Foragers and trade in the middle Limpopo Valley, c. 1200 BC to AD 1300

Abstract

In the middle Limpopo Valley of southern Africa, wealth acquired from international trade contributed to the development of social complexity in farmer society. However, foragers were present from before the appearance of exotic goods, c. AD 900, until at least the decline of southern Africa’s first state-level society, Mapungubwe (AD 1220–1300), and both witnessed and took part in regional socio-political developments. The appearance of local and exotic trade items in forager contexts suggests that established trade arrangements existed, that foragers were valued by farmers and that they were included in the wealth distribution network. Yet, their role and position in trade networks has not been sufficiently considered. While not the only region in central southern Africa where farmer-related trade items and evidence of trade-linked craft production occur in forager contexts, the middle Limpopo Valley is where these provided links between forager communities and farmer society as the latter underwent enormous socio-political shifts. As such, examining the occurrence and distribution of trade goods at forager sites provides insights into access and privilege patterns, forager agency within the trade network, their role in the market economy and social empowerment. As a first appraisal, this paper seeks to open debate and focus future studies within a broader framework of wealth acquisition in forager society and forager interactions with local farmer communities.

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