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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Pre-Colonial Gold Mining in Southern Zambezia: A Reassessment
Author:Phimister, Ian R.ISNI
Year:1976
Periodical:African Social Research
Issue:21
Period:June
Pages:1-30
Language:English
Geographic term:Rhodesia and Nyasaland
Subjects:gold mining
History and Exploration
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment
Abstract:This article is an attempt to explain, and reassess the development of are-colonial gold mining in the region between the Zambezi and the Limpopo by drawing on the conceptual framework suggested and utilised by E.A. Alpers (Re-thinking African economic history, in: Ufahamu, 3 (1972/73), 3, p. 97-129) and W. Rodney, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, Londen/Dar es Salaam, 1972. The first section is essentially descriptive. Within the conventional perspective of African historiography, the African origins of goed mining are stressed, but at the same time mining, as only one branch of production, is situated and assessed in the context of wider economic activities. The basic constraint imposed by the region's geology is examined and this factor, together vith the limitations of Shona mining technology, is used to re-evaluate the actual volume of gold produced. Once the dimensions of the gold production have been established, the final section of the article is concerned with examining the changing nature of trading links with the wider world, especially the relationship between international trade and the arrested development of Shona mining methods, and with suggesting a preliminary identification of Shona modes of production. Ref., notes, figures.
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