Jusqu’à XVᵉ siècle
Batoka Plateau and upper Zambezi valley
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
Kalomo culture was an Early Iron Age archaeological tradition of the Batoka plateau and upper Zambezi region. Its communities practiced farming, grazing, hunting, gathering, and simple ironworking, while participating in limited long-distance exchange. Copper, imported east-coast glass beads, and rare cowrie shells reveal connections extending hundreds of miles. The tradition probably developed from Early Iron Age cultures of the upper Zambezi valley and survived in parts of southern Zambia until about 1450.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
Kalomo culture developed on the Batoka Plateau of southern Zambia, where open grasslands provided favorable grazing for cattle. The region had been occupied by Early Iron Age communities from the fourth century, and Kalomo settlements emerged toward the end of the first millennium. Their way of life retained strong continuity with earlier Iron Age farming traditions while placing greater emphasis on cattle herding.
The settlement of Isamu Pati near modern Kalomo illustrates the scale and organization of Kalomo communities. Occupied for at least two centuries from the seventh century, the mound contained increasingly large villages. The last settlement, abandoned in the thirteenth century, consisted of mud-and-pole huts arranged around a central cattle enclosure, with cereal agriculture and simple iron tools supporting daily life.
Kalomo communities were connected to exchange networks despite their distance from the coast. Copper strips and beads reached several villages from areas hundreds of miles away, while imported east-coast glass beads and rare cowrie shells appeared in settlements and burials. These finds demonstrate long-distance barter and trade, although the small quantities suggest that they did not transform the social structure of Early Iron Age society.
Kalomo culture developed across the Batoka plateau and the upper Zambezi valley within the wider history of the Early Iron Age in southern Central Africa. Its communities combined farming and grazing with hunting and gathering, and their technological practices closely resembled those of other Early Iron Age farmers. This continuity suggests that the culture belonged to a long-lived Iron Age tradition rather than representing an isolated settlement episode.
Material remains also reveal connections beyond the immediate region. Copper strips and beads reached several villages from areas where copper was smelted or exposed at the surface, while imported east-coast glass beads and rare cowrie shells have been found in Kalomo settlements and burials. These objects indicate long-distance bartering and trade, although their scarcity suggests that such exchanges did not transform the social structure of Early Iron Age society.
The culture appears to have endured despite later population movements and political changes. It survived as late as about 1450 in some areas near Choma and in the Zambezi valley, while remaining absent from the northern and north-western parts of the Batoka plateau for reasons that are still obscure. Its relationship to the Kangila tradition and to early Ila-Tonga occupation remains a viable but provisional hypothesis.
Jusqu’à XVᵉ siècle
Batoka Plateau and upper Zambezi valley
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
Kalomo culture was an Early Iron Age archaeological tradition of the Batoka plateau and upper Zambezi region. Its communities practiced farming, grazing, hunting, gathering, and simple ironworking, while participating in limited long-distance exchange. Copper, imported east-coast glass beads, and rare cowrie shells reveal connections extending hundreds of miles. The tradition probably developed from Early Iron Age cultures of the upper Zambezi valley and survived in parts of southern Zambia until about 1450.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
Kalomo culture developed on the Batoka Plateau of southern Zambia, where open grasslands provided favorable grazing for cattle. The region had been occupied by Early Iron Age communities from the fourth century, and Kalomo settlements emerged toward the end of the first millennium. Their way of life retained strong continuity with earlier Iron Age farming traditions while placing greater emphasis on cattle herding.
The settlement of Isamu Pati near modern Kalomo illustrates the scale and organization of Kalomo communities. Occupied for at least two centuries from the seventh century, the mound contained increasingly large villages. The last settlement, abandoned in the thirteenth century, consisted of mud-and-pole huts arranged around a central cattle enclosure, with cereal agriculture and simple iron tools supporting daily life.
Kalomo communities were connected to exchange networks despite their distance from the coast. Copper strips and beads reached several villages from areas hundreds of miles away, while imported east-coast glass beads and rare cowrie shells appeared in settlements and burials. These finds demonstrate long-distance barter and trade, although the small quantities suggest that they did not transform the social structure of Early Iron Age society.
Kalomo culture developed across the Batoka plateau and the upper Zambezi valley within the wider history of the Early Iron Age in southern Central Africa. Its communities combined farming and grazing with hunting and gathering, and their technological practices closely resembled those of other Early Iron Age farmers. This continuity suggests that the culture belonged to a long-lived Iron Age tradition rather than representing an isolated settlement episode.
Material remains also reveal connections beyond the immediate region. Copper strips and beads reached several villages from areas where copper was smelted or exposed at the surface, while imported east-coast glass beads and rare cowrie shells have been found in Kalomo settlements and burials. These objects indicate long-distance bartering and trade, although their scarcity suggests that such exchanges did not transform the social structure of Early Iron Age society.
The culture appears to have endured despite later population movements and political changes. It survived as late as about 1450 in some areas near Choma and in the Zambezi valley, while remaining absent from the northern and north-western parts of the Batoka plateau for reasons that are still obscure. Its relationship to the Kangila tradition and to early Ila-Tonga occupation remains a viable but provisional hypothesis.