Abstract:
Mutamba is a settlement located on the northern slopes of the Soutpansberg in South
Africa. Radiocarbon and material culture suggest contemporaneity with regional
developments of social complexity primarily concentrated in the Shashe-Limpopo
Confluence Area around the important site of Mapungubwe. The spatial location of
Mutamba on the apparent political and economic periphery of Mapungubwe means that it
is well suited to investigate patterns of distribution between centres of political influence
and their larger hinterlands. It is proposed that trade goods followed variable patterns of
distribution and consumption shaped by patterns in taste preference. In addition, this study
suggests that, far from being deprived of trade goods, hinterland communities actively
participated in regional networks of trade and exchange.
