Advances in information technology, especially developments in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), have led to an exponential growth of spatial archaeology worldwide. However, the status and impact of this technology in developing countries are still to be fully appraised. This paper reviews applications of Geographic Information Systems in Zimbabwean archaeology, highlighting the issues addressed and the constraints being faced. The paper also advances the proposition that a meaningful exploitation of Geographic Information Systems technology requires understanding it as a science in its own right. That way it is hoped that researchers will develop innovative approaches for investigating the exploitation and meaning of space among prehistoric communities in southern Africa.

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This paper discusses two issues: the value now accruing from the digitisation of the national record of archaeological sites in Zimbabwe and the importance of integrating Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in archaeological research. The record of archaeological sites in Zimbabwe, otherwise known as the Archaeological Survey Database, or the Survey Record, is a list of sites that have been reported to the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) and its predecessors since the 1890s. The digital spatial database that has now been developed out of the thousands of sites reported for more than a century has practical advantages over the physical and manual records available, as well as other digital databases. In the face of numerous development projects, including the recent land reform programme and other activities in Zimbabwe, the GIS database becomes handy in anticipating the magnitude of risks facing the archaeological heritage and monuments in the country. In addition, the database would be useful to researchers in spatial and settlement archaeology, or anyone interested in the whereabouts of archaeological sites. The paper uses this example of a database to demonstrate the importance of ICTs in the archaeology of Zimbabwe and southern Africa.

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