The stone ruins of the Nyanga area of eastern Zimbabwe have aroused much interest since they were first reported to the outside world at the end of the 19th century. Early fanciful speculations about their meaning have slowly given way to better understanding based on archaeological research, most recently by the University of Zimbabwe in co-operation with the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe and the British Institute in Eastern Africa. The ruins represent the remains of family homesteads and extensive stone-built agricultural terraces. Successive stages of development have been traced, starting with settlements on some of the highest peaks around AD 1300 and expanding gradually for five centuries to cover an area of over 5000 square kilometres. These stages show how the farming community adapted to and exploited the opportunities offered by the varied environments of the Nyanga highlands and lowlands to develop a specialised agricultural system integrating cultivation and livestock. In this book, Robert Soper sets out the accumulated knowledge and understanding of the old Nyanga society, in particular the significance of its agricultural works to which the landscape bears eloquent witness.

The stone ruins of the Nyanga area of eastern Zimbabwe have intrigued observers since they were first reported to the outside world at the end of the 19th century. The early fanciful speculations about their meaning have been gradually tempered over the years by the findings of systematic archaeological research, culminating in the project recently completed by the British Institute in Eastern Africa and the University of Zimbabwe. The first stages of the Nyanga complex were established between the 13th and 14th century AD, on some of the highest peaks of the region. Subsequent stages saw a gradual expansion downhill, with the construction of multiple stone terraces, cattle pens, and settlements. In this book, Robert Soper and his colleagues sets out the accumulated evidence for the Nyanga complex as far as we now know it. Overall, the Nyanga sequence raises obvious questions about environmental changes and climatic fluctuations during the last millennium. More particularly, the various stages begin to reveal how the local farming community grappled with these changes, including those induced by its own intensive use of the landscape and its resources.