167. Conical tower and circular wall of Great Zimbabwe. Southeastern Zimbabwe. Shona peoples. c. 1000–1400 C.E. Coursed granite blocks.

• Form
  • Walls: 800 feet long, 32 feet tall; 17 feet thick at base
  • Walls slope inward toward the top; made of exfoliated granite blocks
• Function
  • Zimbabwe was a prosperous trading center and royal complex; items from as far away as Persia and China have been found
  • Stone enclosure was probably a royal residence
• Context
  • Zimbabwe derives from a Shona term meaning “venerated houses” or “houses of stone.”
  • Internal and external passageways are tightly bounded, narrow, and long; occupants are forced to walk in single file, paralleling experiences in the African bush
  • Abandoned in the fifteenth century probably because the surrounding area could no longer supply food and there was extensive deforestation.