great zimbabwe

Soapstone carvings of the Zimbabwe bird. Image credit iisd.ca

ZIMSEC O Level History Notes: Great Zimbabwe state (Kingdom): Religous organisation of the Great Zimbabwe State

• The Great Zimbabwe people were very religious
• Spirit mediums of the state were chosen from any class and this fostered unity among the people
• The Hungwe bird […]
  

A view inside the Great Enclosure. Image credit zarnet.ac.zw

ZIMSEC O Level History Notes: Great Zimbabwe state (Kingdom): Political Organisation of the Great Zimbabwe State

• The king ruled the state and was helped to rule by his relatives,
• the Great wives and others selected for exhibiting high levels of allegiance and loyalty

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Great Zimbabwe Ruins

ZIMSEC O Level History Notes: Great Zimbabwe state (Kingdom): The structure of Great Zimbabwe

• The structure is found in south-east Zimbabwe near Masvingo
• The Shona name for the ruins is Dzimbabwe (variations of the name include Dzimbahwe, Zimboa/Symbaoe[Portuguese sources])
• The names means ‘houses of stone’ or ‘house of stone’
• It was […]
  

Cattle grazing. Image credit nature.org ZIMSEC History O Level Notes: Great Zimbabwe: Reasons for the rise of the Great Zimbabwe state

• There are several reasons for the rise of the Great Zimbabwe state:
• Rich soils- the availability of rich agricultural soils. The black and red soils around the Great […]
  

Pottery was practised extensively at Great Zimbabwe. Image credit ghananation.com ZIMSEC History O Level Notes: Great Zimbabwe: Social groups and Crafts practised at Great Zimbabwe

Social Groups found within the Great Zimbabwe State

• fisherman
• slaves
• spirit mediums
• The ruling class
• miners
• gatherers
• sculptors (responsible for building the wall […]