Natal Mus. J. Humanities
Vol. 5
Pages 47-8 1
Pietermaritzburg
October, 1993
Customs and settlement patterns in the first millennium AD:
evidence from Nanda, an Early Iron Age site
in the Mngeni Valley, Natal
Gavin Whitelaw
(Natal Museum, P. B. 9070, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa)
ABSTRACT
Nanda, an Early Iron Age site in the Mngeni River valley, was excavated as part of a Cultural
Resource Management project. The site yielded pits, adult burials with dental alteration and the remains
of at least one cattle byre. In this paper the significance of dental alteration is discussed, a tentative
explanation for the characteristic Early Iron Age pit fillings is provided, and the evidence for settlement
patterns is reported. The Nanda evidence suggests that a form of the Central Cattle Pattern and its
associated social structure existed as long ago as the seventh century AD. However, relations between
men and women may have been more liberal than they are among some southern African agriculturists
today.
INTRODUCTION
Nanda was first recorded in 1983 during an archaeological survey carried out by
the Natal Museum Archaeology Department in the Mngeni River valley near Durban
(Maggs et a1 1984). The survey was the first phase of a Cultural Resource
Management project, funded by the Department of Water Affairs, to rescue
archaeological material from flooding by the now completed Inanda Dam. A range of
sites was found, from Early Stone Age to Late Iron Age. The eight Early Iron Age
(EIA) sites were considered the most important archaeological resource in the
affected area. Three EIA sites, including Nanda, were considered worthy of salvage
because surface finds suggested they would yield valuable data. Nanda was
excavated in 1986 during the second phase of the rescue project.
THE SITE
Nanda was situated on the northern bank of the Mngeni River
(29°40'04"S:30051'21"E) between 110 m and 120 m above sea level, but is now
flooded by the dam. The site stretched some 700 m west from the bridge which
crossed the river near Mampengane Store (Fig. 1). North of the road the ground was
sharply steeper, rising towards the base of Nanda mountain after which the site was
named. South of the road the ground dropped towards the river in three natural
terraces.
The area in which the site was situated is underlain by pink leucocratic gneiss and
thin bands of amphibolite of the Mapumulo Metamorphic Suite. These are
surrounded largely by extensive exposures of intrusive megacrystic granites. These
ancient formations have been cut by numerous streams, producing a highly dissected
48
NATAL MUSEUM JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES, VOL. 5 1993
Fig. 1. Site location in relation to Durban and detail of the excavated areas on Nanda.
landscape for which the nearby Valley of a Thousand Hills is famous (Linstrom
1987). Soils on the site ranged from sandy alluvial deposits near the river to more
clayey soil derived from the decomposition of the basement rocks. From the valley
sides steep cliffs of Natal Group quartzite rise to prominent plateaux such as Nanda
Mountain and the Hillcrest plateau (Linstrom 1987).
Temperatures in the valley vary from hot in the summer to cool in the winter with
cold nights. Morning mist is often present in winter. The average rainfall recorded at
the dam wall between 1987-1989, excluding the last week of September 1987 during
WHITELAW: NANDA - CUSTOMS AND SETTLEMENT PATTERNS
49
which severe floods prevented accurate rainfall readings, was 870 mm per annum.
Most rain falls between November and March.
The research area was fairly densely populated and extensive cultivation had
resulted in much of the natural vegetation being replaced by exotic weeds such as
Lantana. However, the composition of stands of indigenous bush suggests the area
was originally covered by Moll's (1976) Spirostachys africana Woodland, a
subsection of his Dry Valley Scrub and Bushland Mosaic. This closed woodland
occurs 'mainly on dry northwest-facing slopes at altitudes between 152 and 457 m',
but also 'on the alluvial soils of the valley floor, below 305 m. It is particularly
extensive in the Mgeni and Mvoti River valleys' (Moll 1976: 52).
Situated below 1000 m, in savanna vegetation alongside a river, Nanda is typical
of first-millennium agriculturist settlements (Maggs 1984a). Soils on the site are
suitable for agriculture, the rainfall is sufficient for traditional African crops, and the
savanna woodland would have provided edible plants, sweet-veld grazing for
domestic herds, and wood for domestic and industrial fuel.
THE EXCAVATIONS
In contrast to some of the EIA sites excavated in Natal, Nanda was not eroded.
Consequently, the extent of the site was not easily determined nor were features
visible. However, where the ground had been disturbed, particularly by ploughing,
scatters of artefacts suggested the presence of underground deposits.
Excavations were carried out at the eastern end of the site where Matola sherds
were found during the 1983 survey, and in the centre of the site where scatters of
artefacts occurred on the ground surface. Limited excavations were done also to test
an artefact scatter on the western part of the site (Fig. 1). The excavations on the
eastern part of the site will be described elsewhere, together with the work on other
Matola sites recorded in the Mngeni Valley.
Trenches were placed to investigate artefact scatters and thereafter around and
between the features thus discovered, in an attempt to determine the layout of the
settlement. These were numbered Trenches 1-16, except that Trench 3 became Grid
3 and Trenches 6 and 7 were incorporated into Trench 4. Forty test squares (TS 1 4 0 )
were excavated around and between the trenches to further elucidate the settlement
pattern. A series of auger holes was sunk for the same purpose (Fig. 2).
The central excavations
The stratigraphy in excavations on the central part of the site can be grouped into
four types. Type 1 was the natural stratigraphy, consisting of 20-30 cm of brown soil,
varying in texture from a clay to a sandy loam, over a lighter brown to reddish-brown
earth. The varying texture seemed in part to be a result of termite activity. This
stratigraphy occurred in TS3,4, 12, 13, 16-31,39,40, Trenches 5,8-11, 14, 15, parts
of Trench 4 (see below) and in auger holes across much of the central part of the site
(Fig. 2). Artefacts commonly were situated near the base of the upper brown soil
layer.
Stratigraphic type 2 consisted of brown topsoil (20-30 cm deep); light, brownishgrey sand (variable depth); reddish subsoil. This stratigraphy occurred in TS5-10, 14,
50
NATAL MUSEUM JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES, VOL. 5 1993
.
..
*. . . . .
..
0 6 TS6
T4 Trench 4
Auger hole
33
32
B
Aug B6
0
OT15
11 12
13
0 26
27
0
028
~
m
9
16
T8
T5
17
oun;l
V
A
-O
10 m
C
A
TSQ7-38
..
.TS39-40
38
-H
D
Trench 13
-B3
TS34-36
Burial 2
.G
0
-F
Pit 4
H-.
Burial10
6
5
4
-
.E
.D
3
.C
-S+--
-B
o Trench 12
-O
30 m
0I
5m
-
-
2
1
Fig. 2. Site plan of central excavations, showing increasing detail from A to C.
15, 32 and 33. In T S l l and Trench 16 it was poorly defined and was not present in
auger holes west of Trench 16 (Fig. 2). The thickness of the brownish-grey sand
varied from 14 cm in TS5 to 42 cm in TS9.
Stratigraphic type 3 (Fig. 3) consisted of brown soil (0-30 cm); red-grey, ashy soil
51
WHITELAW: NANDA - CUSTOMS AND SETTLEMEN7r PATTERNS
E5
m
Brown topsoil
Red-grey, ashy soil
0 Fibrous ashy-grey
m
--
0
soil
Red-brown subsoil
lm
Fig. 3. Plan and sections in Grid 3 showing position of the elliptical furrow.
(30-50 cm); fibrous, ash-grey soil (50-85 cm); red- brown subsoil. It occurred only
in Grid 3 (Fig. 2) which was excavated to investigate a surface scatter of artefacts on
the edge of a natural terrace. Layer 1 occurred in all squares of Grid 3. Layer 2 was
deepest in D5, but extended as a thin layer into A5-C5. It did not occur east of G415
where layer 1 directly overlay layer 4. Little cultural material was recovered from
these eastern squares. Layer 2 was disturbed by what appeared to be an animal
burrow in D5. E5 was less ashy than D5 with flecks of brown and redder soil. Layer
3, the fill of a narrow elliptical furrow, occurred only in D4, D5 and the adjacent part
of C5. The excavation therefore cut across a midden which appears to have been
dumped over the edge of the natural terrace. The stratigraphy in Trench 13 (Fig. 2)
resembled that of Grid 3, although the fibrous, ash-grey soil was absent.
