The Hill of the Jackal

Located in South Africa, the Hill of the Jackal is held with much mystery and horrors from the locals. They dare speak of it in public and is held as a subject of taboo. Believed to be the first ancient African Kingdom, The Hill of the Jackal is also known as Mapungubwe.

Accessible only by two narrow paths, the journey to the top of Mapungubwe is not for the faint of heart. Beginning wide and periodically narrowing, the hill is 300 meters long. It has believed to be the beginning of Greater Zimbabwe and is greatly regarded as being a key player in the Zimbabwe ruins. ESJ van Graan and four others journeyed to the summit of the hill and observed the loss of such a powerful civilization as well as traps that were still intact to harm intruders. van Graan's son and Professor Leo Fouchè began the largest Iron Age archaeoloigical project by a Southern African university. The project continues today.

An estimated 1350 years ago was when a most powerful King built his home upon the top of the hill. This was probably to signify his royal status, being above all. The king was believed to have magical powers to make it rain that would keep the vegetation lush. Archaeological finds show us that those living at Mapungubwe were the first to keep dogs. These dogs however were pack-living animals, acting more like a wolf than our common dog.

Large amounts of treasure were found in a grave site in Mapungubwe, with gold covering the skeletons that were buried there. This probably belonged to the royals who lived in Mapungbwe, since we learned from the movie that great kings and queens were buried with great treasure before they were sealed. Mapungubwe is believed to have been the center of political life when it shifted to Mapungubwe from it's sister site, Bambadyanalo, in 1045 C.E. It was probably moved because of overpopulation. Mapungubwe was invested heavily in trading, its partners being China and India.

A great feature of Mapungubwe were the Baobab trees that are quite frequent throughout South Africa. These deciduous trees have some interesting and amazing characteristics including their amazing live span of up to 3000 years old as well as their branches looking more like roots, generating the nick name of upside-down tree. Also, they are very hard to kill, since it will continue to make new bark and grow, regardless in almost any circumstance, including trying to burn the bark. They're not immortal however; when they die they rot from within and collapse.

The Hill of the Jackal was discussed significantly in the movie we watched this past Wednesday, because it shows us the probable earliest existence where the community's leaders were separated from the rest of the community. Being the earliest kingdom in Africa, we can trace connections to the later civilizations in the area as well as wonder at what an interesting marvel the Hill of the Jackal is.

http://www.africangamesafari.com/limpopo_province.htmlcom/limpopo_province.html

http://www.openafrica.org/route/route-of-lost-kingdoms