Exotica in Context: Reconfiguring Prestige, Power and Wealth in the Southern African Iron Age

Moffett, Abigail Joy; Chirikure, Shadreck

doi:10.1007/s10963-016-9099-7

Cited by 44 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 126 publications

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“…Although the material culture might have been identical, its meaning, however, differed according to political status. Thus, although a king’s spear was often similar to that of a commoner, political office conferred symbolic significance upon it (Chirikure et al 2016; Moffett & Chirikure 2016). This situation makes it difficult archaeologically to distinguish social inequalities based on the distribution of material culture, even where good spatial and chronological control is available.…”

Section: Theoretical and Methodological Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elites and commoners at Great Zimbabwe: archaeological and ethnographic insights on social power

et al. 2018

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Section: Theoretical and Methodological Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elites and commoners at Great Zimbabwe: archaeological and ethnographic insights on social power

et al. 2018

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“…The epistemological inheritance of archaeology as a colonial discipline in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa (Hall 1984(Hall , 1996Shepherd 2002;Segobye 2005;Lane 1994Lane /1995Lane , 2005Lane , 2011 has resulted in an approach to complexity and the state from within the established parameters of Western archaeology. This is indeed true for southern African archaeology, in which approaches to complexity remain strongly influenced by conceptual categories drawn from global archaeological theory (Manyanga et al 2010;Moffett and Chirikure 2016).…”

Section: African Iron Agementioning

confidence: 97%

“…Such an approach to power relations benefits from the vantage point of social praxis (Warnier 2007). In southern Africa, Chirikure et al (2016a) and Moffett and Chirikure (2016) have highlighted the fact that often it was the political position, such as office, that gave power to individuals and significance to residences.…”

Section: A Critique Of Current Approaches To the Study Of The Politicmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Access to, and control over, prestige-good items needs to be interrogated in relation to evidence of the display of wealth and the embodiment of prestige. A review of the context within which imports were deposited in both "elite" and "commoner" sites in the period suggests underlying cultural principles that shaped the valuation, use and deposition of imports, rendering a correlation between imports and prestige problematic (Moffett and Chirikure 2016).…”

Section: African Iron Agementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Exploring the development of complexity and the basis of power in early states in the region in greater detail requires a critical assessment of the relative importance of control over trade (Huffman 1972(Huffman , 1982(Huffman , 2000, as well as a consideration of some of the other oftenoverlooked factors, such as pastoralism (Garlake 1978(Garlake , 1982Denbow 1984;Reid 1996), land, and people, within a wider recognition of the myriad overlapping factors that may have contributed to shaping complexity in the region (Garlake 1978;Beach 1980Beach , 1998Pwiti 1991Pwiti , 1996Pwiti , 2005Manyanga 2006;Chirikure et al 2016aChirikure et al , 2016bMoffett and Chirikure 2016). It may also require a shift from focusing on areas associated immediately or by extension with "states", conceptualised both as centres and as peripheries.…”

Section: African Iron Agementioning

confidence: 99%

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‘Phalaborwa where the hammer is heard’: crafting together the political economy of Iron Age communities in southern Africa, AD 900–1900

Moffett

2017

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa

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In Africa and elsewhere, producers form a critical dimension to archaeological reconstructions of the political economy. However, few studies address the relationship between producers and the political economy from the vantage point of production sites. This study addresses the position of metal producers in the regional political economy of Iron Age (AD 200-1900) communities in southern Africa through an in-depth analysis of one production locale, Shankare. Shankare is a production and habitation site located in close proximity to the Lolwe mineral body in Phalaborwa. Studying the organisation of production, identity of producers, mechanisms of exchange and evidence of consumption at Shankare provided an important platform to assess producers in the context of the domestic and regional economy. Research at Shankare and surrounding sites revealed that production was characterised by a community of homestead based producers located in proximity to the ore source. Metal production took place in domestic contexts in conjunction with other activities, and with clear evidence of scheduling and cross-crafting overlaps. Producers acted independently and were well connected within a regional exchange system that facilitated the flow of local products and imported items such as glass beads and cowrie shells (Cypraea annulus). The study of producers at Shankare indicates the presence of a decentralised political economy resulting in a high degree of autonomy of producers and consumers in the region. Comparisons between the organisation of metal production at Shankare through time indicate that in both occupational periods, AD 900-1300 and AD 1700-1900, production strategies were contextually negotiated, with no clear correlation between political centralisation and specialised production. This research challenges existing models of control and the enactment of power in the political economy of the Iron Age. It has further potential implications for reconsidering the parameters for identifying power relations utilised in global archaeological theory. I would like to acknowledge a number of individuals and institutions that have made this research possible. Funding for my studies was provided through a grant-holder linked National Research Foundation (NRF) bursary facilitated by Associate Professor Shadreck Chirikure. Additional funding from the Erasmus-Mundus Association allowed me to spend five months at K.U. Leuven in Belgium from which I greatly benefited. Access to Shankare for fieldwork was granted by the Palabora Mining Company. Special thanks to Tim Paxton and the heritage officers Johannes Malatji, Adam Mhlongo, Thembani and Mandla who facilitated our research at Shankare and also contributed towards our understanding of the site. Guy Thomas,

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Chumnungwa Glass Beads: New Insights into the Geochemistry, Circulation, and Consumption Patterns of Pre-European Glass Beads in Iron Age Southern Africa, CE 980–1650

Nyamushosho,

Moffett,

Chirikure

et al. 2024

Afr Archaeol Rev

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Exotica in Context: Reconfiguring Prestige, Power and Wealth in the Southern African Iron Age

Cited by 44 publications

References 126 publications

Elites and commoners at Great Zimbabwe: archaeological and ethnographic insights on social power

Elites and commoners at Great Zimbabwe: archaeological and ethnographic insights on social power

‘Phalaborwa where the hammer is heard’: crafting together the political economy of Iron Age communities in southern Africa, AD 900–1900

Chumnungwa Glass Beads: New Insights into the Geochemistry, Circulation, and Consumption Patterns of Pre-European Glass Beads in Iron Age Southern Africa, CE 980–1650

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