The Mapungubwe empire emerges from Indian Ocean trade networks in southern Africa

Welcome back to the History of South Africa podcast with me your host Des Latham. This is episode 5 where we continue probing how the first peoples of the region – the San and Khoe, came into contact with the first Tswana and Bantu farmers as they spread out across South Africa 1000 years ago. The distinction between the eastern and well-watered part of the country with summer rainfall and good soils, and the more arid western region with its mainly winter rainfall is critical to understanding the spread of domesticated grains and livestock. Pastoralists who farmed cereals are called Agro-pastoralists and these people preferred the Eastern region with its higher rainfall. Sheep and later cattle herding pastoralists favoured the west initially. This is one of separation points in South African history because the western people never did manage to manufacture their own iron-implements they merely bartered these when required. They exchanged iron products from the Tswana and Sotho as well as the isiXhosa who were able to manufacture iron implements and weapons. The western peoples including the khoe and San, manufactured stone implements in the same way their ancestors had done for hundreds of thousands of years. Then the arrival of the first livestock, sheep, can be traced to the western reaches of South Africa around Namaqualand roughly 100BC or 2100 years before the present. In the Southern Cape coast sheep bones start showing up in the archaeological record 1900 years ago. By 1400 years ago sheep were being herded in the Karoo. Eventually they could be found all the way along the south west and east coast, from Eland’s Bay and sites known as Diepkloof, Tortoise Cave, and Kasteelberg on the Atlantic seaboard. Sheep were also at Die Kelders in the southwest Cape, and Boomplaas in the interior mountains of the southern Cape. Wild plant residues at all cave sites indicate the herders here were combining different foods with their pastoral ways, and at the Boomplaas cave site, the floor was lined with dung. Sheep were being sheltered in caves and overhanging rocks. IN the western and southern Cape all the sites were mainly occupied by people who had no livestock until 1500 years ago.