Tawanda Mukwende
Biographic Data
| ID | 3065556 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Tawanda Mukwende |
| GIVEN NAMES | Tawanda |
| FAMILY NAME | Mukwende |
| SIGNATURE | MUKWENDE T |
| AFFILIATIONS | Great Zimbabwe University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0048-5365 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 11 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 40 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 11 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2016 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
In the Shadows of Colonialism: Archaeological Labor Practices in (Post-)Colonial Zimbabwe
Archaeological practice is structured through labor, shaping who participates in fieldwork, who interprets findings, and who produces knowledge. Recent scholarship on archaeological labor in Egypt, Palestine, Turkey, Mexico, Europe, and North America shows that labor regimes are not merely logistical arrangements but constitutive elements of archaeological epistemology, shaping how evidence is generated, interpreted, and circulated. This article …
Early State Formation in Southern Africa: A Reappraisal
This review draws on the latest insights from archaeology, history, and scientific analyses of archaeological materials to offer a critical reappraisal of the state of the field in southern African early state formation. Combined insights from recent radiocarbon chronologies, ceramic typologies, settlement pattern data, and craft production remnants strongly signal the synchronous emergence of early states at several widely dispersed sites on the…
(Post-)colonialism as ideology and power’s grip on material culture: The Shangani Battle Site/Pupu Memorial in Zimbabwe
Chris Gosden advanced the very influential idea that colonialism is the grip which material culture has on people. Using the case study of the Shangani Battle Memorial site, Zimbabwe, in this paper we flip this idea. We explore and demonstrate how colonial and post-colonial material culture used to memorialise battles was influenced by who had power and control over ideology in colonial and post-colonial times. In 1893, a battle was fought at Sha…
Colonialism from within versus colonialism from outside: The archaeology of nineteenth century Nguni expansion and British colonialism in southwestern Zimbabwe
As Bruce Trigger famously stated, a major goal of archaeology is to develop a comparative understanding of human behaviour across cultures and time periods. This paper leverages on this insight to compare the archaeology and materiality of Nguni settlement in southwestern Zimbabwe (1839–1890) and early British settler colonialism (1890–1980). We find major similarities and differences in colonial forms and outcomes. For example, Nguni settlement …
When theory meets praxis – enhancing heritage management through practice-led research at Great Zimbabwe World Heritage property
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to outline and reflect on the new research agenda for the Great Zimbabwe World Heritage property. This research agenda was jointly developed by academics and practitioners from Great Zimbabwe University (GZU) and the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) respectively. This Research-Practice Team was put together for the Heritage Place Lab (HPL), a pilot project of the ICCROM-IUCN World Heritage Lea…
No Big Brother Here: Heterarchy, Shona Political Succession and the Relationship between Great Zimbabwe and Khami, Southern Africa
In southern Africa, there has been a long-standing but unsubstantiated assumption that the site of Khami evolved out of Great Zimbabwe's demise around ad 1450. The study of local ceramics from the two sites indicate that the respective ceramic traditions are clearly different across the entire sequence, pointing towards different cultural affiliations in their origins. Furthermore, there are tangible typological differences between and within the…
Are drylands marginal? The case of Mananzve, Shashi region, southwestern Zimbabwe
The general conviction in the Iron Age archaeology of southern Zambezia is that drylands such as the Shashi region are marginal landscapes that did not host any significant food producing communities in the past. Resultantly, for those communities that occupied these landscapes, their settlement histories have been always portrayed as short-lived, since their existence is mostly understood as by chance and not choice. However, new data recovered …
The chronology, craft production and economy of the Butua capital of Khami, southwestern Zimbabwe
This paper explores the material culture of Khami, the precolonial capital of the Butua kingdom in southwestern Zimbabwe, with a view to understanding its chronology, as well as patterns of production and distribution based on the objects recovered from walled and non-walled areas of the site. The recovery of production debris in multiple contexts across the site suggests that household-based production was a feature of households across Khami. M…
An archaeological study of the Zimbabwe Culture capital of Khami, southwestern Zimbabwe
This study sought to understand the archaeology of the Zimbabwe Culture capital of Khami through synchronic and diachronic analyses of its material culture. The research employed a number of methodological approaches that included a review of historic documents, surveying and mapping, excavations, museum collection analysis, and artefact studies, in order to collect datasets from various sections of the site, including the walled and the nonwalle…
Decisive Evidence for Multidirectional Evolution of Sociopolitical Complexity in Southern Africa
Post-colonial heritage conservation in Africa: Perspectives from drystone wall restorations at Khami World Heritage site, Zimbabwe
Before colonialism, heritage sites such as Khami were considered resting places for ancestors, valued more for the spirit of place than their monumentality. In this context, local custodians hardly intervened with the fabric of the site. With the introduction of modern conservation principles, which persist to this day, vegetation control and wall restorations became part of routine conservation measures. This paper discusses drystone wall restor…
Decisive Evidence for Multidirectional Evolution of Sociopolitical Complexity in Southern Africa
No Big Brother Here: Heterarchy, Shona Political Succession and the Relationship between Great Zimbabwe and Khami, Southern Africa
In southern Africa, there has been a long-standing but unsubstantiated assumption that the site of Khami evolved out of Great Zimbabwe's demise around ad 1450. The study of local ceramics from the two sites indicate that the respective ceramic traditions are clearly different across the entire sequence, pointing towards different cultural affiliations in their origins. Furthermore, there are tangible typological differences between and within the…
Are drylands marginal? The case of Mananzve, Shashi region, southwestern Zimbabwe
The general conviction in the Iron Age archaeology of southern Zambezia is that drylands such as the Shashi region are marginal landscapes that did not host any significant food producing communities in the past. Resultantly, for those communities that occupied these landscapes, their settlement histories have been always portrayed as short-lived, since their existence is mostly understood as by chance and not choice. However, new data recovered …
