Great Zimbabwe: Urban Monumentality and Regional Trade (c. 1100–1450 CE)

1. Founding of Great Zimbabwe settlement

   Jan 1, 1100Labels: Shona community, Great Zimbabwe, Iron Age

   • UNESCO
   • Britannica
   • Met Museum

2. Early monumental building in Hill Complex

   Jan 1, 1200Labels: Hill Complex, monumental precinct, elite ritual

   • UNESCO
   • Britannica
   • Smarthistory

3. Mapungubwe’s regional trade zenith

   Jan 1, 1220Labels: Mapungubwe, Swahili trade, regional center

   • Met TOAH
   • WHE

4. Great Zimbabwe becomes a dominant polity center

   Jan 1, 1300Labels: Great Zimbabwe, urban polity, gold plateau

   • UNESCO
   • Britannica
   • Met Museum

5. Construction of the Great Enclosure intensifies

   Jan 1, 1350Labels: Great Enclosure, drystone wall, elite space

   • UNESCO
   • Britannica
   • Met Museum

6. Peak population and expansive trade connections

   Jan 1, 1400Labels: Great Zimbabwe, urban population, Indian Ocean

   • UNESCO
   • Met Museum
   • Britannica

7. Kilwa-linked coinage reaches the interior

   Jan 1, 1400Labels: Kilwa, coinage, Swahili coast

   • UNESCO
   • Kilwa Kisiwani
   • AWH Sites

8. Great Enclosure completed around mid-15th century

   Jan 1, 1450Labels: Great Enclosure, drystone construction, mid-15th century

   • Smarthistory
   • UNESCO
   • Met Museum

9. Abandonment of the capital

   Jan 1, 1450Labels: Great Zimbabwe, abandonment, environmental stress

   • UNESCO
   • Britannica

10. Portuguese record the ruins at Sofala

    Jan 1, 1531Labels: Portuguese records, Sofala, early modern

    • Great Zimbabwe
    • Britannica

11. Randall-MacIver’s excavations argue African origin

    Jan 1, 1905Labels: Randall-MacIver, archaeological excavation, African authorship

    • Britannica
    • Great Zimbabwe
    • MacIver

12. Caton-Thompson confirms indigenous construction

    Jan 1, 1929Labels: Caton-Thompson, stratigraphic excavation, indigenous construction

    • Great Zimbabwe
    • Caton Thompson
    • Britannica

13. UNESCO inscribes Great Zimbabwe as World Heritage

    Jan 1, 1986Labels: UNESCO, World Heritage, Great Zimbabwe

    • UNESCO List
    • UNESCO Decision