Abstract:
On the Greater Mapungubwe Landscape, Later Stone Age (LSA)
research has been conducted mostly in South Africa, with limited
studies in neighbouring Botswana and Zimbabwe, all part of the
broader landscape. In an attempt to broaden our understanding of the
regional sequence, a recent study in Botswana sought to integrate
finds made here with those in South Africa. This paper presents the
results from one excavation, conducted at Dzombo Shelter, and relates
these to finds made elsewhere on the landscape. Of particular interest
is the dominance of backed stone tools between AD 900 and 1000, a
period in which scrapers usually dominate the formal component of
LSA assemblages, and the infrequency of exchange goods even though
the site is in close proximity to farmer homesteads. I argue here that
due to the various outcomes from interactions with farmers, excavating
a variety of site types is required in order to achieve a holistic
understanding of forager cultural change.
