Worthy contribution to local research

Sifelani Tsiko Book Review
Title: Zimbabwean Archaeology in the Post-Independence Era
Authors: Edited by Munyaradzi Manyanga and Seke Katsamudanga
Publisher: Sapes Books (2013), p270, ISBN 978-0-7974-5634-1It is a celebration of the growing pool of professionals of Zimbabwean archaeology and archaeological work for a country which had to endure years of archaeological research managed and interpreted by the colonial enterprise.

One major plus of the volume, is that it is a useful study that contributes on important new perspectives to the development of archaeology in the country. In the introduction, the lead writers — Dr Munyaradzi Manyanga and Seke Katsamudanga — are unapologetic about the need for Zimbabwean scholars to reclaim what is their own history. They want scholars to retell it in a way that restores facts about Zimbabwe’s pre-colonial past, which was distorted and projected in a manner that denigrated and showed Africans as a people who were unable to develop on their own.

They argue that colonial prejudices led to the misinterpretation of the pre-colonial records of many African societies. The volume, in many of the contributions, meticulously argues strongly in favour of using archaeology as a powerful tool and discipline for “washing away the colonial misinterpretations, leaving the nations with their correct histories”. The lead writers, citing a 1982 statement by the late Herbert Ushewokunze, argue that the attainment of independence in 1980 offered the country a launch pad to “set the record straight, to seek out and renew our past” and “archaeology was heralded as playing an important role in the decolonisation process”.

“In the minds of the nationalist movements, archaeology was not just a discipline but a practice that would help bring social justice to the previously oppressed and marginalised populations,” the authors write.

“Archaeology was expected to highlight the achievements of past societies, thus providing the communities and the nation with the correct history that colonial regimes had missed, or had chosen to ignore.”

Readers will be fascinated by the breadth of subjects covered by the contributors who explore archaeological topics ranging from Stone Age research in eastern Zimbabwe, a critique of rock art interpretive frameworks, pre-colonial forager and farmer interactions in the Shashi-Limpopo Basin, ceramics in Zimbabwean archaeology and pre-colonial mining and metal working in Southern Africa.

The scholarship volume also brings fresh perspectives into the vast field of archaeology by examining application of Geographic Information Systems in Zimbabwean archaeology, as well as raising thought-provoking discussion via a chapter on questions and insights into the meaning of Nyai, Rozvi and Torwa. The volume even goes a step further to explore the use of modern communication technologies — audiovisual recording, multimedia productions and the Internet — in the recording and dissemination of knowledge on archaeology.

There is a wealth of material in all the areas of study to excite readers of archaeology as well as to prospective PhD and MSc students hunting for areas that may warrant further study and probing.

The scholarship demonstrated by the authors demonstrates the growing level of professionalism among Zimbabwean archaeologists. Said National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) director, Dr Godfrey Mahachi, at the launch of the book: “It gives dignity to the profession. It shows the seriousness with which we are approaching the discipline (archaeology). “We are growing as professionals and we certainly would expect more to come out in future.”

Dr Manyanga told The Herald, “We have waited for this for a long time. For a long time, we wanted to have an opportunity to express ourselves in terms of our heritage, history and archaeology in a manner that demonstrated a sense of ownership.”

The huge and luxuriously detailed volume will certainly rank as milestone in our understanding of Zimbabwean archaeology and play a big role in nurturing the next generation of academics and researchers keen to our story through the eyes and language of the indigenous people.