Archaeology of the Mfecane/Difaqane: Landscape transformations in post 15th century southern Africa.

Title: Archaeology of the Mfecane/Difaqane: Landscape transformations in post 15th century southern Africa.
Identifier: AAI9707142
identifier: 9707142
Creator: Perry, Warren Raymond.
Contributor: Adviser: James Moore
Date: 1996
Language: English
Publisher: City University of New York.
Subject: Anthropology, Archaeology | History, African
Abstract: This dissertation investigates the Mfecane/Difaqane by examining the processes of class and state formation in the area of modern Natal in southeast Africa. The Mfecane/Difaqane refers to a particularly turbulent period in southern African history occurring during the early through mid-nineteenth century. According to the "settler model", this period was characterized by large-scale violence initiated by the Zulu. The "settler model" is significant because until recently there has been an almost uncritical acceptance of it and it has remained uninvestigated archaeologically.;I address this problem by reviewing the the various ways in which southern African historians have explained the Mfecane/Difaqane. I describe the key issues in the model and their archaeological expectations. Site information collected from the archaeological literature and from my archaeological survey in Swaziland is analyzed.;My analyses show that the "settler model" is lacking along all archaeological predictions and therefore must be rejected.
Type: dissertation
Source: PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
degree: Ph.D.

Media: Archaeology of the Mfecane/Difaqane: Landscape transformations in post 15th century southern Africa.