In the timeless kingdom of Mapungubwe, the royal sculptor had two sons, Chata and Rendani. As they grew, so grew their rivalry--and their extraordinary talents. But while Rendani became a master carver of the animals that run in the wild hills and lush valleys of the land, Chata learned to carve fantastic beings from his dreams, creatures never before seen on the Earth. From this natural rivalry between brothers, Zakes Mda crafts an irresistibly rich fable of love and family. What makes the better art, perfect mimicry or inspiration? Who makes the better wife, a princess or a mysterious dancer? Ageless and contemporary, deceptive in its simplicity and mythical in its scope, The Sculptors of Mapungubwe encompasses all we know of love, envy, and the artist's primal power to forge art from nature and nature into art. Mda's newest novel will only strengthen his international reputation as one of the most trenchant voices of South Africa.

Between AD 900 and 1300, the Shashe-Limpopo basin in Limpopo Province witnessed the development of an ancient civilisation. Like civilisations everywhere, it consisted of a complex social organisation supported by intensive agriculture and long-distance trade. The Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape, as it is now known, was the forerunner of the famous town of Great Zimbabwe, situated about 200 kilometres to the north, and its cultural connection to Great Zimbabwe and the Venda people allows archaeologists to reconstruct its evolution. This generously illustrated book tells the story of an African civilisation that began more than 1000 years ago. It is the first in a series of accessible books written by specialists for visitors to South Africa’s World Heritage Sites.

The Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape is one of the profound treasures of southern Africa's social and archaeological history, appropriately declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) in 2003. Contained within this landscape is indispensable information on precolonial state formation, social hierarchies, architecture of stone-walled towns, mineral processing and intercontinental trade. And yet, the Mapungubwe state rose, towered over its environs, and then declined – long before European colonial incursions. Mapungubwe Reconsidered: A Living Legacy contributes to the body of knowledge about Mapungubwe, straddling such issues as the relationships between humans and the environment, management of mineral endowments and the form and impact of southern Africa's global intercourse in this historical period.

The Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape is one of the profound treasures of southern Africas social and archaeological history, appropriately declared a World Heritage (Unesco) in 2003. Contained within this landscape is indispensable information on precolonial state formation, social hierarchies, architecture of stone-walled towns, mineral processing and intercontinental trade. And yet, the Mapungubwe state rose, towered over its environs, and then declined long before European colonial incursions. What exactly were the social dynamics in this polity? What technologies did it utilise? How did it relate to neighbouring unable to sustain itself? In this combined edition of two MISTRA publications, now jointly titled Mapungubwe Reconsidered: A Living Legacy, MISTRA seeks to contribute to the body of knowledge about Mapungubwe, straddling such issues as the relationships between humans and the environment, management of mineral endowments and the form and impact of southern Africas global intercourse in this historical period.

Africa occupies a very special position in the origin and development of humankind. It is on this continent, as exciting new discoveries of fossil material have revealed, that our pre-human ancestors evolved and first acquired the key characteristics that give us our humanity. The evidence of this immense surge of human creativity is incontrovertible: the tools uncovered, the art painted and engraved on rocks, the representations of symbolic thought. This book celebrates humanity's origins in Africa and the rich archaeological heritage of the continent. It has been written by some of the world's foremost authorities on Africa's past under the editorship of Geoffrey Blundell, the Origin Centre's Curator.

Mapungubwe is one of South Africa's best-kept secrets. The Hill of the Jackal was the centre of a thriving civilisation around 800 AD-1200 AD. This work contains images of the gold artefacts, the pottery and the beadwork - together with a history of the civilisation.

Only the past can save the future for Winston Churchill, and it’s a past with many secrets. There is vast treasure hidden in an almost impregnable Central African fortress surrounded by cliffs. The mountain is a honeycomb of ancient tombs and palaces, as well as the ancient burial place of a Nubian queen mysteriously wedded to a Roman. Young Winston Churchill, a prisoner during the Boer War, is offered a secret deal for freedom by Britain’s enemy Louis Botha: with Botha’s agent, Zeila, Winston must seek out and protect the greatest secret of the dark continent, a fabulous Nubian treasure known only as Mapungubwe Hill. But a rogue member of the British royal family, Lord Sterne, is also after the treasure. Can Winston and the lovely Zeila both survive being entombed? And will their relationship go further than their mission? Decades later, in the middle of a raging World War II, Winston’s special agent Martin Rand struggles to unlock Mapungubwe’s secrets again before German forces, lead by Nazi-sympathizer Lord Sterne, can overwhelm and capture it. Will Winston prevail over the Nazis, or will the Nubian warriors take matters into their own hands? And will Winston’s secret tryst with Zeila come back to ruin everything? Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade, Yucca, and Good Books imprints, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction—novels, novellas, political and medical thrillers, comedy, satire, historical fiction, romance, erotic and love stories, mystery, classic literature, folklore and mythology, literary classics including Shakespeare, Dumas, Wilde, Cather, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.