Government C+ (Rachel)

Zimbabwe is thought to be established in 1100 to 1500. The empire had an estimated 18,000 people living their though out the years of the empire.

I gave the Zimbabwe empire a C+ because it was a fairly good and organized government. The Great Zimbabwe government was run more as a kingdom rather than a government. They were divided by classes from poor to rich like most empires. The empires was then separated into smaller "villages" and would be run by one of the wives of the Shanon king or by a vahozi. The Shanon king lived in the Dare which was where only nobles lived. The Zimbabwe empire wasn't as advanced in government as other empires in Africa, even though the empire lasted for four-hundred years. Archeologist believed that the empire was abandoned, this could have been caused by a weak government or other reason for abandoning the empire, but the government was not as strong as it could have been which make it the most likely reason why it fell apart. This is why I gave the Zimbabwe Empire a C+.

Religon: (Angel)

 For their religion like most they have a monotheistic faith. They are part chirstian and part traditional. The name they have for their god is Mwari. But you think that they would pray to the Mwari during difficult times in order to help cope a little. They actually have a spirit meduim so they can speak with their ancestors. As for it being something to unite people, I guess it would from a certain perspective. It was something that you had to do. Because faith had its greatest expression it became an authority, that you had to have it. And they consider "god" or in their terms the Mwari he was the surpreme creator. So in the end religion was a great concept in this place.

Economy (Mariah and Thomas)

Great Zimbabwe Empire  produced gold, ivory from elephants, clay for pottery, soapstone for carvings, beans, squash, millet which is a cereal plant generally used for bird food in today’s society, sorghum, which is a grain that was mainly used to feed livestock. Their trading was extensive, and the most significant compared to other ancient empires.The economy of the Great Zimbabwe Empire was successful for the most part. Archaeologists have found Chinese and Middle Eastern glass and ornaments in Zimbabwe, which tell us that they were an advanced trading empire. But being great at trading did not help very many of their people. They were split into two classes. The rich lived inside the city walls, and then everybody else lived outside. Other than trading, people living in Great Zimbabwe didn't have very much contact with others. They kept to themselves and let many others into the empire. The Great Zimbabwe Empire  produced gold, ivory from elephants, clay for pottery, soapstone for carvings, beans, squash, millet which is a cereal plant generally used for bird food in today’s society, sorghum, which is a grain that was mainly used to feed livestock. Their trading was extensive, and the most significant compared to other ancient empires Overall,we  give the economy of Great Zimbabwe a B. They had a very advanced level of trade, but they were not a relatively big or wealthy empire. Also, because of their different classes, it was very hard for the poor to become wealthy, which gave rich people the power.

Great Zimbabwe’s Arts and Architecture: B+ (Brandon

          In the Great Zimbabwe’s empire there were very few pieces of art. But the most famous pieces of art, were the eight great birds carved of soap stone. The birds were mounted columns more than a yard tall and are themselves on average sixteen inches tall. The sculptures combine both human and bird like elements, substituting human features like lips for a beak and five-toed feet for claws. Excavated at the turn of the century, it is known that six of the sculptures came from the Eastern Enclosure of the Hill complex, but unfortunately their precise arrangement can only be guessed. Scholars have said that the birds served as emblems of royal authority, perhaps representing the ancestors of Great Zimbabwe's rulers.

          The most famous architectural structure of the Great Zimbabwe was the Great enclosure. The ruins of this complex of massive stone walls undulate across almost 1,800 acres of present-day southeastern Zimbabwe. Begun during the eleventh century A.D. by Bantu-speaking ancestors of the Shona, Great Zimbabwe was constructed and expanded for more than 300 years in a local style that eschewed rectilinear for flowing curves. Neither the first nor the last of some 300 similar complexes located on the Zimbabwean plateau, Great Zimbabwe is set apart by the terrific scale of its structure. Its most formidable and large, commonly referred to as the Great Enclosure, has walls as high as 36 feet extending approximately 820 feet, making it the largest ancient structure south of the Sahara Desert. 

          Great Zimbabwe's most enduring and impressive remains are its stone walls. These walls were constructed from granite blocks gathered from the exposed rock of the surrounding hills. Since this rock naturally splits into even slabs and can be broken into portable sizes, it provided a convenient and readily available building resource. All of Great Zimbabwe's walls were fitted without the use of mortar by laying stones one on top of the other, each layer slightly more recessed than the last to produce a stabilizing inward slope. Early examples were coarsely fitted using rough blocks and incorporated features of the landscape such as boulders into the walls. Over the years the technique was refined, and later walls were fitted together closely and evenly over long, serpentine courses to produce remarkably finished surfaces. In other words the walls were held together by pure placement of the granite blocks and the weight of the blocks.

           The same size granite blocks helped keep the wall neat and stand strong. It was a technical advancement of their time. The massive 36 ft. walls kept them safe and sound due to the fact that invading forces could not get through the wall. And their art was creative because it had both bird like characteristics and human characteristics in their soap stone birds.

Technology C+ (Rachel)

I gave Great Zimbabwe a C+ for technology because there were not many advancements within their society, compared to other empire's in Africa. Yet one of Zimbabwe's greatest advancements was that they went from the stone age to the iron age this meant they skipped to ages between the stone and iron age. Zimbabwe was a major trade route for caravans carrying good and ideas from distant lands.  Along this route archeologists found spindle whorls used for sewing and weaving.  These whorls gave the people of Zimbabwe the ability to export clothing and rugs to other surrounding countries.
 One of their bigger achievements was fusing metals like iron, copper, and bronze.  They made tools such as axe's, arrow points, knives, and iron shovels. This helped advance them in the work to gold mining which became a major part of their livelihood.
 Archeologist's have also found pieces of clay and soap stone, which can tell us where the people traded and what they traded to other civilizations.They used the soap stone to make carvings of nature such as the native bird in the picture above.  Even though the empire had major advancements they were borrowing idea's from other civilizations not their own. This is why the technology of Zimbabwe deserves a C+.

Society B (Angel and Mariah)

          There society was very organized and stable. Some of the places that the people lived in were huts within the building so the rulers had more room and space for themselves and the goods they get. They had wealth through cattle which had their population expand to about 10,000 people. Some of the people lived a little bit away from the stone buildings, while 200 to 300 people lived in the edifices of the buildings. But it was only the more important people. For this section i give it a grade of a B. Because with the wealth they had was able to make them grow in population. especially for a small place.  In the Great Zimbabwe Empire there was no slavery, so it was peaceful, and overall a great place to live.  The overall grade of the Great Zimbabwe empire was a B because it was organized, and peaceful. 

     

Overall Grade C+

The Final Grade I gave the Zimbabwe Empire was a C+. The economy was well organized and they benefited a lot from trade. Their religion gave them hope which helped them through hard times. The  government was not as organized as it could have been. Technology had no advancements because most of their technology ideas come from other countries they traded with. Zimbabwe's Art and Architecture was good because of how the people of the empire built the walls. Their society was not good there was really no way you could move up in society which does not make a good empire. This is why I gave the Great Zimbabwe Empire a C+.