The Political Structure of Iron Age Economies in Southern Africa

在公元一千年后期，南部非洲内陆见证了复杂社会的崛起，以农业和牧业为基础，以大城镇为特征，中心围墙环绕着我巨大的、精心设计的石墙。其中最著名的是津巴布韦，它位于该国肥沃的高地上，有着相同的名字。詹姆斯·登博博士和其他考古学家的工作表明，同样的现象也延伸到了西边不太适宜居住的卡拉哈里沙漠，而且几个容易防御的台地含有密集聚落的证据。数据还表明，这些遗址是覆盖数千平方英里的大型定居点系统的中心场所。在国家科学基金会的支持下，詹姆斯·登博博士和埃德温·威尔姆森博士将继续他们对博茨瓦纳铁器时代聚落的研究。在两个野外季节的第一个季节，他们将在Botsutswe和Mmapudi遗址进行挖掘。前者是一个大的台地遗址，后者是一个较小的台地遗址，推测它是同一系统的一部分。通过地面勘测和挖掘，将确定每个地点材料的大小和分布。对陶瓷和贸易商品等材料的分析将提供有关外部联系以及地点之间和地点内部的地位差异的信息。在第二季中，该团队将在一个边远地区进行探索性研究，估计与核心几乎没有接触，以确定潜在挖掘的地点。这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。它将阐明复杂社会是如何产生和维持的。它还将提供对人类如何适应恶劣和不可预测的沙漠环境的洞察。这些结论可能会为今天非洲干旱肆虐地区成功的牛群管理战略提供指导。

In the late first millennia A.D. the interior of southern Africa witnessed the rise of complex societies, based both on agriculture and pastoralism and characterized by large towns with central enclosures surrounded my massive carefully faced stone walls. The most famous of these, Zimbabwe, is located in the fertile highlands of the country with the same name. Work by Dr. James Denbow and other archaeologists has demonstrated that this same phenomenon extended into the less hospitable Kalahari Desert to the west and that several easily defended mesas contain evidence of dense settlement. Data also suggest that such sites served as central places in large settlement systems which covered thousands of square miles. With National Science Foundation support Drs. James Denbow and Edwin Wilmsen will continue their research on these Botswana Iron Age settlements. In the first of two field seasons they will excavate at the sites of Botsutswe and Mmapudi. The former is a large mesa site, the latter a smaller one which presumably is part of the same system. Through surface survey and excavation the size and distribution of materials at each site will be determined. Analysis of materials such as ceramics and trade goods will provide information on both external contacts as well as status differentiation both between and within sites. In the second season the team will conduct exploratory research in an outlying area, presumably with little contact with the core, to locate sites for potential excavation. This research is important for several reasons. It will shed light on how complex societies arise and are maintained. It will also provide insight into how humans adapt to harsh and unpredictable desert environments. The conclusions may provide guidelines for successful herd management strategies in drought ravaged areas of Africa today.