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Technological, Functional and Contextual Aspects of the K2 and Mapungubwe Worked Bone Industries

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Abstract

Mapungubwe (AD 1220–1290) is generally regarded as the first urban centre in southern Africa, functioning as the seat of power for an extensive but short-lived polity. More than 80 years of excavations here, and at its nearby predecessor K2 (c. AD 1000–1220), resulted in a substantial assemblage of material remains from elite and commoner contexts. This assemblage includes a large collection of worked bone objects, such as needles, awls, tubes and objects of personal adornment. Of particular interest are the bone arrowheads and link-shafts, of which a significant number of specimens were found complete and intact. Such quantities of well-preserved worked bone objects are unique in the archaeological record of the region. The worked bone assemblages from these two sites provide a rare opportunity to study multiple components of the production process as well as the use context of bone objects. In this paper, we characterise the K2 and Mapungubwe worked bone industries through various morphological, technological, use-trace and contextual approaches and discuss the significance of these aspects in terms of raw material selection and manufacture and archaeological use context. In particular, this study shows the complexity of these worked bone industries over time.

Résumé

Mapungubwe (1220–1290 apr. J.-C) est. généralement reconnu comme le premier centre urbain de l’Afrique du sud et le siège du pouvoir d’un état politique étendu mais éphémère. Plus de quatre-vingts ans de fouilles archéologiques à Mapungubwe et dans son voisinage, qui comprend le site antérieur de K2 (c. 1000–1220 apr. J.-C), ont fourni une riche collection de vestiges qui témoignent des activités de l’élite de la société aussi bien que de celles des classes plus modestes. Parmi ces vestiges figure une quantité importante d’objets en os travaillé, comme des aiguilles, des poinçons, des tubes et des objets de parure. L’importance des pointes et préhampes de flèches est. à souligner, puisqu’un grand nombre de ces objets a été récupéré dans un excellent état de conservation. Une telle quantité d’objets en os travaillé intacts est. unique dans l’archéologie de la région. Ainsi, les objets en os travaillé provenant de Mapungubwe et de K2 permettent l’étude approfondie des systèmes techniques de production d’outils en os et de leur utilisation. Dans cet article, nous caractérisons les industries de l’os de ces deux sites en nous appuyant sur des approches morphologiques, technologiques et contextuelles. Nous examinons en particulier le choix de la matière première, les étapes de production, les traces d’utilisation de ces objets, et démontrons la complexité des industries de l’os à travers le temps.

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Acknowledgments

The Department of UP Arts: Museum Unit, in association with the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria by means of the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation, provided financial support to ARA for the morphological and technological analyses of the bone material in the Mapungubwe collection, held in the University of Pretoria Museums. The South African National Research Foundation (NRF) funded TF. Staff members from the University of the Witwatersrand’s archaeology collection as well as the University of Pretoria’s Department of UP Arts: Museum Unit provided access to and assistance with their collections. Johnny van Schalkwyk and the Ditsong National Museum of Cultural History in Pretoria provided access to the Nguni hair pins for comparative purposes. Microscopes were provided by the Micro-TrACKS research group, University of Johannesburg, courtesy of Marlize Lombard. Alexander Antonites gave valuable input throughout the project and also commented on an earlier draft. Thanks also to Kristina Douglass for the French translation of the abstract.

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  1. Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa

    Annie R. Antonites

  2. Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Justin Bradfield

  3. Rock Art Research Institute, School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Tim Forssman

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  1. Annie R. Antonites
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Correspondence to Annie R. Antonites.

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Annie R. Antonites was funded by the Department of UP Arts: Museum Unit and the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (in association with the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria). Tim Forssman received financial support from the National Research Foundation (NRF).

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Time period: Middle Iron Age (AD 900–1300)

Country and region discussed: South Africa, Limpopo Valley

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Antonites, A.R., Bradfield, J. & Forssman, T. Technological, Functional and Contextual Aspects of the K2 and Mapungubwe Worked Bone Industries. Afr Archaeol Rev 33, 437–463 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-016-9233-z

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