Stratigraphic type 4 consisted of a shallow, light-brown soil over a very deep,
52
NATAL MUSEUM JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES, VOL. 5 1993
slightly cloddy, yellow-brown earth containing small calcareous nodules. It occurred
in three termite mounds on the site into which TS34-38 and Trench 4 were excavated
(Fig. 2). In Trench 4 it was characteristic of the inactive part of the termitarium,
occurring in squares D l , D2, E l and E2.
In row 3 of Trench 4 the topsoil was better defined, more clayey and darker in
colour than in squares D1, D2, E l and E2. From row 4 northwards and elsewhere on
the sides of the mound (squares AI-C1 and F2-H2), the stratigraphy resembled the
natural stratigraphy on the site, being a brown, clayey soil over a redder, clayey
subsoil.
The Trench 4 mound was one of several on the site, their proximity suggesting
they were a local version of the 'heuweltjie' phenomenon of the western Cape where
termite mounds are scattered at regularly-spaced intervals across the landscape
(Midgley & Hoffman 1991). The termites and other burrowing animals had disturbed
considerably the features in Trench 4. Evidence of this included tunnels, underground
chambers, ventilation shafts and rodent-gnawed bone.
The features in Trench 4 included two human burials (Fig. 2) (Morris 1993). The
first was 10-20 cm below the surface just east of the E3 peg. The remains were those
of an adult who had been buried in a pit together with sherds and a few pieces of
animal bone. Although the skull was well preserved, the skeleton had suffered severe
disturbance and none of the bones was articulated; two fitting fragments of the same
limb bone were separated by some 50 cm.
The size of the pit into which Burial 1 had been placed suggests that the individual
was buried in an upright, flexed position. The burial position may therefore have
contributed to the disturbance of the skeleton as decomposition of the body would
have allowed the bones to slump down upon one another.
The top of the Burial 2 pit was marked by a concentration of pots, large sherds,
quartzite heat-spalls and a mass of daga (baked mud) blocks, many of which had
grass impressions. These artefacts were well preserved. Several sherds stood
vertically in the deposit which, together with the relative lack of artefactual material
in D2, E l and F l , suggested that they were part of a pit filling. Excavation showed
that the pit was large, measuring some 2 m by 2,5 m in plan. Some 15 cm below the
surface in the northeast quadrant of E l was the upside-down base of a pot; further
excavation revealed that half a pot had been placed over a neat hole in the bottom of
another upside-down pot. The base of the second pot had clearly been carefully
removed and the edges of the hole rubbed smooth in places. The hole is oriented at
an angle of 33" to the rim of the pot, indicating that it was not the result of a coil
break, but must have been deliberately made (Fig. 4). Similar bottomless pots have
been found buried in pits on EIA sites throughout southern Africa (eg. Clark 1974,
Evers 1982, Maggs 1980, Maggs & Michael 1976, Maggs & Ward 1984, Mason
1981, Van Schalkwyk 1991).
Thirty centimetres beneath the surface, a little below the top of the daga mass, but
only partially covered by it, was the skeleton of a child. The child had been buried
facing in an easterly direction, in an upright position with the knees flexed and the
hands drawn up to the face. A large, undecorated pot with a neat hole in its base had
been placed on its side on the right of the body. Soil movement had forced the upper
body of the child into the pot. The lower spine was folded over the pot's rim, and the
WHITELAW: N A N D A
- C'US'TOMS A N D SETTLEME1.I' PATTEFQVS
53
Fig. 4. Pot from Burial 2 pit showing the deliberately-made hole in the base.
mandible was completely separated from the rest of the skull and displaced into the
pot. The maxilla and skull were outside the pot, resting on it. The vertebrae, ribs and
the right arm and shoulder inside the pot were articulated, indicating that this
happened soon after the burial of the child (Fig. 5 ) .
Below the skeleton and daga mass, at a depth of 65 cm, the nature of the pit-filling
changed to a soft brown soil quite distinct from the surrounding yellow-brown soil of
the mound. This part of the pit yielded fragments of bone, burnt mussel shells and
small sherds of pottery. The pit narrowed to a diameter of 60-70 cm below the
skeleton. Its base was 1,40 m beneath the surface. It is possible that the top of an
existing pit was widened in order to bury the child. Alternatively, the large upper
portion of the pit may have been the product of excavations in the mound for
building soil. The vertical distribution of the skeleton and other artefacts strongly
suggest that the upper 65 cm of the pit was filled at the time of the burial.
North of Burial 2 in square E4 was a concentration of sherds, slag, a few bone
fragments and large daga chunks. There are no clear stick or grass impressions on the
daga chunks, although one massive 110 mm thick piece has what may be the
impressions of parallel wooden poles. This daga may have been part of the same
structure represented by the grass-impressed daga blocks in the Burial 2 pit.
A dense concentration of pottery in the northeastern quadrant of Trench 4, F2
suggested the presence of another pit. Near the surface of this Pit 3, the fill was a
hard brown clay containing pottery. At a depth of 40 cm it became softer and more
ashy. Sixty centimetres below the surface, the pit was visible as an oval-shaped patch
of soft, brown soil measuring 80 cm by one metre. This softer deposit yielded a wellpreserved fauna1 sample and continued to a depth of about one metre. A highly
decorated, bottomless pot was buried near the base of this deposit.
Fig. 5. Burial 2.Note the mandible inside the pot. The vertebral column is separated from the skull and
folded over and into the pot.
Below the pot to the base of the pit at 1,75 m were patches of ashy soil containing
cultural material and bone. However, the sherds were smaller and the bone, much of
it burnt, was more fragmentary than that in the upper part of the pit. This debris
appears to have accumulated gradually before the upper portion was filled in a single
episode.
Pit 3 was unusual because, from its opening in the northeast quadrant of F2, it
sloped underground to beneath the southeast quadrant of F2. It is possible that an
existing hole in the termite mound, perhaps an animal burrow, was enlarged to create
the pit.
North of Pit 3 in square F3 was a patch of ashy soil which yielded various
artefacts, including slag and the fragmented remains of a single tuyere. There was
severe termite disturbance in F3, which had allowed the intrusion of modem glass to
a depth of 85 cm beneath the surface.
Between 50 cm and 80 cm in the northeast quadrant of Trench 4, E l was a
concentration of large sherds, charcoal and chunks of quartzite. This material may
have been part of the fill of a fourth pit. If so, it is probable that most, if not all, of the
few artefacts recovered from the upper 50 cm of E l were also part of the Pit 4 fill.
A figurine fragment, large sherds, a relatively complete pot, and upper grindstones
with spa11 scars, were recovered from Trench 4, D1. These artefacts hint at the
presence of a fifth pit which may have extended into TS1. In TS1, however, there
WHITELAW: NANDA - CUSTOMS AND SETnEMENT PATTERNS
55
was massive biotic disturbance in the form of large underground chambers, holes and
daga-like soil concretions. This may have contributed to the appearence of a pit.
West of D1 in squares AI-C1 was a fairly rich concentration of material, including
sherds, iron-working remains, worked stone and some bone.
The following features were found elsewhere on the central part of the site.
Burials
Near the surface in the termite-disturbed soil of TS25 were the fragmentary
remains of the upper and lower limbs of an adult individual. Although close to Burial
1 in Trench 4, they represent a different individual (Morris 1993).
In TS7 the skeleton of an adult was found in the brownish-grey sand at a depth of
42 cm. This individual was buried lying on the right side, with legs flexed and hands
drawn up to the face. Preservation was poor and the excavation difficult because the
deposit became very hard when dry. Sherds and a quartzite heat-spa11 were found in
TS7 at the same depth as the skeleton. Unfortunately, because the burial pit was not
discernable, the artefacts could not definitely be associated with the burial.
Pits
Sherds in the hard, red, clayey earth of the eastern face of TS3 suggested the
presence of a pit, so the excavation was extended to reveal the entire feature. The pit
proved to be approximately 65 cm wide and 90 cm deep. It yielded a single, badlypreserved tooth and a number of sherds, from which several fairly complete pots and
bowls were reconstructed. The pottery appeared to have been deposited in a single
episode of discard.
The pit in TS14 was apparent initially from a concentration of charcoal and a few
small sherds in the brownish-grey sand in the northeast corner of the Test Square. At
a depth of 57 cm below the surface the rim of a bottomless pot was exposed. The pit
filling at this level was slightly damper than the surrounding soil, with a faint reddish
tinge (possibly a result of the dampness). However, the similarity between the pit
filling and the sand through which the pit had been dug meant that the edges of the
pit could not be accurately discerned. Other than the pot, the pit yielded little cultural
material.
