__NOTOC__ Thulamela is the most dramatic of the around 300

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

sites identified in

Kruger National Park Kruger National Park is a South African National Park and one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers an area of in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in northeastern South Africa, and extends from north to south and from ea ...

. It is located on heights south of the

Levubu River The Levubu River or Levuvhu ( ts, Rivubye; ve, Luvuvhu) is located in the northern Limpopo province of South Africa. Some of its tributaries, such as the Mutshindudi River and Mutale River rise in the Soutpansberg Mountains. The Luvuvhu River f ...

offering a panoramic view. Sidney Miller led excavations from December 1993 to July 1995, and the site has also been partially reconstructed. The opening of the rebuilt Thulamela was attended by a hundred guests, including then

Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism was a department of the government of South Africa from 1994 to 2009. Past Cabinet Ministers of Environmental Affairs and Tourism After the election of President Jacob Zuma in May 2009 the de ...

Pallo Jordan Zweledinga Pallo Jordan (born 22 May 1942) is a South African politician. He was a member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress, and was a cabinet minister from 1994 until 2009. Early life Jordan is the son of th ...

and then

SANParks South African National Parks (SANParks) is the body responsible for managing South Africa's national parks. SANParks was formed in 1926, and currently manages 19 parks consisting of , over 3% of the total area of South Africa. Many parks offer ...

chairman, the late Dr.

Enos John Mabuza Enos John Nganani Mabuza (6 June 1939 – 13 December 1997) was born at Sheba gold mine in Barberton on June 6, 1939. He attended school up to Standard eight and thereafter obtained a primary teacher's diploma in Vryheid, Natal. He then studied ...

. The name ''Thulamela'' comes from a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsVenda 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 ...

, inhabited the Thulamela stone fortress from 1250 to 1700 C.E.

Glass bead Glass bead making has long traditions, with the oldest known beads dating over 3,000 years. Glass beads have been dated back to at least Roman times. Perhaps the earliest glass-like beads were Egyptian faience beads, a form of clay bead with a ...

Chinese porcelain Chinese ceramics show a continuous development since pre-dynastic times and are one of the most significant forms of Chinese art and ceramics globally. The first pottery was made during the Palaeolithic era. Chinese ceramics range from construc ...

, imported

textile 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 ...

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is ...

bracelet A bracelet is an article of jewellery that is worn around the wrist. Bracelets may serve different uses, such as being worn as an ornament. When worn as ornaments, bracelets may have a wikt:supportive, supportive function to hold other items of ...

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

, and other

jewelry Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a western ...

testify to extensive trade links. Skilled goldsmiths, the inhabitants traded the metal as currency, and they also mined

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

that they forged into

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

for export. Both metals were traded for ivory, glass beads, and grain from merchants closer to the east coast. There were likely also trade links with

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 ...

. The graves of a 16th-century king and queen were unearthed in the 1990s excavations. Archaeologists named them King Ingwe and Queen Losha, and their castle was estimated to house 1,000 people. Dwellings along the ruined walls on the hillsides beyond could regularly have housed 2,000. Similar village ruins can be found in the Mateke Hills on the other side of the

Limpopo River The Limpopo River rises in South Africa and flows generally eastward through Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers led by Hosi Rivombo who settled in the mountaino ...

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 ...

. The Makahane Cliffs can be found in the same area of Kruger National Park, northeast of the Punda Maria Gate near the

Levubu Levubu is a village in the Makhado Local Municipality, part of the Vhembe District Municipality of Limpopo province, South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is ...

, and was also a Vhalembethu settlement. Thulamela Kingdom was led by the Tswa people well-known as the Hlengwe (Tsonga). The last rightful ruler's actual names was Mahimi Mukhumuli Mabasa of Xitanga Mayingani Dynasty. Big five families of the Kingdom Thulamela: # Forgotten Dynasty of Mabasa/Chauke — under ruler Mahimi Mkhumuli Mhlengwe wa Xitanga xa Mayingani # Makahane — also known as Shagala, Nephawe, Mataji (Matandze) # Pafuri — known as Makushu (Makush) # Maphaha Xikumbu (Xikumbu) — son of Thonga Tshilimandila in Phalaborwa. # Shilowa or Selowa — also known as Machete, Mmopa, Mushiana, Vudogwe, Mbwashishi, Senyolo or Vhadau Vha Damani & Vhadau Vha Matavhelani. Visitors to the park can book tours from Punda Maria Camp up to Thulamela.

Sources

* Miller, Sidney Mears (2018). ''Thulamela: The Lost Gold of the Vha Venda''.

References

External links

* {{SAHRA site , 922690014 , Thulamela Kruger National Park Archaeological sites in South Africa Archaeological sites of Southern Africa

See also

Sources

References

External links