Fourteen glass beads and one glass fragment from Khami-period (AD 1400-1830) sites of Danamombe, Naletale, Gomoremhiko, Nharire and Zinjanja, in Zimbabwe, were analysed by pXRF and Raman spectroscopy with the intention of correlating the results with associated radiocarbon dates. The results show that Zinjanja and an earlier part of the Danamombe stratigraphic context had Khami Indo-Pacific beads (15th-17th centuries) corresponding with Torwa occupational layers. Other European beads and one bottle fragment [high-lime, lowalkali (HLLA) glass] dating from the 16th to the 19th centuries were confined to the top stratigraphic layers of Danamombe and Naletale, which coincide with the later Rozvi occupational layers. Gomoremhiko had one Mapungubwe-Zimbabwe bead series (13th-15th centuries), which suggests that it was probably earlier than the other sites. All European beads are made of soda-lime plant-ash glass with high alumina, which makes them comparable with glass produced through the Mediterranean traditions in Southern Europe.

This article evaluates efforts to bring to life some museum collections in Zimbabwe. Scholars have argued that the removal of objects from their social environments into museums literally kills them. The 'heritagisation' and 'museualisation' processes stand accused of killing objects. On the other hand, indigenous African communities consistently and situationally imbued their landscape with spiritual, political and social meanings. These cultural landscapes epitomise 'living museums' where diverse cultural objects were curated with traditional management systems. European colonialism, however, resulted in the denigration of these cultural practices. Objects which were critical for the well-being of Africans were taken into captivity in colonial museums and eventually became 'forgotten' or 'dead'. Ethnographic museums, in particular, are perceived as places of the dead and evil spirits. They are places to dump 'garbage' that no longer has a function in society. Post-colonial African museums have struggled to attract and sustain local community interest. However, there is still hope to re-ignite and sustain public interest in museum programmes. We invoke the notion of 'living archives' as an approach to decolonise the museum. The article appraises case studies of museum collections that have triggered immense public interest.

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.

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