) in the province of Northern Cape, South Africa. Currently, it is known as the largest natural spring in the Southern Hemisphere. a ...
* Gwisho Hot-Springs
* Heritage Western Cape
* Kathu Archaeological Complex
* ǁKhauxaǃnas
ǁKhauxaǃnas (Khoekhoegowab: ''passively defend people from an enemy'', Afrikaans / Dutch name Schans Vlakte: ''fortified valley'') is an uninhabited village with a ruined fortress in south-eastern Namibia, east of the Great Karas Mountains. It ...
* Kogelbeen Cave
The Kogelbeen Cave forms part of eight caves on the dolomitic Ghaap Plateau of the Northern Cape, South Africa. It is commonly known as Kogelbeengrotte in Afrikaans. The cave is located on Kogelbeen Farm in Pixley ka Seme District Municipality. I ...
* Kolobeng Mission
Kolobeng Mission (also known as the Livingstone Memorial), built in 1847, the third and final mission of David Livingstone, a missionary and explorer of Africa. Located in the country of Botswana, west of Kumakwane and west of Gaborone off the ...
* Magosian The Magosian is the name given by archaeologists to an industry found in southern and eastern Africa. It dates to between 10,000 and 6,000 years BC and is distinguished from its predecessors by the use of microliths and small blades.
In 1953, J. ...
* Makapansgat
* Malapa Fossil Site, Cradle of Humankind
Malapa is a fossil-bearing cave located about northeast of the well known South African hominid-bearing sites of Sterkfontein and Swartkrans and about north-northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is situated within the Cradle of Human ...
* Melkhoutboom Cave
Melkhoutboom Cave is an archaeological site dating to the Later Stone Age, located in the Zuurberg Mountains, Cape Folded Mountain Belt, Sarah Baartman District Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa.
History
Investigation of ...
* Melville Koppies
Melville Koppies is a nature reserve and a Johannesburg City Heritage Site in Johannesburg, South Africa. The word 'koppie' means small hill.
Iron Age artefacts can still be found at the site. Visitors can walk or hike in the Koppies, and t ...
* Naletale
* Nooitgedacht Glacial Pavements
The Nooitgedacht Glacial Pavements comprise a geological feature between Kimberley and Barkly West, South Africa, pertaining to the Palaeozoic-age Dwyka Ice Age, or Karoo Ice Age, (some 300 million years ago) where the glacially scoured (smoothed ...
* Northern Cape Heritage Resources Authority
The Northern Cape Heritage Resources Authority, previously called Ngwao Boswa jwa Kapa Bokone (seTswana for 'Heritage Northern Cape'), and commonly known as 'Boswa', is a provincial heritage resources authority established in 2003 by the MEC f ...
* Nyambwezi Falls
Nyambwezi Falls are a waterfall located in the North-Western Province of Zambia. They are approximately high. Close to the lip of the falls, there is a rock shelter, which has petroglyphs and other evidence of late Stone Age
The Stone Ag ...
* Paternoster Midden
Paternoster Midden is a megamidden on the west coast of South Africa. This megamidden has particular value, as it is one of the few megamiddens in existence that has such a rich and diverse faunal and artefactual content.
Significance
Most of th ...
* Sangoan
The Sangoan is the name given by archaeologists to a Palaeolithic tool manufacturing style which may have developed from the earlier Acheulian types. In addition to the Acheulian stone tools, bone and antler picks were also used. Sangoan toolkits ...
* Schoemansdal, Limpopo
Schoemansdal (Dutch for ''Schoeman's dale''; at first Oude Dorp and Zoutpansbergdorp) was a settlement situated 16 km west of Louis Trichardt (Makhado), which had its origins during the Great Trek. It existed from 1848 to 1867, and functione ...
* Sedan Beehive stone huts
The Sedan Beehive stone huts are a provincial heritage site in Lindley in the Free State province of South Africa.
In 1950 it was described in the Government Gazette as
These huts are near the farm Sedan which is about west of Lindley. Th ...
* Wildebeest Kuil Rock Art Centre
Wildebeest Kuil Rock Art Centre is a rock engraving site with visitor centre on land owned by the !Xun and Khwe San situated about 16 km from Kimberley, Northern Cape, South Africa. It is a declared Provincial Heritage Site managed by the N ...
* Witsie's Cave (Lekhalong la Witsie)
Witsie’s cave (''Lehaeng la Wetsi'') is a sacred site in the Free State (province), Free State and is named after the grandson of Chief Seeka of Makholokoe. The cave is largely associated with Makholokoe – a tribe of the Basotho and has a ric ...
References
{{Authority control
Southern Africa
History of Africa by region
Sub-Saharan Africa
Natural history of Africa