Mapungubwe and the Limpopo Valley

Question 1

What did the early farmers in the Limpopo Valley farm?

Answer 1

They mostly kept cattle - as the area was dry. They also grew sorghum and cotton.

Question 2

Why and how did life change for the Limpopo Valley farmers after 900AD?

Answer 2

Why: the farmers began to trade with Swahili traders who came down the East coast of Africa. They learned about other cultures, songs and languages and got new ideas about how to craft things.
How: some of the farmers became more rich and powerful than others because they controlled the trade. The people began to form larger settlements grouped around the more powerful leaders (previously they had lived in small villages).

Question 3

Define commercial

Answer 3

the business of trading and exchanging goods and services

Question 4

Name 2 places (other than Mapungubwe) where archaeologists found evidence of early settlements in the Limpopo Valley. What did they find at these sites?

Answer 4

K2 and Schroda

They found glass beads from India, a midden and small pieces of ivory

Question 5

What did the Limpopo people trade with the Swahili traders for their glass beads?

Answer 5

animal skins, ivory, rhino horn and gold

Question 6

Where did the Kingdom of Mapungubwe get its name?

Answer 6

The king who ruled the area was called the mambo - giving rise to the name Mapungubwe

Question 7

True or false: Mapungubwe was the first state in southern Africa

Answer 7

true

Question 8

Explain why the king lived on Mapungubwe Hill

Answer 8

• It is thought that a drought around 1220AD caused tension amongst the people and the king decide to show his power by moving away from the rest of the people in the K2 settlement
• to reinforce the view that he had a special relationship with the gods and ancestors
• to remind people that he had control over the rain needed for crops and control over floods and drought
• to emphasise that he was more important than ordinary people and was separate from them (for this reason he also built stone walls to screen his homestead from people and he made it difficult to access the palace)

Question 9

How was Mapungubwe Hill accessed?

Answer 9

by climbing one of 3 ladders in the rock wall

Question 10

Who lived on Mapungubwe Hill?

Answer 10

The king, his wives, senior diviner (who was possibly his sister), advisers, healers and guards

Question 11

How do we know that the royal family were buried at the top of Mapungubwe Hill?

Answer 11

Archaeologists have found bodies buried with special golden objects. The objects (such as a bowl, sceptre and rhino) were symbols of the power and importance of the king and his family. Gold was only owned by rich people so the objects also showed that they were richer than the people living at the bottom of the hill and surrounding areas

Question 12

Name 2 ways in which the rulers of Mapungubwe became powerful

Answer 12

1) controlling the trade with Swahili traders

2) through benefiting from the tribute system

Question 13

Why is the top of Mapungubwe Hill flat?

Answer 13

The kings followers carried thousands of tons of sand to the top to make it level

Question 14

How did the tribute system in Mapungubwe work?

Answer 14

farmers had to pay a tribute (or tax) in crops or cattle to their local chief. The chief then paid a tribute to the king who built a large stone palace on Mapungubwe Hill. The rulers and the king then looked after the farmers in times of drought or war.

Question 15

The kingdom of Mapungubwe was powerful:

a) before 900AD
b) between 900AD and 1200AD
c) between 1200AD and 1300AD
d) after 1300AD

Answer 15

c between 1200 and 1300

Question 16

Name an ancient African civilisation other than Mapungubwe where a tax system existed

Answer 16

Egypt

Question 17

By which year had the king left Mapungubwe?

Answer 17

1300AD

Question 18

Describe what a settlement is

Answer 18

a place where people live closely together

Question 19

Why would people settle near to powerful leaders?

Answer 19

for protection, help in times of drought or war, payment for work

Question 20

what could an archaeologist learn from a midden?

Answer 20

What people ate 
what tools people used 
what possessions they had
who they traded with
where people lived
This helps archaeologists understand how people lived and behaved in times gone by

Question 21

What is the Order of Mapungubwe?

Answer 21

as award given to South African citizens for exceptional service

Question 22

what is a world heritage site?

Answer 22

a place of importance to all the people of the world

Question 23

What did Mr van Graan, his son and some friends find on a plateau in the Limpopo Valley in 1932?

Answer 23

iron age tools, pots and copper beads - this lead to the discovery of the lost civilisation of Mapungubwe

Question 24

Why was Mapungubwe called the lost city of gold?

Answer 24

they mined gold and used it to trade with

Question 25

How was Mapungubwe unlike any other civilsation in Southern Africa at the time?

Answer 25

1) they had specific burial rites for the rich and poor
2) they mined and worked with gold and copper
3) they were farmers of cattle and crops
4) they were good potters
5) they had a hierarchical living arrangement

Question 26

what was the difference in the way the rich and poor were buried in Mapungubwe?

Answer 26

1) the rich were buried with jewellery, ivory, clay figurines glass beads etc while the poor were not
2) the rich were buried in a seated foetal position while the poor were buried lying flat

Question 27

how do archaeologists know that people lived in Mapungubwe for many generations?

Answer 27

there is evidence that they were a well settled community as there were well developed areas for different purposes such as holding meetings, discarding rubbish, storing food and keeping cattle

Question 28

what were some of the differences in the lives of the rich and poor in Mapungubwe

Answer 28

1) rich lived higher up the slopes of Mapungunwe Hill - closer to the king
2) rich people were able to work with metals such as iron, copper, gold and brass. The poor could not.
3) only rich people could wear gold jewellery
4) the rich could make and use iron tools such as chisels, axes, adzes as well as arrow heads for hunting while the poor used bone and stone tools

Question 29

Explain how Mapungubwe was geographically well situated

Answer 29

1) close to the Limpopo river for water and irrigation of crops as well as for trading
2) climate well suited to livestock and crops
3) soil rich and fertile - grew millet, sorghum and cotton for own use as well as for trading
4) lots of grazing land for cattle
5) position between 2 hills offered protection

Question 30

True or false: the people of Mapungubwe traded only with Swahili and Arab traders

Answer 30

False: they would have traded pottery/iron/stone with other farmers and hunter gatherers in the area

Question 31

where was the gold that they traded mined?

Answer 31

from across the Limpopo River in Zimbabwe

Question 32

why were glass beads from India so valuable?

Answer 32

they were very rare

Question 33

What did wealthy people use glass beads for?

Answer 33

they used the beads to buy cattle

Question 34

why did having cattle make you wealthy?

Answer 34

you could exchange cattle for brides who would in turn give you children. Children could work on your farms looking after your fields and cattle.

Question 35

where or what was Chibuene

Answer 35

It was a trading port reached by following the Limpopo River east from Mapungubwe

Question 36

Why has Mapungubwe been preserved as a World Heritage site?

Answer 36

It reminds us that there were large, powerful, organised kingdoms in Africa many 100s of years ago

Question 37

When and why do historians think the kingdom of Mapungubwe ended?

Answer 37

By 1300AD
One of the reasons is that traders from the East Coast began to travel along the Zambezi River (further north) rather than the Limpopo