Landscapes and Ethnicity: An Historical Archaeology of Khami-Phase Sites in Southwestern Zimbabwe

Abstract

Although numerous dry-stone-walled Khami-phase sites are scattered throughout southwestern Zimbabwe, their finer archaeological and historical credentials remain largely elusive. Deliberations of how several dynastic and ethnolinguistic formations that are historically linked to the rise and spread of these sites can be archaeologically defined also remain multiple and fragmentary. Correspondingly, in attempts to trace Rozvi ethnicity, a sample of three ancient Khami-phase capitals––Danamombe, Naletale, and Zinjanja––was scrutinized in the light of an agency landscape framework. For the first time, radiocarbon dates from these sites are compared with each other in order to assess the validity of oral traditions and documentary sources describing the Rozvi past.