A dense concentration of sherds, heat-spalls and broken upper and lower
grindstones marked the top of another pit in TS12. This material, which had spread
beyond the confines of the top of the pit, extended down to about a metre below the
surface where the rim of a pot was exposed. The pot was bottomless, with an even
break a little below the shoulder. Below the pot was an ashy deposit which gave way
at 1,80 m to reddish-brown earth containing large lumps of charcoal and the
occasional small sherd. At the base, a depth of 1,90 m, two large sherds which had
broken in situ were lying on a yellow clay-like earth. The bottom part of the pit had
been altered by termites.
Daga features
Lines of auger holes were sunk east and south of Trench 4. During the augering a
daga concentration was discovered on the edge of a natural terrace some 5-10 cm
below the surface at AUG B6 (Fig. 2). Excavation revealed sherds, quartzite heat-
56
NATAL MUSEUM JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES, VOL. 5 1993
spalls, small ashy patches, and grass-impressed daga blocks similar to those in the
Burial 2 pit in Trench 4. The concentration of material was approximately two metres
across. There was no sign of a floor beneath the debris. Pieces of daga were also
recovered from TS30, 31 and 32.
Sherd concentrations
TS39 and 40 were excavated to examine an occurrence of sherds on the surface
some 50 m east of Trench 4. Little was recovered from TS40, but TS39 was
excavated into a midden deposit which yielded fragmentary sherds, quartzite heatspalls and river-pebbles, some slag and tuyere fragments, and a few pieces of bone.
Summary of the central excavations
Three adults and a child had been buried in the central part of Nanda. Two adults
and the child were buried in a termite mound into which at least one pit (Pit 3) had
been dug. Another pit was found close to the edge of the mound in TS3. South and
east were patches of brownish-grey sand. A fourth burial (TS7) and a pit (TS14)
were situated in the southern patch, while another pit (TS12) was found about 4 m
south of the same patch. Samples of this sand were taken from TS5, 7 and 32 for
further analysis (see below).
East of this group of features were two middens (Grid 3 and TS39), and a daga
feature made up of grass-impressed daga blocks (AUG B6). The daga feature was
situated approximately 30 m from the edge of the southern patch of brownish-grey
sand.
The western excavations
Trench 1 was excavated to investigate a relatively rich scatter of sherds in a
ploughed field (Fig. 1). The trench was 18 m long and divided into nine, two-metrelong units (HI-H9). The stratigraphy in Trench 1 was: grey-brown, sandy soil (0-35
cm); dark brown, sandy soil (35-55 cm); orange sand (archaeologically sterile)
(55-base).
Squares H1,2 and 3 were excavated in 10 cm spits. The first 10 cm yielded sherds,
stone fragments and modem glass. The second spit yielded little, but increasing
quantities of pottery were recovered progressively from the third and fourth spits.
Two cultural horizons were thus apparent, the first in the upper 10 cm and the second
marked by the dark brown, sandy soil.
The thin, well-preserved sherds recovered from the upper level are almost
certainly of recent origin and were probably associated with a broken lower
grindstone found on the surface near Trench 1. The grindstone is a recent type with
the large, dished grinding surface formed by the processing of maize. The recent
sherds were an isolated occurrence and elsewhere in Trench l , from H3 to H9, the
upper grey-brown sand was devoid of artefacts.
By contrast, the sherds from the lower level are thicker and more abraded than
those in the first spit. Sherds from this level in H3-H9 are decorated with incised
motifs which, together with the stratigraphic separation of the two cultural horizons,
indicates that they belong to an earlier occupation. The earlier occupation was
concentrated in squares H5-H7 where, at a depth of 55 cm, two pits were visible in
the orange sand.
57
WHITELAW: NANDA - CUSTOMS AND SETTLEMENT PAlTERNS
In Pit 1 a mass of sherds, fragments of burnt bone, and charcoal were embedded in
a dark, clayey earth down to a depth of 1,10 m. This material had clearly been
deposited in a single dumping episode. Below it the pit was filled with orange sand to
a depth of 1,24 m where the rim of a bottomless pot was exposed. With the exception
of a few large pieces of charcoal, the orange sand around the pot was sterile to a
depth of 1,60 m. From here to the base at 2,60 m several layers were apparent, each
of which yielded slightly different material. Most of the fauna1 material from Pit 1
came from this lower part. There were fewer sherds than in the upper part, however,
and none could be refitted. Thus, in contrast to the upper part, the lower part appears
to have been filled gradually.
The base of Pit 1 was rounded and appeared to have been lined with mud. The
lining was three centimetres thick and, except for its hardness, was indistinguishable
from the orange sand into which the pit had been dug. The lining extended some 25
cm up the walls of the pit before ending neatly. It was possible to excavate over the
'lip' of the lining and down behind it.
A concentration of quartzite and sherds marked the top of Pit 2 in H6 and H7. As
with Pit 1, the top appeared to have been filled with a single dumping of a large
amount of debris which included sherds, stone, bone fragments, charcoal and some
slag. Many of the sherds and some of the stone pieces could be refitted. Soil, to a
depth of a metre, was brown, rather coarse, and became hard on drying. Below this
the filling was softer and slightly darker than the orange sand into which the pit had
been dug. A thin crust around a deposit of ash some 1,30 m below the surface
suggested the ash had been thrown into the pit while still hot. A bottomless pot was
found at a depth of 1,56 m. The base of the pit was a little over 2 m below the
surface. Charcoal collected from below 45 cm in the pit gave a date of AD 675 60
(Wits 1917).
Trench 2 (Fig. l), measuring 10 X 1 m and set at right angles to Trench 1, was
excavated to examine a mound to the north. This was a termite mound in which the
soil was redder and more clayey than in Trench 1. Only a few small sherds and bone
fragments were recovered, most of them from the upper 10 cm.
Six auger holes were sunk in the field between Trenches 1 and 2 in an attempt to
discover other features in the vicinity of the pits. None was found, but the
stratigraphy in the auger holes was similar to that of Trench 1.
+
THE FINDS
Pottery
To analyse the pottery, the procedure recommended by Huffman (1980) was used
because it has been shown to be reliable in separating the ceramics of known groups
of people, and thus likely to separate different facies and phases in archaeological
samples.
In this classification I have ignored colour and rim notching. The procedure forms
multidimensional types from the three independent variables of vessel profile,
decoration layout and decoration. Three profile tilodes, eleven layout modes and
seven decoration modes were identified. Their intersection forms 231 possible
classes of which 12 are represented. To these I have added three undecorated classes.
58
NATAL MUSEUM JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES, VOL. 5 1993
The classes, illustrated in Figs 6-10, are:
1. pot with an everted neck with a band of decoration below the rim, a band or
bands of decoration on the neck, and pendant motifs followed by a band on the
shoulder. This is the most complex class.
2. pot with an everted neck with a band of decoration below the rim, followed by a
band or bands of decoration on the neck, and pendant motifs or a band on the
shoulder.
3. pot with an everted neck with a band of decoration below the rim, followed by a
band or bands of decoration on the neck, and a band of decoration on the lower
shoulder.
4. pot with an everted neck with a band of decoration below the rim followed by a
band or bands of decoration on the neck.
5. pot with an everted neck with a band of decoration below the rim and on the
upper shoulder.
6. pot with an everted neck with a band of decoration below the rim and pendant
motifs on the shoulder.
7. pot with an everted neck with a band of decoration below the rim.
8. pot with an everted neck with a band of decoration on the neck and on the lower
shoulder.
9. pot with an everted neck with a band or bands of decoration on the neck, and
spaced motifs on the shoulder.
10. pot with an everted neck with a band or bands of decoration on the neck.
11. plain pot with an everted neck (not illustrated).
12. open bowl.
13. intumed bowl.
14. intumed bowl with a band of decoration below the rim. Both examples
illustrated are probably. Msuluzi bowls (Maggs 1980). Neither was sufficiently
well preserved to allow for a more detailed description.
15. inturned bowl with a band of decoration just above the point of vertical
tangency.
In Table 1 the Nanda pot classes are compared with those from Msuluzi (Maggs
1980). The similarity score of 69 % between Nanda and Msuluzi, calculated on the
basis of the presence or absence of pot classes (Huffman 1980), confirms the date
and clearly indicates that Nanda belongs to the Msuluzi phase and therefore is
contemporary with sites in Natal dated to the sixth and seventh centuries AD.
