Archaeology and Early Venda History

Abstract

Two schools of thought have dominated interpretations of Venda history: an early school suggesting a central African origin for the 'real' Venda, and the current school emphasizing local origins. The paper presents an archaeological evaluation ofthe competing hypotheses. Dated ceramic styles and settlement patterns strongly suggest that Shona-speaking people ruled north ofthe Soutpansberg at least since the twelfth century, while Sotho speakers probably lived in the Soutpansberg since the early fourteenth century. By the mid-fifteenth century Shona-speaking immigrants from Zimbabwe settled in the northern Transvaal and interacted with the local Shona and Sotho inhabitants. As a result ofthis interaction, Shona and Sotho communities developed a common Venda identity by the mid-sixteenth century. The archaeological results thus support the current notion of local origins. * Received September 1988, revised January 1989

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