Travelers in the early 19th century who encountered these towns often attributed their abandonment to the regional warfare of the so-called mfecane wars —a prolonged period of regional warfare in southern Africa. www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/stone-town... - ThreadSky

rhaplord.bsky.social • 3 days ago

Travelers in the early 19th century who encountered these towns often attributed their abandonment to the regional warfare of the so-called mfecane wars —a prolonged period of regional warfare in southern Africa.
https://www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/stone-towns-on-the-highveld-of-south

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rhaplord.bsky.social•3 days ago

While many of the accounts had certainly been exaggerated by the biases of these external observers, the conflicts of the period were evidently disruptive.
https://www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/stone-towns-on-the-highveld-of-south

rhaplord.bsky.social•3 days ago

Yet despite the devastation, several polities survived this upheaval and were encountered by the same authors, indicating that its effects were varied
https://www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/stone-towns-on-the-highveld-of-south

rhaplord.bsky.social•3 days ago

Additionally, recent archaeological work on several sites across the plateau undermines this singular interpretation and has shown that the mobility of agro-pastoralist communities in this region was fairly commonplace well before the 19th century.
https://www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/stone-towns-on-the-highveld-of-south

rhaplord.bsky.social•3 days ago

This indicates that the abandonment of some of these capitals was unrelated to the mfecane, but was likely tied to more localized factors.
https://www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/stone-towns-on-the-highveld-of-south

rhaplord.bsky.social•3 days ago

At the site of Kweneng for example, only one of the sampled houses shows evidence of a violent end and hasty abandonment. The other eight sampled lobes in the two compounds showed no evidence of burnt and hastily abandoned houses.
https://www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/stone-towns-on-the-highveld-of-south

rhaplord.bsky.social•3 days ago

Despite the seemingly permanent nature of the settlements, residents of some of the towns migrated semi-regularly within the vicinity of the town and beyond. Their populations fluctuated after the installation of new rulers as capitals were reorganized
https://www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/stone-towns-on-the-highveld-of-south

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