A few Ndondondwane-like sherds were recovered from the upper levels of Trench
13, Grid 3 and TS39. Grid 3 also yielded an Ntshekane sherd. The Ndondondwane
sherds may represent an eighth century occupation of the site, but because of the
similarity between Ndondondwane and Msuluzi ceramic classes (Maggs 1980
1984b), this is not necessarily so. In any event, the later sherds are such a minor
occurrence that they do not affect the ascription of the excavated features to the
Msuluzi phase.
Other ceramic items
Several fragments of human figurines were recovered from Nanda. The three best
WHITELAW: NANDA - CUSTOMS AND SE7TLEMENT PAlTERNS
59
TABLE l
Comparison of ceramic classes at Msuluzi and Nanda. NC represents a new class, not found on Nanda.
Msuluzi classes based on Evers (1988) and Maggs (1980). Presencelabsence score = 69 %
Class
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
NC 1
NC2
Msuluzi
-
Nanda
-
-
-
-
preserved examples all represent lower human torsos with stumpy legs and
accentuated buttocks (Fig. 11). One example, from square D1 in Trench 4, has a band
of impressions running from a protruding navel (an umbilical hernia? - Maggs &
Ward 1984) down to and into the genital area. The piece from TS38 has a band of
impressions on either side of the body, and, possibly faint arrow-shaped incisions on
the lower belly. The largest fragment came from the TS12 pit. It has no incised
motifs. Other smaller figurine fragments were found in Burial 2 pit, Pit 3 and E l (Pit
4?) of Trench 4. Grid 3 yielded four fragments of ceramic sculpture, one of which is
probably a human figurine. Another may be the horn of a ceramic bullock. From
Trench 1, H9 came what appears to be the stumpy leg of a figurine or pot.
A ceramic bead was found in Grid 3. Another perforated item from Grid 3 may
have been a small pierced boss which had broken away from a larger object such as a
pot. One worn fragment from Trench 1, Pit 2 bares some resemblance to the handshaped object found at Mhlopeni (Maggs & Ward 1984: fig. 21). Other items from
the site are too worn for certain identification. A few amorphous ceramic lumps
recovered from Trench 4, F2 may be the residue of pot manufacture. Also from F2 is
a piece which appears to have been moulded around the thumb and fired.
Several sherds with abraded edges were recovered. Loubser (1985), referencing
Campbell (1815), suggests that similar sherds on Buffelshoek, a LIA site in the
southern Transvaal, were used for preparing sluns. Some sherds were chipped andfor
ground into discs varying from about 1 3 4 cm in diameter and may have been used
as ear-lobe plugs (suggestion of V. Ward) or counters in a game (Fig. 12).
Daga
The largest concentrations of daga were those in the Burial 2 pit in Trench 4 and
the AUG B6 daga feature. In both features the daga consisted of thick, grassimpressed blocks with flat surfaces on the reverse side from the impressions (Fig.
13). I measured the thickness of 30 of the better preserved Burial 2 pieces, the
NATAL. MUSEUM JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES, VOL. 5 1993
Fig. 6. Ceramic Class 1: 1; Class 2:24.Provenance 1:T1 P2;2:Burial 1; 3:T4 P3;4:TS3.
WHITELAW: NANDA - CUSTOMS AND SEITLEMENT PAITERNS
Fig. 7. Ceramic Class 2: 1; Class 3: 2; Class 4: 3-5. Provenance 1 & 4: T4 P4; 2: T1 P2; 3: Burial 1; 5:
TS12.
NATAL MUSEUM JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES, VOL. 5 1993
Fig. 8. Ceramic Class 4: 1; Class 5: 2; Class 6: 3; Class 7: 4 & 5. Provenance 1: Grid 3; 2: Tl P1; 3 & 5;
Burial 2; 4: Tl P2.
WHITELAW: NANDA - CUSTOMS AND SETTLEMENT PATERNS
Fig. 9. Ceramic Class 8: 1; Class 9: 2 4 ; Class 10: 5. Provenance 1 3 & 4: T1 PI; 5: T l P2; 2: Burial 2.
NATAL MUSEUM JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES, VOL. 5 1993
Fig. 10. Ceramic Class 10: 1 2; Class 12: 3 4; Class 13: 5 6; Class 14: 7 8; Class 15: 9. No. 10 is too
fragmentary to assign to a class. Provenance 1 & 10: T1 PI; 2: TS14; 4 & 6: T4 AI-Cl; 5 & 8:
TS 12; 3: T4 P3; 7: TS3; 9: Grid 3. Stippling indicates graphite burnish.
WHITELAW: NANDA -CUSTOMS AND SETTLEMENT PATTERNS
65
Fig. 11. Ceramic human figurines: 1 from TS38 showing impressions; 2 from Trench 4 D1 showing
swelling (?umbilical hernia) and 3 from TS12 showing lobes representing two legs and
buttocks.
average thickness being 40,8 mm and the range from 22 mm to 70 mm. Smaller
grass-impressed pieces were recovered from TS30 and 32.
Daga found on other parts of the site, principally Grid 3, Trench 13 and TS39, is
different in that it is thinner and without grass impressions. Some pieces are rough on
one side and appear to have been smoothed directly on the ground surface, perhaps
as part of a house or courtyard floor. The oxidation pattern on lhese pieces suggests
that the floor was baked by fire in situ prior to the remains being dumped with other
rubbish.
Iron-working remains
Little iron-working debris was recovered from Nanda. The Grid 3 remains
66
NATAL MUSEUM JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES, VOL. 5 1993
Fig. 12. Discs formed of edge-ground sherds, perhaps used as ear-lobe plugs or gaming pieces.
Fig. 13. Daga blocks from Burial 2 pit. No 3 shows thickness of daga. No. 4 shows flat surface with a
possible hand or knee impression.
WHITELAW: NANDA -CUSTOMS AND SETTLEMENT PATTERNS
67
comprise 19 kg of slag, a few tuyere fragments and ore, including pieces which do
not appear to have been baked in a furnace. The slag consists mostly of small pieces;
all are less than fist-size though some are fairly heavy.
Pieces of vitrified daga were recovered from squares AI-C1 in Trench 4, Trench
11 and TS21. These indicate that the furnace walls were at least 80 mm thick. Tuyere
and ore fragments and heavy, dark-coloured chunks of slag with charcoal
impressions were found in Trench 4. Ore and slag were recovered also from some of
the test squares south of Trench 4.
The iron ore found on Nanda is haematite (Fe,O,) which occurs as thin bands and
lenses in the Pietermaritzburg Shale Formation of the Ecca Group (Maud pers.
comm.). These deposits are frequently exposed on upper slopes and along the tops of
hills on Pietermaritzburg Shale Formation outcrops. The ore weathers from the
parent rock in the form of 'snuff-box shale', an ore which is common on Iron Age
sites in Natal. The closest outcrop to Nanda is north of Durban in the Phoenix area,
some 13 km away (Fig. 1). The distance on the ground would have been considerably
further because of the hilly terrain between Nanda and Phoenix.
Pigment
Pieces of what appear to be consolidated, iron-rich sand were found on the site.
These are purple-red in colour and, when rubbed, readily yield a rich haematite-red
colour. Although this material may have been used as an ore, its probable high silica
content would have meant that the Ecca-derived snuff-box shale was preferred
(Maud pers. comm.). It therefore seems more likely that it was used as a pigment.
Today red is a significant colour for most Bantu-speaking people in South Africa.
Among the Zulu it is a liminal colour, mediating between black with its associated
dangers and the health of white (Ngubane 1977). Red ochre is used on the body by
Sotho speakers at certain stages of the initiation rites (Harnmond-Tooke 1981, Krige
& Krige 1943, Monnig 1967), while Zulu novice diviners may smear their bodies
with red earth (Berlund 1976). The Kgaga believe the colour attracts the attention of
the ancestors (Hammond-Tooke 1981).
There are two possible sources of this material. It may be derived from the Berea
Red Formation near the coast, having formed under waterlogged conditions through
the introduction of iron into sandy material which subsequently dried and oxidised to
haematite and geothite. Alternatively, it may be a laterite found above the Natal
Group quartzite of the Hillcrest Plateau where it occurs in bands up to a metre thick
(Maud pers. comm.).
Worked stone
The Nanda worked stone includes the characteristically facetted EIA upper
grindstones and fragments of lower grindstones with elliptical grooves (Maggs 1980,
Maggs & Ward 1984, Maggs & Michael 1976, Van Schalkwyk 1991). These were
usually made of river-rounded quartzite pebbles and rocks which presumably were
collected from the Mngeni River and nearby streams. Elongated quartzite pebbles
were used for hammerstones, perhaps to crush ore, work iron and crack open hard
nuts such as the marula. Some of the hammerstones were also used for grinding.
