A comparative study of the material culture from settlement and mortuary contexts in Northern Zimbabwe: the case of Musengezi Tradition

This dissertation is a comparative study of material culture from funerary and settlement contexts belonging to Musengezi tradition (12th to 16th centuries AD). The research aimed at establishing a relationship between material culture from the two contexts by characterizing their nature in terms of decoration and style. Other objectives of the study included inferring social implications of the observed similarities and differences, and cosmological view of death, the dead and their treatment. Using surveys, archaeological techniques (excavation), interviews and Focus Group Discussions as data collection methods, raw data were yielded in form of pottery, lithic artifacts , Dhaka structures and ideas regarding belief system of the studied society. Analysis of pottery evidence established a pattern whereby general overlaps in decorations and styles occurred between the two contexts, with major differences being their frequency. The material culture from funerary context were more decorated and stylized than their settlement counterpart. Ethnographic information shows that funerary pottery was intentionally selected from household assemblage because of their potential in communicating social messages. Again, it was also learnt that the practice of burying the dead is rich in symbolical acts which can be translated to the society’s cosmology and ideology. In conclusion, the practice of burying the dead was greatly influenced by cosmological view of death and the dead. Decisions regarding what, how and where to bury the dead were not done randomly, but were socially constructed and always in tandem with the cosmos of the people. The extent of variation of mortuary practices within and among Shona groups remains a challenge posed for future researches.