Reflections on the Ancient Chiefdoms and States of Southern Africa

Abstract

For the greater part of time, archaeological research on the development of complexity in southern Africa has been overshadowed by, interpreted and understood largely within the context of the Zimbabwe culture. Traditionally, this followed a linear societal progression model. Statehood was perceived from a rise-and-fall context where states would emerge as direct offshoots of the demise of Mapungubwe and Great Zimbabwe. In this regard, this entry presents reflections and reconsiderations of the development of complexity in the southern African political landscape through time and space and queries the long-standing tradition of understanding complexity from the vantage point of Great Zimbabwe. In so doing, the paper explores avenues for resetting the map and road to complexity beyond Great Zimbabwe, within the context of decolonial frameworks. Without taking away from the efforts of earlier scholars, these reflections are focused on emerging frameworks that call for the re-imagining of the pre-colonial socio-political landscape across the region, taking account of and validation from indigenous ways of knowing and understanding the organization of indigenous political processes and formations.