KwaGandaganda: settlement patterns in the Natal Early Iron Age

Abstract

KwaGandaganda, an Early Iron Age site in the Mngeni valley near Durban, was excavated as part of a cultural resource management project. Stratigraphic, ceramic and radiocarbon evidence show that it was continuously occupied for a long period between the beginning of the seventh century and the early eleventh century AD. Large-scale conventional and mechanical excavation on KwaGandaganda revealed a range of features. Throughout the period of occupation these were arranged into a residential zone containing the remains of houses. raised granaries and pits, which surrounded a central zone with cattle byres, iron production residues and men's assembly areas. This arrangement, known as the Central Cattle Pattern, is evidence that Early Iron Age society was patrilineal, and one in which men exchanged cattle for wives.