In addition to these more conventional EIA tools, flaked stone artefacts were
68
NATAL MUSEUM JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES. VOL. 5 1993
recovered from various places on the site, including pits and the Grid 3 midden.
Quartz is the most common raw material although a few are made from quartzite,
homfels and cryptocrystalline silica. The formal assemblage is dominated by
scrapers of which there are 80. There are only two spokeshaves and a single blade.
The rest of the assemblage is made up of cores, chips, chunks and flakes.
Flaked hornfels artefacts were recovered from Msuluzi in the Thukela valley where
the lateral distribution of stone artefacts and pottery on the site suggested the two
artefact types resulted from the same occupation (Maggs 1980). The Msuluzi
assemblage, like the Nanda one, is dominated by scrapers. However, the Nanda tools
lack the standardisation of scrapers recovered from hunter-gatherer sites in Natal
(Maze1 pers. cornm.), whereas those from Msuluzi are similar to Late Stone Age
artefacts, leading Maggs to suggest interaction between hunter-gatherers and
agriculturists. Given the similarity in composition of the two assemblages, and the lack
of standardisation of the Nanda examples, it is possible that agriculturists were malung
and using the stone tools to process skins. The qualitative difference between the
assemblages may be a consequence of the different raw materials used at the two sites.
A fragment of a stone ring was found in layer 1 of Grid 3.
Worked bone and shell
A bone point and five bone pointlshaft fragments were recovered from Nanda.
Five came from Grid 3, the remaining two from Pits 1 and 2 in Trench 1. The
complete example is a 68 mm long point with a flattened butt from Grid 3. Two other
examples, a poorly preserved one from Grid 3 and a bumt butt end from Trench 1, Pit
2, were probably of a similar size and shape. Other pieces of worked bone from Grid
3 include a bone fragment with a polished, rounded end, and a fragment of longbone,
possibly an awl, with a shaved and ground point. More decorative is a fragment of a
polished bone tube (a bead?) around which shallow grooves are inscribed at
intervals. In the fauna1 assemblage Plug (1993) noted bone shafts which were cut and
snapped.
Two canine teeth recovered from Trench 4 had been pierced through their roots for
suspension. One of these, from square B1, is the lower left canine of a hyaena. The
other, from Pit 3, is much smaller but not yet identified.
The worked shell assemblage consists of four cowries, probably Cypraea annulus.
Their dorsal surfaces had been chipped off, presumably so that they could be sewn
onto an article of clothing, displaying the aperture in the ventral surface.
Of 101 shell disc-beads recovered from Nanda, 74 came from Grid 3. The raw
material was identified using the techniques recommended by Ward & Maggs
(1988). The results, presented in Table 2, show the Nanda assemblage to be similar to
bead assemblages from other EIA sites in Natal (Ward & Maggs 1988), with
Metachatina kraussi being the most common identifiable species used for bead
production.
The holes in six of the ostrich eggshell (OES) beads have a biconical shape, while
those in the other four and in all the achatinid beads are cylindrical. Plug (1988)
noticed that OES and achatina beads recovered from EIA sites in the Kruger National
Park have biconical and cylindrical holes respectively, and suggested that hole-shape
may be related to the type of drill used by the makers. That the same correlation
WHITELAW: NANDA
- CUSTOMS
AND SETTLEMENT PAITERNS
TABLE 2
Nanda disc beads
Grid 3
Burl
OES
Metachatina kraussi
Achatina immaculata
Achatinidae
9
18
1
46
Total
74
Bud
-
1
1
Trench 4
Pit3
1
4
1
2
10
2
16
Total
Pit4
Other
1
1
6
10
24
3
64
7
101
-
1
occurs in Natal is particularly interesting because ostriches were not endemic to
Natal and would not have occurred in the valley bushveld areas favoured by EIA
agriculturists (Maggs 1980). OES beads on EIA sites in Natal therefore were
probably obtained from hunter-gatherers with access to the grassland environments
favoured by ostriches (Maggs 1980, Maze1 1989).
Four, or possibly six, beads from Trench 4, Pit 3 are of similar size and coloured
with ochre, and probably come from the same string of beads.
Human skeletal remains
The skeletal remains of four individuals were recovered from Nanda. These
consist of the remains of three adults and a child, and are described in detail by
Morris (1993). The remains which could be sexed with an acceptable degree of
certainty are those of a man (Trench 4, Burial I), aged between his late 20s and 40 at
the time of death, and a woman (TS7), less than 40 years old at the time of death.
The skulls of,these skeletons were relatively well preserved compared to the skulls of
adult skeletons found on other EIA sites in Natal (Maggs 1980, Maggs & Ward
1984), and both exhibited an identical pattern of dental alteration. All four lower
incisors and the central upper incisors had been removed long before death. Together
with this, the upper lateral incisors and their neighbouring canines had been chipped
. on their labial edge to bring the crown to a blunt point (Morris 1993).
The child (Trench 4, Burial 2) was approximately eight years old at the time of
death but its sex could not be determined.
Fauna
The bulk of the Nanda fauna1 sample was identified by I. Plug (1993). Fish-remains
were identified by C. Poggenpoel and the shell-remains identified with the help of D.
Herbert and R. Kilburn. Nearly a quarter of the identifiable bones assessed by Plug
may be recent intrusions, suggesting post-depositional disturbance by small to mediumsized burrowing animals. Domestic herd animals make up 68,4% of the balance of the
identifiable bones, with sheep dominating the small-stock numbers. The evidence
suggests that male ovicaprines were slaughtered preferentially. Unfortunately, the
cattle remains are too few to provide an indication of slaughtering patterns.
Non-domestic food animals comprise 23,7% of the remains which relate to the
archaeological deposits. These consist mainly of small, territorial animals.
There are a number of other species represented, including two dogs, baboons and
various carnivores. The wild animals may have been hunted for their skins, to protect
crops, or for medicinal purposes.
70
NATAL MUSEUM JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES, VOL. 5 1993
Use was made of the riverine environment. Evidence of this includes the crocodile
remains in TS 12, freshwater bivalves and two species of fish, Labeo rubromaculatus
and Barbus natalensis. Coastal and marine resources were also exploited. The marine
fish in the sample are Rhabdosorgus sarba (Natal stumpnose), Mugil species
(mullet), Pomadasys commersonnii (spotted grunter) and Diplodus trifasciatus (zebra
fish). These species occur in estuarine environments and in bays such as Natal Bay
where the stumpnose, mullet and grunter particularly, are abundant and fairly easily
caught at certain times of the year (Wallace 1975). The number of identifiable
skeletal parts (NISP) of the fish and their provenance are listed in Table 3.
Shellfish were collected on the coast. The species, their NISPs and provenance are
listed in Table 4, together with the terrestrial species in the sample. Of particular
TABLE 3
Number of identifiable skeletal parts of Nanda fish remains
Grid 3
Labeo rubromaculatus
Barbus natalensis
Rhabdosorgus sarba
Pomadasys commersonnii
Mugil sp.
Diplodus trgasciatus
2
1
-
-
T1
P2
4
1
-
T4
P3
1
1
1
2
-
-
1
TS12
Total
1
6
1
-
4
1
2
2
I
interest are the Perna perna shells which occur in sufficient numbers to indicate the
use of this mussel as food. People living at Nanda probably made regular trips to the
coast, some 22 km away, not only to collect iron ore but also to harvest shellfish
(Horwitz et a1 1991). Other than the P. perna and the oyster, the marine species
recovered from the site were apparently collected for decorative purposes. Most of
the terrestrial species are small with no food value and are of no archaeological
significance. Achatinids were used for bead production and possibly as food (Plug
1988) but most of the Nanda remains are fresh and probably are not coeval with the
archaeological deposits. Only the presence or absence of terrestrial species is
indicated in Table 4.
Soil samples
Soil samples were collected to test the possibility that the brownish-grey sand in
test squares south and east of Trench 4 was the remnants of cattle dung. These
samples were examined for phytoliths, the microscopic silica residues of grasses,
sedges and herbs. This technique is used to identify dung-deposits on archaeological
sites (Huffman 1990). Sand taken from the TS7 burial contained many phytoliths,
including clusters of linked phytoliths, suggesting the brownish-grey sand was the
remnants of a cattle byre (Huffrnan pers. cornm.). Phytoliths were also found in
samples of the brownish-grey sand collected from elsewhere on the site, including
TS32 which had a relatively high concentration. Soil samples other than the
brownish-grey sand, such as the Trench 8 topsoil, also contained phytoliths.
