The Political Structure of Iron Age Economies in Southern Africa

在公元1000年后期，南部非洲的内陆 见证了复杂社会的兴起， 农业和畜牧业，以大城镇为特征， 中央围墙围绕着我的巨大的精心面对的石头 墙 其中最著名的是津巴布韦， 这片肥沃的高地与它同名。 工作博士。 詹姆斯·丹博和其他考古学家已经证明，这一点 同样的现象延伸到了不那么好客的喀拉哈里沙漠 几个容易防守的台地 密集定居的证据 数据还表明， 作为大型定居点系统的中心， 覆盖数千平方英里。 在国家科学基金会的支持下，詹姆斯·丹鲍博士和 Edwin Wilmsen将继续研究这些博茨瓦纳铁矿 年龄定居点。 在两个赛季的第一场比赛中， 在Botsutswe和Mmapudi遗址进行挖掘。 前者是 大梅萨网站，后者是一个较小的，据推测是 同一系统的一部分。 通过地表测量和开挖 每个站点的材料大小和分布将 测定 分析材料，如陶瓷和贸易 货物将提供有关双方的外部联系以及 作为站点之间和站点内部的状态区分。 在 第二季，团队将进行探索性研究， 外围地区，大概与核心接触很少， 确定可能挖掘的地点。 这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。 它会脱落 复杂社会是如何产生和维持的。 它将 还提供了人类如何适应恶劣环境的见解， 不可预测的沙漠环境 结论可以提供 干旱中成功的畜群管理策略指南 今天的非洲地区。

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.