Hisotry Of Africa
...Great Zimbabwe is appropriately named because it is indeed a great stone dwelling! The pictures below show parts of the ruins of Great Zimbabwe as they can be seen today by people who visit the country of Zimbabwe.Great Zimbabwe existed between approximately the 12th and 15th centuries CE, and it is the largest of about 150 ruins found in the land around the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers. This area is filled with granite that was used as building material. Its kingdom, however, was much larger, stretching into much of present day Zimbabwe and central Mozambique.
The ruins of Great Zimbabwe are remains of what was once a great trading civilization, which sprang up in the interior of southern Africa. Although the civilization had some contact with outside groups, modern historians have agreed that Great Zimbabwe was built and managed by Africans living in the interior. It was a center of gold and ivory trade. Towards the latter part of the history of Great Zimbabwe, evidence suggests that the people living there were trading with regions as far as China, Persia, and Syria.
People living at Great Zimbabwe also practiced agriculture and cattle herding, although historians believe that this became a problem after awhile. Too many people living and farming one small area led to environmental degradation. Eventually the land was no longer able to sustain such a large number of people.
Great Zimbabwe was an early example of a state in this region of southern Africa with much political, economic, and military power. With its formation, social and political organization became more hierarchical. This involved a move from village level organization to a larger, broader social and political organization resulting in the Kingdom of Great Zimbabwe. What might be some advantages and disadvantages of being part of a large, powerful kingdom, rather than a village...
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