Local Narratives, Regional Histories, and the Demise of Great Zimbabwe

Archaeologists have identified Boroma and Chizhou Hill as key sites that provide critical insights into the demise of Great Zimbabwe from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Local narratives, indigenous histories, and documented written sources reveal a complex process involving resettlement by migrants from the Mutapa State and regional dynamics. Boroma, described in Portuguese accounts as a 'fortress' linked to Great Zimbabwe, along with Chizhou Hill, offers a nuanced understanding of post-fifteenth-century developments that contributed to the decline of this iconic monument.

Pikirayi, I. (2019). Local Narratives, Regional Histories, and the Demise of Great Zimbabwe. Archaeologies of Listening, 131–152. https://doi.org/10.5744/florida/9780813056241.003.0007