However, in these samples the phytoliths were shrouded in organic matter and are
most probably derived from recent growth (Prins pers. comm.).
WHITELAW: NANDA -CUSTOMS AND SETnEMENT PATTERNS
TABLE 4
Nanda mollusc remains. T = trench; G = Grid; P = pit; Bur = burial; TS = test square.
MARINE
Perna perna
Cypraea annulus
Cypraea sp.
Nassarius
kraussianus
Tivela polita
Veneridae
?Tivela polita
Glycymeris queketri
Glycymeris sp.
Oxystele tabularis
Nerita sp.
Ostrea sp.
Cardiidae
FRESHWATER
UniolAspafharia
TERRESTRIAL
Achatinidae
Trachycystis sp.
Tropidophora sp.
Gullela sp.
Subulinidae
Nata sp.
Rhytidae
Edouardia sp.
Tl
P2
G3
1
-
56
1
3
-
-
2
-
1
31
-
1
1
2
I
2
1
2
-
0
.
.
-
-
-
0
-
-
0
-
-
-
0
p
-
-
*
.
-
-
a
-
a
p
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
o
-
p
-
-
-
p
-
p
-
0
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
9
-
1
-
p
p
-
-
p
1
-
-
-
1
-
1
-
-
-
-
p
.
.
.
. .
p
p
-
p
-
Total
-
p
-
TS
12 39
-
-
-
-
6
p
-
-
-
-
-
-
I
-
9
-
p
1
1
-
2
p
1
-
-
-
Other
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
T13
P4
13
-
-
-
T4
P3
Burl Bur2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Because the phytolith analysis was not quantifiable and the brownish-grey deposit
was particularly sandy in comparison to dung deposits on other sites in the Mngeni
Valley (Whitelaw 1992), eight soil samples were submitted to the Soil Science
Laboratory at Cedara Agricultural Development Institute for chemical analysis.
These samples were the brownish-grey sand from TS7 (two samples), TS5 and TS32
(all three suspected of being dung), the dark soil at 90 cm in Pit 1 in Trench 1
(control from a pit), soil from TS18 (control from the termite mound), topsoil from
Trench 8 (control), and a hard, grey sand taken from a test-square excavated on the
northern side of the road opposite Trench 4 (control, chosen because, being grey and
sandy, it resembled the possible dung). The concentration (mgtl) of phosphorus in
each sample, measured as phosphate (P20,),is presented in Table 5.
With the exception of the pit, which provides a protected environment for its
contents, phosphorus concentrations are highest in TS7 and TS32, but low in TS5,
Trench 8, and the test-square north of the road. The intermediate concentration in
TS18 can probably be attributed to the nutrient enrichment which occurs in termite
mounds (Midgley & Hoffman 1991). Elsewhere in South Africa, high phosphorusconcentrations have been considered to indicate dung residues (Maggs 1971 & pers.
comm., Pistorius 1992). These results, therefore support the phytolith analysis of the
TS7 sample, suggesting that the brownish-grey sand was the remnants of an EIA
cattle byre.
NATAL MUSEUM JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES, VOL. 5 1993
TABLE 5
Phosphorus concentrations (mgfl) in the Nanda soil samples
Sample
TS7 (1)
TS7 (2)
TS32
TS5
Trench 1, Pit 1
TS18
Trench 8
north of road
P concentration
32
47
26
4
200
11
5
1
Because of the high phosphorus concentration in Trench 1, Pit 1, I examined the
sample for phytoliths. None was found, indicating that it could not be the remnants of
dung.
Other
Modem glass was found in the EIA cultural horizon in Trench 1 and Trench 4, F3.
The glass in Trench 4 clearly had fallen down a termite hole.
DISCUSSION
Iron ore, slag, tuyere fragments and vitrified furnace-daga suggest that iron was
produced at Nanda, as it was on most recorded EIA sites in Natal (Maggs 1 9 8 4 ~ ) .
The organisation of iron production in EIA settlements is currently a source of debate
in archaeology (Huffman 1990, Maggs 1992). Huffman argues that because smelting
was symbolically linked to procreation, it was subject to prohibitions such as
seclusion, and thus was done outside the settlement. Forging, however, did not have
these associations and often took place in the centre of the settlement. Maggs argues
that evidence from several EIA sites in Natal indicates that smelting took place in the
centre of the settlement. On another Mngeni Valley site a large iron-working,
probably forging, area was found next to several centrally situated cattle byres
(Whitelaw 1988), while an earlier horizon on the same site had both smelting and
smithing debris associated with cattle dung (Miller & Evans 1992, Whitelaw 1992).
The iron-working residues recovered from the byre area and Trench 4 on Nanda
suggest that cattle byres and iron-working were associated here too. The furnace
fragments from the Trench 4 vicinity and the ore from the byre area on Nanda favour
Maggs' position, but occurred in insufficient quantities to provide strong support and
are conceivably the product of secondary deposition.
Of particular interest are the human remains from Nanda. Pottery associated with
Burials 1 and 2 in Trench 4 indicates that both burials were contemporary with other
Msuluzi phase features on the site. Burial 2, the child, was the best preserved,
presumably because the body was forced into the pot. This happened before the body
had completely decomposed, suggesting that the pot was empty when placed in the
grave or filled with something (possibly vegetable matter) which decayed rapidly.
Interestingly, this pot and others from the burial pit are bottomless. Bottomless pots,
usually buried in pits, are considered by some archaeologists to have symbolic
significance (eg. Maggs 1980, Hall 1987, Van Schalkwyk 1991), and their presence
in the Burial 2 pit may be another indication of this symbolism.
WHITELAW: N A m A -CUSTOMS AND SETTLEMENT PATTERNS
73
It is less certain that the TS7 individual was associated with the other Msuluzi
features on the site. Sherds in TS7 were decorated in the Msuluzi style but these may
be unrelated to the burial. However, other than the few post-Msuluzi sherds on the
surface in the vicinity of Grid 3, Trench 13 and TS39, there were no stratified
deposits of different EIA phases on the central and western parts of the site.
Furthermore, the pattern of dental alteration on the TS7 individual is identical to that
of Burial 1 in Trench 4, strongly suggesting that she was contemporary with other
Msuluzi features on the site.
The two adult skeletons from Nanda are the first adult EIA skeletons excavated in
Natal which have skulls sufficiently well preserved to provide detailed information
on dental alteration patterns. Dental alteration was widespread in precolonial times
north of the Zambezi (Fagan et a1 1969), and is still practised by some people in
central Africa who fashion a V-shaped gap in the central upper incisors (Fagan 1967).
The practice has a long tradition in Africa. Bent (1896) quotes documents dating
back to the tenth century AD, in which Islamic observers referred to people who
sharpened their teeth to points. At Twickenham Road in Zambia, Phillipson (1970)
excavated a burial possibly dating to the second millennium with the four upper
incisors filed to points.
Further south, one individual from the Mapungubwe-related site of Skutwater and
four from K2 in the northern Transvaal have a V-shaped alteration of the upper
central incisors (Morris 1989). At the sixth-century site of Broederstroom, Burial 4
(possibly a female) near ash heap 24/73X, now identified as a cattle byre (Huffman
1990), had a dental alteration pattern resembling that of the Nanda adults (Mason
1981). Isolated teeth suggesting ritual tooth extraction were found in the 24/73U ash
heap, also now identified as a byre (Huffman 1990, Mason 1981). Similarly, the
isolated incisor found in Grid 3 on Nanda may be related to dental alteration (Plug
1993). Other first millennium sites on which dental alteration has been recorded
include Diamant, Klein Afrika, NaBa, Lanlory and Mount Ziwa (Huffman 1990).
Dental alteration among some people is carried out at puberty (Fagan 1967) and
may be associated with ethnicity or group identity (Huffman 1990, Moms 1989).
Huffman (1990) has suggested that dental alteration during the EIA may have been
restricted to select groups, or alternatively may have been a marker of formal
incorporation into the household. Among most southern African agriculturists, full
admission into adult society requires that young boys and girls are initiated, a process
which may involve some form of physical marking or alteration such as circumcision
or lengthening of the labia. The skeletal evidence from the first millennium strongly
suggests that initiation rites involved the removal and alteration of the incisors
(Moms 1992 1993). Because dental alteration resulted in an extreme and public
change in appearence of both sexes, it is probable that, rather than marking simple
sexual maturity, the operation marked the change from uninitiated child (and
therefore outside ordered society) into what Monnig (1967: 124) calls socio-political
maturity. Moreover, that dental alteration was performed on both sexes suggests that
boys and girls participated in a joint school (eg. Hammond-Tooke 1981, Krige &
Krige 1943) for at least part of the initiation process. If the identification of the sherd
discs as ear-lobe plugs is correct, it is possible that the piercing of the ear-lobe was
also part of the initiation process.
