People in spaces : early second millennium AD occupation sequences at the Mbere Complex

Abstract

Interactions between foragers and farmers in southern Africa has been extensively researched. Their social relations of these two groups, included the introduction of new settlement and subsistence patterns, as well as identities. In the middle Limpopo Valley (MLV), these changes were most evident from the second millennium AD, when farmer society developed new political, social, and economic systems leading to the establishment of state-level society. One notable change that appeared around AD 1000 is the occurrence of forager toolkits in erstwhile farmer settlements. This may indicate that settlement shifts took place at a time when social upheaval in the valley was driving change. To investigate this further, the Mbere Complex (MBC) was excavated. The site contains two distinct spatial areas: a large shelter with Later Stone Age and Iron Age assemblages and features, and an external homestead dating to the Zhizo and K2 periods, from AD 900 to 1220. The aim of this research project is to examine whether foragers residing at the MBC assimilated into farmer society, shared space, or abandoned the site soon after the migration of farmers. A secondary aim is to understand the cultural sequence present at the MBC and contrast it to other shelter assemblages in the area. The findings suggest that foragers were agentive and regulated their settlement patterns to interact with farmers and participate in socio-economic relations.