The chronology, craft production and economy of the Butua capital of Khami, southwestern Zimbabwe
This paper explores the material culture of Khami, the precolonial capital of the Butua kingdom in southwestern Zimbabwe, with a view to understanding its chronology, as well as patterns of production and distribution based on the objects recovered from walled and non-walled areas of the site. The recovery of production debris in multiple contexts across the site suggests that household-based production was a feature of households across Khami. M…
An archaeological study of the Zimbabwe Culture capital of Khami, southwestern Zimbabwe
This study sought to understand the archaeology of the Zimbabwe Culture capital of Khami through synchronic and diachronic analyses of its material culture. The research employed a number of methodological approaches that included a review of historic documents, surveying and mapping, excavations, museum collection analysis, and artefact studies, in order to collect datasets from various sections of the site, including the walled and the nonwalle…
Decisive Evidence for Multidirectional Evolution of Sociopolitical Complexity in Southern Africa
Post-colonial heritage conservation in Africa: Perspectives from drystone wall restorations at Khami World Heritage site, Zimbabwe
Before colonialism, heritage sites such as Khami were considered resting places for ancestors, valued more for the spirit of place than their monumentality. In this context, local custodians hardly intervened with the fabric of the site. With the introduction of modern conservation principles, which persist to this day, vegetation control and wall restorations became part of routine conservation measures. This paper discusses drystone wall restor…
An archaeological study of the Zimbabwe Culture capital of Khami, southwestern Zimbabwe
This study sought to understand the archaeology of the Zimbabwe Culture capital of Khami through synchronic and diachronic analyses of its material culture. The research employed a number of methodological approaches that included a review of historic documents, surveying and mapping, excavations, museum collection analysis, and artefact studies, in order to collect datasets from various sections of the site, including the walled and the nonwalle…
No Big Brother Here: Heterarchy, Shona Political Succession and the Relationship between Great Zimbabwe and Khami, Southern Africa
In southern Africa, there has been a long-standing but unsubstantiated assumption that the site of Khami evolved out of Great Zimbabwe's demise around ad 1450. The study of local ceramics from the two sites indicate that the respective ceramic traditions are clearly different across the entire sequence, pointing towards different cultural affiliations in their origins. Furthermore, there are tangible typological differences between and within the…
Are drylands marginal? The case of Mananzve, Shashi region, southwestern Zimbabwe
The general conviction in the Iron Age archaeology of southern Zambezia is that drylands such as the Shashi region are marginal landscapes that did not host any significant food producing communities in the past. Resultantly, for those communities that occupied these landscapes, their settlement histories have been always portrayed as short-lived, since their existence is mostly understood as by chance and not choice. However, new data recovered …
The chronology, craft production and economy of the Butua capital of Khami, southwestern Zimbabwe
This paper explores the material culture of Khami, the precolonial capital of the Butua kingdom in southwestern Zimbabwe, with a view to understanding its chronology, as well as patterns of production and distribution based on the objects recovered from walled and non-walled areas of the site. The recovery of production debris in multiple contexts across the site suggests that household-based production was a feature of households across Khami. M…
When theory meets praxis – enhancing heritage management through practice-led research at Great Zimbabwe World Heritage property
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to outline and reflect on the new research agenda for the Great Zimbabwe World Heritage property. This research agenda was jointly developed by academics and practitioners from Great Zimbabwe University (GZU) and the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) respectively. This Research-Practice Team was put together for the Heritage Place Lab (HPL), a pilot project of the ICCROM-IUCN World Heritage Lea…
(Post-)colonialism as ideology and power’s grip on material culture: The Shangani Battle Site/Pupu Memorial in Zimbabwe
Chris Gosden advanced the very influential idea that colonialism is the grip which material culture has on people. Using the case study of the Shangani Battle Memorial site, Zimbabwe, in this paper we flip this idea. We explore and demonstrate how colonial and post-colonial material culture used to memorialise battles was influenced by who had power and control over ideology in colonial and post-colonial times. In 1893, a battle was fought at Sha…
Colonialism from within versus colonialism from outside: The archaeology of nineteenth century Nguni expansion and British colonialism in southwestern Zimbabwe
As Bruce Trigger famously stated, a major goal of archaeology is to develop a comparative understanding of human behaviour across cultures and time periods. This paper leverages on this insight to compare the archaeology and materiality of Nguni settlement in southwestern Zimbabwe (1839–1890) and early British settler colonialism (1890–1980). We find major similarities and differences in colonial forms and outcomes. For example, Nguni settlement …
In the Shadows of Colonialism: Archaeological Labor Practices in (Post-)Colonial Zimbabwe
Archaeological practice is structured through labor, shaping who participates in fieldwork, who interprets findings, and who produces knowledge. Recent scholarship on archaeological labor in Egypt, Palestine, Turkey, Mexico, Europe, and North America shows that labor regimes are not merely logistical arrangements but constitutive elements of archaeological epistemology, shaping how evidence is generated, interpreted, and circulated. This article …
Early State Formation in Southern Africa: A Reappraisal
This review draws on the latest insights from archaeology, history, and scientific analyses of archaeological materials to offer a critical reappraisal of the state of the field in southern African early state formation. Combined insights from recent radiocarbon chronologies, ceramic typologies, settlement pattern data, and craft production remnants strongly signal the synchronous emergence of early states at several widely dispersed sites on the…
Archaeology and Rock Art Studies (10 works) · Archaeology (7 works) · Anthropological Studies and Insights (6 works) · Geography (6 works) · Sociology (6 works) · Colonialism (5 works) · History (5 works) · Law (5 works) · Political science (5 works) · Ethnology (4 works)