1.8 Culture and Trade in Southern and East Africa

Archeology Activity: The Mysteries of Great Zimbabwe

LO 1.8.A - Describe the function and importance of Great Zimbabwe’s stone architecture.

Objective 1: Students will be able to describe the size and scope of Great Zimbabwe’s empire as well the function and significance of its architecture.

Objective 2: Students will be able to describe how evidence from Great Zimbabwe dispels misconceptions of early Africa as a place with an undocumented or unknowable history by explaining the complexities of this globally connected empire which existed before the onset of the transatlantic slave trade.

Notes

Print the images ahead of time. (If possible, use a color printer. We normally don’t have access to this at my school but I was able to have someone do a favor for me and then I had them laminated. It was worth it!) I then placed them around the room in as accurate disbursement as possible with the water gate and hill complex in the most northern part of my classroom and the Great Enclosure in the South. Though this isn’t totally necessary for the purpose of the lesson, it is a simple way to practice basic map skills.

Each student will need a handout and a map. Place students in groups of 2 or 3. They do not have to go through the stations in any particular order. They should discuss each of the 6 discussion questions for each station of the 8 stations. They only have to record their thoughts/hypotheses for short answer questions about stations on The Great Enclosure, Conical Tower, Ming Porcelain, and the Soapstone Birds (this is all laid out in the instructions on top of their handout). - This should take about 20-25 minutes.

After students have completed these steps, they should review modern expert opinions on these artifacts and ruins. I took most of these opinions from the MET and compiled them all in one document. I post the expert opinion link on Google Classroom.

Students’ final task is to write their ideas on on the reflection question.

With about 15 minutes left in class, I stopped everyone and asked students if their predictions lined up with the opinions of the experts. I asked them about the biggest surprises or “takeaways.” I make specific note of the Great Enclosure and conical tower because the function of these are required Essential Knowledge for this course.

Great Enclosure: was a site for religious and administrative activities

Conical tower: likely served as a granary

I conclude the class by playing this video about Great Zimbabwe from TedEd (Link). After the video, we discussed the final reflection question together.

Main Idea: The long history of innovations from earlier African societies informs African Americans’ experiences and identities and also dispels misconceptions of early Africa as a place with an undocumented or unknowable history. Great Zimbabwe is yet another example of a complex African society that was globally connected well before the onset of the transatlantic slave trade.