No Big Brother Here: Heterarchy, Shona Political Succession and the Relationship between Great Zimbabwe and Khami, Southern Africa

Contrary to long-standing assumptions, Khami Ruins National Monument and Great Zimbabwe were not linked by a parent-offspring relationship. Instead, they coexisted as heterarchical polities with overlapping chronologies, challenging traditional narratives of succession in southern African history. This finding emerges from a study comparing ceramic traditions and dry-stone architecture across both sites, revealing distinct cultural affiliations and typological differences. Absolute and relative chronologies further indicate that Khami flourished independently from the late 14th/early 15th century, long before Great Zimbabwe's decline, while Great Zimbabwe persisted into the late 17th or even 18th century. The research suggests that malleable hierarchies and situational heterarchies were common within these polities, aligning with documented political relations in pre-colonial southern Zambezian states.

Chirikure, S., Mukwende, T., Moffett, A. J., Nyamushosho, R. T., Bandama, F., & House, M. (2017). No Big Brother Here: Heterarchy, Shona Political Succession and the Relationship between Great Zimbabwe and Khami, Southern Africa. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 28(1), 45–66. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0959774317000555