Farming communities of the high plateau round modern Harare, Marondera, Chegutu and Kadoma and of its northern edge towards the Zambezi escarpment (Mazowe, Bindura, Mount Darwin, Guruve), known to archaeologists by their Harare and Musengezi pottery traditions.
These traditions are usually dated from about the twelfth or thirteenth century; whether they are fully in place on 1 January 1200 is not pinned. The Mazowe and Bindura gold belts lie in this country; the Mutapa state that later ruled here is fifteenth century.
Who holds it
- Title
- Local chiefs; no paramount known
- Since
- Not pinned
- Confidence
- low
Overlord
None that can be named
How things stand that morning
Independent communities with no known overlord.
Customs
Village farming and cattle; chiefship by lineage.
Assemblies
Chiefs and elders.
Where the sources disagree
- The Mutapa (Monomotapa) state is fifteenth century and must not be back-projected.
Evidence: Archaeology only; chronology loose.
On the map: An outline drawn from the general distribution of the evidence; it is not a border.
Primary sources for Plateau chiefdoms
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Mapungubwe, the Zimbabwe plateau, Toutswe and the Comoros: the archaeological record (no text; radiocarbon-dated sites). There is no written word from the interior south of the Zambezi or from the Comoros in 1200; all that is known is from excavation. Read online
Sources and studies
- History of Zimbabwe (Wikipedia)
- Huffman, Ancient mining and Zimbabwe, Journal of the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (1974)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.