The plateau where the Congo and Zambezi waters divide, rich in copper.
Copper was mined and smelted here from the Early Iron Age (Kansanshi and the Katanga workings, as usually dated), and copper ornaments from these sources fill the Kisalian graves of the Upemba to the north in this period. Farmers of the Luangwa tradition, forebears of the Lamba, Lala and Kaonde.
Who holds it
- Name
- Not known: no leader is named for this date
- Title
- Heads of lineages, villages and clans
- Since
- Not pinned
- Confidence
- low
How things stand that morning
Independent. West of the frame lies ground outside this sheet; south of about 14.3 degrees the Kafue and Zambezi valleys are the neighbouring researcher's ground.
Assemblies
Village and lineage elders settle disputes and allocate land; there is no chief over the whole people that the evidence can show for 1200.
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- Through 1200No dated event is known.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Archaeology of copper working dated broadly (Bisson, de Maret), cited from memory; thin for 1200.
On the map: Drawn from modern language areas, physical geography and a few dated sites; the 1200 extent is a rough guess.
Sources and studies
- Phillipson, The Later Prehistory of Eastern and Southern Africa (1977), on the Luangwa tradition and the Later Iron Age (cited from memory of the literature)
- Wikipedia, Upemba Depression
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.