Book 1: Ancient Civilizations and Global Trade - Introduction

From the book: Book 1: Ancient Civilizations and Global Trade commissioned by The Department of Education

This first volume in the series, Turning Points in History, highlights two important events that occurred prior to the arrival of Europeans in South Africa - farming and globalisation. These were not sudden turning points; they took place over a long period of time and had tremendous impact. Although presented separately, these two turning points are in fact linked. Farming allowed for specialisation, accumulation of wealth and trade. Without all that, globalisation would not have occurred.

By highlighting these “points” in history, three things became apparent. The first is the complexity of the South African pre-colonial past. The second is the length of time that South Africa has participated in the global market - we tend to assume that globalisation is a recent phenomenon and ignore the earliest contact with traders who sailed down the east coast of Africa over a thousand years ago. The third is the way in which the pre-colonial past has been misrepresented, distorted or ignored in order to serve political agendas in the present.

The first two chapters - “The First Farmers” and “The Beginnings of Globalisation” - set out the importance of farming and globalisation in general. They present evidence produced by archaeologists, linguists and historians. By weaving together different kinds of evidence, these chapters demonstrate both “how we know” and “how much we know” about precolonial southern Africa. They also show how, during the period of apartheid, the government created its own “turning points” to justify their actions.

The third chapter - “It’s a Mystery. Or is it?” - focuses on three of the key archaeological sites mentioned in Chapter 2 - Mapungubwe, Zimbabwe and Thulamela. It examines how each was discovered, interpreted and presented to the public. This chapter looks particularly at the way in which the past can be intentionally distorted, but also at how heritage can be created with very little basis in the truth. This chapter stresses the importance of the kind of language used to describe the past, especially when creating a heritage with which we as South Africans can identify.

The final chapter - “Some Reflections on Early African and South African History: An Historiographical Essay” - takes a more in-depth look at why so little is known about the South African pre-colonial past. It examines common assumptions that have informed standard or official interpretations of African and South African history before European conquest. It both presents and questions the role that some archaeologists and historians have (or have not) played in confronting or challenging these distorted histories. Lastly, this chapter provides some direction for future.