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Böhmer-Bauer, Kunigunde. "Great Zimbabwe : eine ethnologische Untersuchung /." Köln : R. Köppe, 2000. http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb37629678j.
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Musa, Caston Tamburayi. "Eluvial chromite resources of the Great Dyke of Zimbabwe." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007731.
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Apart from the concentrations of chromite in layers within the Great Dyke and other ultramafic complexes, chromite also occurs as interstitial grains throughout the olivine-bearing rock-types. These olivine-bearing rocks include no rites, gabbros, dunites and pyroxenites. Chromite concentration in these rocks varies from 0.48 to 3.09 per cent of the rock, usually in the form of chromite (Ahrens, 1965; Worst, 1960). A small fraction of this chromite settled to form chromitite layers whilst the remainder is retained within the rock mass as finely disseminated chromite and chromite interstitial to olivine. This retained chromite is much finer grained than layer chromite and is the primary source of eluvial chromite (Cotterill, 1981). During weathering of the serpentine rock and transportation by rainwater, the heavier chromite and magnetite grains are re-deposited along watercourses and vleis or valleys as the speed of the water is retarded sufficiently for the heavier particles to settle. The lighter serpentine material is removed and the chromite concentration in the soil is increased, thus resulting in eluvial chromite (Keech et ai, 1961; Worst, 1960; Prendergast, 1978). The concentration of chromite particles in soil can be up to 15 (or more) Cr₂O₃ %, resulting in economic and exploitable deposits, located primarily along the Great Dyke fiacks. A preliminary evaluation of the eluvials indicate that the Great Dyke could be host to up to 10 million tonnes of potential chromite concentrates which could be processed from such eluvial concentrates. These chromite-rich soils can be mined more cheaply than the traditional seams mining and processed into chromite concentrates through simple mechanical processing techniques of spirals, jigs and heavy media separators. The resultant chromite concentrates are of high quality and can be used to manufacture chromite ore briquettes, which are an alternative to lumpy chromite smelter feed. The main challenges to eluvial mining are the inevitable environmental degradation and coming up with methods that could possibly mitigate against such environmental damage. The distribution of these eluvials over vast plains as thin soil horizons, necessitate use of mobile concentrator plants and hence establishment of extensive infrastructure. These challenges, however, are not insurmountable and test mining and previous production runs have proved profitable. The eluvials are also associated with some lateritic nickel concentrations. The nickel occurs in close association with some oxide such as goethite and garnierite and is associated with iron-manganiferous soil pisolites. The analyses of these pisolites indicate high nickel grades of generally above 1.00 %Ni. Such high nickel-content of Great Dyke laterites warrant, further investigations.
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Musasa, Gabriel. "Challenges for rural tourism development in Zimbabwe: a case of the Great Zimbabwe Masvingo area." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1007317.
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The main focus of this study is the challenges of rural tourism development in Zimbabwe. The study identified that there is a lack of sustainable interventions in the development of rural tourism which is catalyzed by the absence of rural tourism promotion strategy to support the sustenance of livelihoods through socio-economic transformation. Meaningful socio economic transformation in the African rural areas through tourism remains a major development challenge. Development initiatives through different forms of tourism in the rural communities, has to a less magnitude benefited the rural communities and have negatively impacted the socio–economic environment. A qualitative research methodology and case study design was employed in order to have a deeper understanding of the experiences of the society around this project. Face to face interviews and focus group discussions guides were used to collect primary data. Purposive and convenience sampling techniques was employed to select respondents. Data was analysed using the transformative theory and sustainable livelihoods theory and was organized into categories and themes. The study established that the absence of a strategy is caused by political instability, community conflict, lack of finance, marketing, poor communication, and limited knowledge of tourism. All the aforementioned reasons complement each other and poise a challenge to the sustainability of rural tourism development. For Zimbabwe to effectively transform its economy through tourism, the government needs to plan the process, formulate and implement relevant economic and social development strategies and policies. Although this dissertation is a case study of sustainable rural tourism in Zimbabwe, it can be used to appreciate the role of tourism in bringing about socio-economic transformation and sustaining livelihoods in developing countries.
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Chakupa, Tendai. "Environmental management in chrome mining along the Great Dyke : a case study of Zimasco Operations." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/17922.
