Bambandyanalo or K2 is an archaeological site in present-day

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, just south of the

Limpopo River The Limpopo River () rises in South Africa and flows generally eastward through Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers led by Hosi Rivombo who settled in the mou ...

. It flourished from the 11th to 13th centuries, being a predecessor to the

Kingdom of Mapungubwe The Kingdom of Mapungubwe (pronounced ) was an ancient state located at the confluence of the Shashe and Limpopo rivers in South Africa, south of Great Zimbabwe. The capital's population was 5,000 by 1250, and the state likely covered 30,000 k ...

. The ruins have survived because much of the complex was built in stone. The site contains a large mound, some 180 metres in diameter, and covers an area of about 5 hectares. It is surrounded on three sides by sandstone cliffs (Wood 2005:86). In the

11th century The 11th century is the period from 1001 (represented by the Roman numerals MI) through 1100 (MC) in accordance with the Julian calendar, and the 1st century of the 2nd millennium. In the history of Europe, this period is considered the early ...

, Bambandyanalo developed its influence over the region and established itself as a hub in the trade connecting the African inland with the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

(Hall 1987:83). People were buried in areas associated with their life. Women worked

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

, while men worked

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

. Family heads resolved disputes in their homestead, however external disputes were handled by the court, located near the cattle

kraal Kraal (also spelled ''craal'' or ''kraul'') is an Afrikaans and Dutch language, Dutch word, also used in South African English, for an pen (enclosure), enclosure for cattle or other livestock, located within a Southern African Human settlement ...

. The cattle kraal was crucial to a man's life, and the ''

lobola Lobolo or lobola in Zulu, Xhosa, Swazi, Silozi, and northern and southern Ndebele (''mahadi'' in Sesotho, ''mahari'' in Swahili, ''magadi'' in Sepedi, ''bogadi'' Setswana, ''lovola'' in Xitsonga, ''mamalo'' in Tshivenda, and ''roora'' in C ...

'' (bride price) was usually paid in cattle. They cultivated

sorghum ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a species in the Poaceae, grass genus ''Sorghum (genus), Sorghum'' cultivated for its grain. The grain i ...

pearl millet Pearl millet (''Cenchrus americanus'', commonly known as the synonym ''Pennisetum glaucum'') is the most widely grown type of millet. It has been grown in Africa and the Indian subcontinent since prehistoric times. The center of diversity, and ...

finger millet Finger millet (''Eleusine coracana'') is an Annual plant, annual herbaceous plant widely grown as a cereal crop in the arid and Semi-arid climate, semiarid areas in Africa and Asia. It is a tetraploid and Self-pollination, self-pollinating speci ...

, ground beans, and

cowpeas The cowpea (''Vigna unguiculata'') is an annual herbaceous legume from the genus ''Vigna''. Its tolerance for sandy soil and low rainfall have made it an important crop in the semiarid regions across Africa and Asia. It requires very few input ...

. The population expanded, and K2 had a population of 1500 by 1200.

Rainmaking Rainmaking, also known as artificial precipitation, artificial rainfall and pluviculture, is the act of attempting to artificially induce or increase precipitation, usually to stave off drought or the wider global warming. According to the clou ...

was widespread, and the chief sometimes hired strangers, such as the San, who were believed to have special relationships with the spirits of the land due to a longer habitation. Some Zhizo remained at Leokwe, likely subordinate to K2 while specialising in rituals also due to their longer habitation. The large wealth generated by the

Indian Ocean trade Indian Ocean trade has been a key factor in East–West exchanges throughout history. Long-distance maritime trade by Austronesian trade ships and South Asian and Middle Eastern dhows, made it a dynamic zone of interaction between peoples, cu ...

created unprecedented inequalities, evolving over time from a society based on social ranking to

social classes A social class or social stratum is a grouping of people into a set of hierarchical social categories, the most common being the working class and the capitalist class. Membership of a social class can for example be dependent on education, ...

. K2's spatial arrangement became unsuited to this development, and they moved to

Mapungubwe The Kingdom of Mapungubwe (pronounced ) was an ancient state located at the confluence of the Shashe River, Shashe and Limpopo River, Limpopo rivers in South Africa, south of Great Zimbabwe. The capital's population was 5,000 by 1250, and the s ...

References

* Archaeological sites in Zimbabwe Archaeological sites of Eastern Africa {{Africa-archaeology-stub