Abstract:
Research projects in the Shashe-Limpopo Basin have witnessed significant developments in
the use of conceptual frameworks and multidisciplinary approaches such as electrochemical
and geochemical sequencing. Accordingly, there is now data to question the widely accepted
model for the evolution of Mapungubwe State (AD 1200–1300) which argues that favourable
and unfavourable regional climatic weather conditions (wet and dry) lead to the rise and
decline of the State. Floodplain agropastoral activities in the middle Limpopo Valley are a
widely assumed hypothesis, despite the general absence of relevant chemical signatures and
archaeobotanical data. This article discusses soil sequences and chemical analyses (Inductively
Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy and Redox Potential) to provide a
palaeoenvironmental record of water regimes in relation to Mapungubwe. Findings confirm
that geochemical techniques can be used to model or predict aquifer behaviour and the
occurrence of groundwater. And, as such, highlighting the need for conservation planners to
carefully consider integrative scientific tools to improve conservation practices of archaeological
heritage and overexploitation of groundwater resources. Although more data is required, the
results obtained allows researchers to begin reframing questions concerned with the links
between changing water regimes and social changes, in this case relating to the decline of
Mapungubwe. The understanding is important for the management and conservation of the
Mapungubwe World Heritage site and surrounding landscape.
