Gradings

As indicated in the Integrated Managment Plan: "The Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape (MCL) and the Vhembe/Dongola National Park are situated on the southern banks of the Limpopo River. The river forms the northern border of South Africa near the confluence with the Shashe River which separates Botswana and Zimbabwe to the north-west and north-east respectively. The MCL was the centre of the first powerful indigenous kingdom in Southern Africa. It was established by the cultural ancestors of the present-day North Sotho and Venda between AD 900 and 1300. Evidence for its history is preserved in over 400 archaeological sites in South Africa and scores more in Botswana and Zimbabwe. The dynamic interaction between society and landscape laid the foundation for a new type of social organisation in the region. Wealth accrued by its leaders from trade with the Indian Ocean network during a period of favourable climatic conditions led to the separation of the ruling elite from the commoners. This social hierarchy impacted on the landscape when Mapungubwe Hill was occupied and modified for the elite few and substantial villages were occupied on the plains below. The onset of the Little Ice Age caused drought and crop failures. The kingdom dispersed after AD 1300, new social and political alliances were formed, and the centre of regional power shifted to Great Zimbabwe north of the Limpopo River".