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Town-State Formations on the Edge of the Kalahari
Social-Cultura Dynamics of Centralization in Northern Tswana Kingdoms
in Social Analysis
Author:
Ørnulf Gulbrandsen
Ørnulf Gulbrandsen
University of Bergen Ornulf.Gulbrandsen@uib.no
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While the people of pre-colonial and colonial societies in Africa often lived in scattered, sparse settlements, the people of the Northern Tswana kingdoms (present-day Botswana) were found in large towns with thousands of residents. This is puzzling in view of their location on the edge of the Kalahari, where such concentrations would normally be least expected. Moreover, while pastoralism is generally considered antithetical to the formation of densely settled populations, cattle have featured centrally in these kingdoms' political economy. Breaking away from ecological determinism, the author argues that the role played by cattle in these societies was mediated through social and political processes that favor both state formation and large, compact settlements. The article is particularly concerned with the centripetal forces vested in the cultural and symbolic wealth of Tswana royal towns.