74
NATAL MUSEUM JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES, VOL. 5 1993
Moms (1992 1993) recently drew attention to the gaps between the ceramic teeth
of Lydenburg Heads numbers 3, 4 and 5 (Inskeep & Maggs 1975), noting that these
correspond precisely to the gaps created by the dental alteration to the Nanda and
other skulls. The Lydenburg Heads are believed to have been associated with
initiation ceremonies (Evers 1982, Evers & Harnmond-Tooke 1986, Inskeep &
Maggs 1975), and Moms' observation adds considerable support to this belief.
Despite the biotic disturbance evident in Trench 4, the presence of artefacts close
to the surface and the integrity of the pit features suggest that the termite mound
existed at the time of the EIA occupation. That this is possible is demonstrated by
research in the western Cape where some termite mounds have evidently been
occupied for as long as 4000 years (Midgley & Hoffman 1991). The Trench 4
termites were fungus growers (subfamily Macrotermitinae), a group which builds
massive termitaria by pushing up small heaps of soil from beneath the surface as the
nest size increases. With age and weathering, the accumulated soil heaps are reduced
to low grass covered mounds (Skaife 1979). Had the Trench 4 mound not existed at
the time of the occupation, the nest-building activity of the termites would probably
have covered the graves and pits to some depth in soil, and caused greater disruption
to the features than was evident. Indeed, it was probably the termite activity which
forced the body of Burial 2 into the pot soon after interment. Thus, the evidence
indicates that the termite mound was the chosen burial site for the Trench 4
individuals, rather than it having developed after the occupation.
The chemical profile and the phytolith content of the brownish-grey sand in TS7
suggest that the woman was buried in a cattle byre. Assuming that byres were
circular, the occurrence of the brownish-grey sand in the test squares is not consistent
with a single byre and there may have been two or more byres south of Trench 4.
Alternatively, dung may have spread beyond the confines of the byre after the
settlement was abandoned. This would explain the low phosphate levels in TS5
which was near the edge of the brownish-grey deposit and may have been excavated
at a point outside the original byre. Another byre may have been situated east of the
Trench 4 mound where, in TS32, both the phytolith numbers and the phosphorus
level were high.
Because they associate the cattle byre with the ancestors, southern African Bantuspeakers traditionally bury important people in the byre. These individuals are
usually men, but among the Pedi, for example, women of high status such as the wife
or mother of a chief may also be buried in the byre (Monnig 1967). The custom of
burying important people in byres is of considerable antiquity. At the Toutswe
Tradition site of Kgaswe in Botswana, for example, Denbow (1986) found only men
buried in the byre, while women and children were buried in the residential area.
Denbow also found burials in the byres of a number of other Toutswe Tradition sites
(Denbow 1982 1984).
Byre burials are considered by archaeologists to be one of the diagnostic features
of the Central Cattle Pattern (CCP), the settlement pattern found among patrilineal
Bantu-speakers w h o exchange cattle for wives (Huffman 1982 1986 1990, Kuper
1982). On Kgaswe, the different burial sites for men, women and children indicate,
together with the CCP layout of the site, that the link between status and byre graves
existed as early as the second half of the first millennium AD (Denbow 1986).
WHITELAW: NANDA - CUSTOMS AND SETnEMENT PATTERNS
75
Burials in or near cattle byres on four South African sites, including Nanda (Huffman
1990), suggest the link may go back at least to the mid-first millennium.
The Nanda burial pattern, with a woman in the byre and an adult man outside it,
appears to reverse the Kgaswe and recent pattern. However, the Trench 4 individuals
appear to have been buried between the byres situated to the east and south of Trench
4, and thus in the byre area. In addition, they were buried in a position of height
above the rest of the site. The termite mound may therefore have been considered a
more prestigious position than the byre itself. In this connection, it is interesting that
among the Kgaga 'it is said that the graves of chiefs and diviners turn into ant-heaps'
(Hammond-Tooke 1981: 19), while the Shona today apparently favour termitaria as
burial sites (Walker 1991: 45). The burial of the eight-year-old child in the byre area
is curious, but not unique. On the small Toutswe Tradition site of Lechana, Denbow
(1983) found a child burial in the byre. An undecorated pot had been placed next to
the body.
Out of this reconstruction of the burial patterns at Nanda flows the implication that
the TS7 individual was a woman of considerable status within the community, and,
furthermore, that women had greater status in Msuluzi society than they do today
among Nguni speakers and the southern Sotho. This was possibly also the case at
Broederstroom where Burial 4, the remains of a woman, was situated close to byre
24173X (Huffman 1990, Mason 1981). Unfortunately, it is not clear whether Burial 4
is related to the byre or whether it predates the byre (Mason 1981).
Grain controlled by the village or homestead head traditionally was stored in the
byre or the nearby men's assembly area, often in pits. The presence of pits in and
near cattle byres, like byre burials, therefore is regarded as evidence of the CCP
(Evers & Hammond-Tooke 1986, Huffman 1982 1986 1990). Pits have been found
associated with byres on EIA sites other than Nanda. At Broe,derstroom, two pits are
situated in a byre area. One contains washed-in dung. Washed-in dung was also
found in two other pits on the site and in pits on Lydenburg Heads Site and Klipspruit
(Huffman 1990). The two pits in the byre area on Broederstroom have a dung smear,
possibly to seal the pits against damp and insects, which strongly suggests that they
were used for storage (Huffman 1990). At Nanda the mud lining at the base of Pit 1
in Trench 1 may have served the same purpose.
However, EIA pits are enigmatic features. Most are filled with domestic debris
which often accumulated in a characteristic way; initially gradually, then dumped en
masse to fill the pit completely (Maggs & Michael 1976, Maggs & Ward 1984).
Some pits, like the TS3 pit, appear to have been filled completely with a single
dumping of material, suggesting that they were either grain pits which had fallen
recently into disuse or had been dug specifically for the purpose of refuse disposal
(Maggs & Michael 1976). Many contain a bottomless pot, which suggests there was
a symbolic element to the filling of the pits (Clark 1974, Hall 1987, Maggs 1980,
Maggs & Ward 1984, Van Schakwyk 1991).
Furthermore, the location of pits does not always match the expected location of
grain pits. Some are situated on the periphery of the site, in the residential area or
among daga features (Evers 1982, Maggs & Ward 1984, Whitelaw 1992). On Nanda,
despite being in the byre area, Pits 3 and 4 in Trench 4, and the TS3 pit, are unlikely
to have been used to store grain if, as is probable, the Trench 4 termite mound existed
76
NATAL MUSEUM JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES, VOL. 5 1993
at the time of occupation. Termites would have posed a serious threat to any grain
stored in these pits.
It may be fruitful to distinguish between the pits on the one hand, and the pit
fillings and pits such as TS3, on the other. The most conspicuous part of pit-fillings
are the bottomless pots and, in some cases, a mass of sherds and grindstone
fragments. Pots and people both owe 'their existence to having been irreversibly
transformed, by fire and by enculturation respectively, from a state of nature into
cultural entities' (David et a1 1988). David et a1 suggest that people recognise this
fundamental similarity between pots and themselves. Among Karanga-speakers in
Zimbabwe pots symbolise women, specifically the womb, and parallels are drawn
between the pot at various stages of manufacture and girls or women. For example, a
pot before firing is compared with a girl before puberty (Evers & Huffman 1988). It
is conceivable, therefore, that EIA pit fillings were related to girls' puberty or
initiation rituals which marked the transformation to adulthood. Among the Kgaga,
the lefagolong rite, carried out during girls' inititation, involves the pouring of beer
from small pots into the vaginas of girls held head downwards (Hammond-Tooke
1981). Hammond-Tooke speculates that this rite symbolises sexual intercourse, with
beer and semen being seen as analogous by the Kgaga. After the ritual, the pots are
broken which Hammond-Tooke sees as a symbolic defloration. EIA bottomless pots
in pits may be the product of a similar symbolic defloration, which involved the
careful breaking away of the base of a pot and, ultimately, its deposition together
with other associated debris into a pit. Certainly, the difference between the fauna1
samples recovered from the Grid 3 midden and the pits (Plug 1993) suggests the two
features were related to different activities.
