Great Zimbabwe: Reclaiming a ‘Confiscated’ Past
ISBN: 9780367810412
Platform/Publisher: Taylor & Francis / Routledge
Digital rights: Users: Unlimited; Printing: Unlimited; Download: Unlimited
Subjects: Area Studies; Humanities; African Studies; Archaeology; Politics of Archaeology; Archaeology by Period or Region;

Conditioned by local ways of knowing and doing, Great Zimbabwe develops a new interpretation of the famous World Heritage site of Great Zimbabwe.

It combines archaeological knowledge, including recent material from the author's excavations, with native concepts and philosophies. Working from a large data set has made it possible, for the first time, to develop an archaeology of Great Zimbabwe that is informed by finds and observations from the entire site and wider landscape. In so doing, the book strongly contributes towards decolonising African and world archaeology. Written in an accessible manner, the book is aimed at undergraduate students, graduate students, and practicing archaeologists both in Africa and across the globe.

The book will also make contributions to the broader field such as African Studies, African History, and World Archaeology through its emphasis on developing synergies between local ways of knowing and the archaeology.


Shadreck Chirikure is a Professor of Archaeology and Director of the Archaeological Materials Laboratory, Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town and British Academy Global Professor, School of Archaeology, University of Oxford.

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