Whether such a rite took place at puberty or was part of girls' initiation school
rituals is, of course, unknown. But the pit features are sufficiently common to suggest
that the rite occurred regularly. If they were linked to a girl's rite of passage, the
apparent regularity would seem to indicate they were associated with puberty rituals
which would certainly have occurred more frequently than initiation schools.
Initiation schools, given the comparitive rarity of mask fragments, were possibly
convened only once every few years. Furthermore, the presence of pits on almost all
EIA sites agrees with their association with puberty, as initiation schools were most
probably convened only at major political centres.
It is possible that on occasion more than one girl was involved in the rite, resulting
in the deposition of large quantities of material into the pit. The event may have
necessitated the seclusion of the girl or girls for a lengthy period, allowing an initial
gradual build-up of debris within the pit, which was filled finally at the end of the
seclusion period with the broken artefacts used by the girls while in seclusion. These
artefacts, given the possible association between pots and people, may have been
particularly suspectible to sorcery or witchcraft, necessitating their concealment in
pits.
The grass-impressed daga blocks from the AUG B6 daga feature are similar to
those from the Burial 2 pit and daga blocks found on EIA sites throughout southern
Africa. Although the AUG B6 feature was not well preserved, I found similar, betterpreserved features elsewhere in the Mngeni Valley. In these the blocks clearly form
elements of a rough floor which has broken into blocks in situ. In every example of
WHITELAW: NANDA - CUSTOMS AND SETTLEMENT PATTERNS
77
this type of feature, the grass-impressed sides of most of the blocks were embedded
in the ground with the smoother, floor-like sides exposed.
The smooth surfaces of many of the better-preserved Burial 2 pit blocks have
shallow indentations which may be the impressions of the knees and hands of the
people who laid the mud (Fig. 13.4). The grass-impressed sides of some pieces are
corrugated as if the mud had been pressed into gaps between wooden poles or logs,
but prevented from falling through the gaps by the grass laid upon the poles. On
many pieces the grass impressions run parallel to the corrugations. On others,
however, the impressions suggest that at least two fairly thick layers of grass were
laid on the poles, the first perpendicular to the poles and the second parallel to them.
The mud plaster therefore appears to have been smeared onto a well-prepared log
and grass platform.
The thickness of the daga blocks and their complete oxidation to a reddish-brown
colour indicate that they were completely surrounded by the fire's heat when burnt.
The plastered platform therefore must have been elevated. When burnt, the platforms
appear to have fallen to the ground as a single unit, so contributing to their relatively
intact appearance on the sites.
At Broederstroom (Mason 1981) and Makuru (Huffman 1973) stones supported
the platforms. Similar supporting stones were not found in the Mngeni Valley
examples nor on any other Natal sites, suggesting that either the stones were
dispersed or deliberately moved during recent agricultural activities, or, more likely,
the Mngeni Valley structures were raised on wooden poles.
Mason (1981) considered the Broederstroom features to be the remains of raised
huts, while Prinsloo (1981) offered the same interpretation for daga concentrations at
Klein Afrika. However, Huffman suggested the Makuru examples were the remains
of raised granaries, while Robinson (1961) interpreted similar remains at Mabveni as
those of a raised storage facility. Not only are granaries the structures most
commonly raised above the ground in traditional southern African settlements
(Brown 1969, Junod 1962, Mack et a1 1991), but daga floors in the Mngeni Valley
and elsewhere, presumably the remains of houses, were laid directly on the ground
surface. A more likely explanation for the grass-impressed daga features, therefore, is
that they are the remains of raised granaries. If the rather massive daga chunks in
Trench 4, square E4, were part of the same structure represented by the grassimpressed blocks in Burial 2 pit, then it is probable that the granaries were plastered
structures, such as those illustrated by Junod (1962: 27). This is supported by the
quantity of daga forming the granary remains on many sites (eg. Mason 1981: fig 5).
Sherds recovered from AUG B6 indicate that the feature is contemporary with the
other Msuluzi features on the site, and its proximity to the byre suggests that the two
features were part of the same settlement unit. Considering the size of previously
recorded EIA settlements (Maggs 1984a), the Grid 3 and TS39 middens were
probably also part of this settlement unit. Exactly how the various features were
related is uncertain, because not enough of the site was exposed by excavation.
However, the granary remains and the byres, separated by about 30 m, possibly
belong to different activity areas, say residential and byre areas.
The features on the central part of the site and those on the western parts of the site
may represent different settlement units. Between the central and western excavations
78
NATAL MUSEUM JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES.VOL. 5 1993
was a stretch of low-lying ground. While the excavations were in progress, this
ground was being cultivated and thus had a high degree of archaeological visibility.
Despite this, there was no sign of any artefacts or features in the ploughed field,
suggesting that the two parts of the site were separated by a stretch of open ground. If
this observation provides an accurate picture of the seventh-century settlement on
Nanda, then it seems that this site may have supported the homesteads of several
extended family groups, each spatially distinct from the others.
CONCLUSION
The excavations at Nanda confirmed much of what is already known about firstmillennium agriculturists. The site location, range of artefacts and the types of
features are similar to those from many other EIA sites in Natal and southern Africa.
Fauna1 remains indicate a strong dependence on domestic herds, as was found to be
the case in the Thukela Basin (Maggs 1980, Maggs & Michael 1976, Van Schalkwyk
1991, Voigt 1984, Voigt & Von den Driesch 1984). Clearly, both herding and
cultivation were viable economic strategies in the river valleys of Natal.
Economically, Nanda differs from these other sites in one respect; it is close
enough to the coast for regular shellfish-harvesting visits to have been possible. The
Nanda community, and communities like it, probably contributed substantially to the
accumulation of the coastal shell-middens (Horwitz et a1 1991). Whether or not these
visits were used also to collect ore from the Pietermaritzburg Shale Formation is
unknown, but it is clear that there was considerable movement of people across the
landscape during the EIA.
Nanda is important in that it provides evidence of the practice of dental alteration
by first millennium agriculturists. This operation probably was related to the
initiation of boys and girls into socio-political maturity, rather than to sexual
maturity. Morris' important observation of the gap in the teeth of the Lydenburg
Heads links the Heads to initiation. These elaborate objects strongly suggest that the
initiation process was surrounded by a considerable degree of ceremony. The typical
pit-fillings on EIA sites may also have been related to a rite of passage, although in
this case the ritual may have been linked to sexual maturity.
Though limited, the settlement pattern evidence suggests that the structural
relationship between men, women, cattle and wealth found today among southern
African Bantu-speakers existed as long ago as the seventh century AD. However, the
relationship between men and women in Msuluzi society may have been more
similar to that found among Sotho-speakers than among Nguni-speakers currently
living in Natal. In this respect Msuluzi society may have differed from Toutswe
society as represented by Kgaswe. It is tempting to wonder if dental alteration, today
and in the recent past, found mostly among matrilineal Bantu-speakers, is not another
indication of the more liberal nature of Msuluzi society with regard to relations
between the sexes.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Many people and organisations have played a role in the production of this paper. I
would like to thank the Department of Water Affairs for financing the rescue project
WHITELAW: NANDA -CUSTOMS AND SETTLEMENT PATTERNS
79
during the construction of Inanda Dam; Water Affairs personnel at the Dam between
1986 and 1989 for their friendship and assistance during the excavation years; Joseph
Mamogale, Simon Mabaso, John Mthethwa, S'Thembiso Hlengwa, Bizzar Tyokolo
and Mike Moon for their assistance on site; Tim Maggs and Tom Huffman for their
guidance, encouragement and patience, and together with Len van Schalkwyk, Aron
Mazel and Frans Prins, for endless discussions on first-millennium agriculturists;
Kathleen Mack, Val Ward and Tim Maggs for assistance with illustrations; Ntombi
Mkhize, Janice Sprackett, Gugu Kunene and Val Ward for their assistance with the
curation of the excavated material. For analyses, my thanks to Val Ward (shell disc
beads), Cedric Poegenpoel (fish remains), Ina Plug (fauna1 remains), Dai Herbert and
Dick Kilbum (shells), Alan Morris (human skeletal material), Aron Mazel (stone
tools), Rodney Maud (ore samples), John Lawrence and the Soil Science Laboratory
at Cedara Agricultural Development Institute and Tom Huffman (soils), Balt
Verhagen of the Schonland Research Centre, University of the Witwatersrand
(radiocarbon date). A version of this report formed part of my M. Sc. thesis for which
I received financial assistance from the University of the Witwatersrand Senior
Bursaries Fund and the Human Sciences Research Council.
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