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Thesis (MSc(Geography and Environmental Studies))--University of Stellenbosch, 2011.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In an area where mining activities dominate, there are likely to problems that need effective environmental management approaches, which can be facilitated through legislation and environmental management systems (EMS). The Great Dyke in Zimbabwe is a strategic economic resource with significant quantities of chrome and platinum. Chrome mining occurs across the whole length of the Great Dyke with most of the operations under Zimasco claims. Zimasco mining operations fall into two categories: the organization‟s own claims operated in its own right and claims that are leased out to a second party forming a tribute system from which tributor miners produce chromite ore exclusively for Zimasco. This study examines the environmental management approaches used by Zimasco operations, in particular the National Occupational Safety Association (NOSA) Integrated Five Start System, in order to identify the usefulness of EMS in the mining industry. Firstly, the current environmental impacts associated with the mining activities were identified and problem areas highlighted, after which environmental management approaches linked to national legislation were examined in terms of their contribution towards sound environmental management. A legal compliance checklist was carried out on the existing mines to assess levels of compliance to standards stipulated in the Environmental Management Act Chapter 20:27. This was followed by questionnaire surveys used for impact identification and the data was analysed using the aspect and impact analysis matrix. Underground mines with effluent discharges were assessed by means of an effluent analysis as a way of determining the effectiveness of the approaches on the mines. Recommendations for changes were made following a Strength Weaknesses Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis of the approaches and system. Major environmental problems highlighted included unattended waste rock dump and pits as well as dissolved substances in effluent discharge. Although evidence of compliance to environmental legislation for the mining operations was found at administrative level, this was often not executed in operation. Limited hazards were observed in effluent discharge from mines under full implementation of the EMS. It is recommended that all mining operations need to be covered by an EMS system for improved environmental management and sustainable development. Effective implementation of legislation and EMS on the ground provides a better platform for sound environmental management.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In 'n area waar grootskaalse mynbou aktiwiteite die omgewing kan affekteer word effektiewe omgewingsbestuur benodig. Die Groot Dyk in Zimbabwe is 'n strategiese ekonomiese hulpbron met groot hoeveelhede chroom en platinum. Chroom word grotendeels onder Zimasco kleims langs die Groot Dyk ontgin. Zimasco mynbedrywighede val in twee kategorieë: eerstens eie kleims wat direk deur Zimasco bedryf word, en tweedens kleims wat aan 'n tweede party verhuur en bewerk word en chroom eksklusief aan Zimasco lewer. Die omgewingsbestuursbenadering wat deur die Zimasco mynbedrywighede gebruik word, veral die NOSA Geïntegreerde Vyfster Stelsel, is bestudeer om vas te stel of omgewingsbestuurstelsels (OBS) effektief kan wees in die mynbedryf. Eerstens is die huidige omgewingsimpte veroorsaak deur mynbedrywighede geïdentifiseer en probleemareas uitgelig. Verder is die omgewingsbestuursbenadering in die lig van nasionale wetgewing bestudeer om die bydrae tot gesonde omgewingsbestuur toe te lig. 'n Lys is opgestel waarin die mate waartoe geselekteerde myne aan bestaande wetgewing voldoen bepaal is. Vraelyste is ook gebruik om die omgewingsimpak te identifiseer en data is met behulp van die aspek en impak analise matriks geanaliseer. 'n Afvoeranalise is op ondergrondse myne gedoen ten einde die effektiwiteit van omgewingsbestuursbenadering op die myn te bepaal, terwyl 'n SWOT analise van beide die benadering en die NOSA Vyfster Stelsel uitgevoer is met die oog op aanbevelings. Die belangrikste omgewingsimpakte langs die Groot Dyk sluit in: afvalrotshope, kuipe en slote vanaf oppervlakbedrywighede asook opgeloste afval in afloop vanaf ondergrondse myne. Bewyse van voldoening aan omgewingswetgewing is wel gevind in myndokumentasie, maar nie altyd in die praktyk nie. Laer vlakke van toksiese uitvloeisel vanaf myne waar OBS geïmplementeer is, is bewys van die suksesvolle gebruik van „n geïntegreerde OBS. Alle mynaktiwiteite moet ingesluit word in „n OBS stelsel om beter omgewingsbestuur en volhoubare ontwikkeling te verseker. Effektiewe implementering van wetgewing en OBS op die laagste vlak in mynaktiwiteite bied 'n beter platform vir gesonde omgewingsbestuur in die mynbedryf.
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Murahwi, Charley Zvinaiye. "The geology of the Unki platinum-base metal deposit, Selukwe subchamber, great dyke, Zimbabwe." Thesis, Rhodes University, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005574.
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This thesis focuses on platinu'm group element (PGE) mineralization in the Unki Section of the Selukwe Subchamber of the Great Dyke (Zimbabwe), and is based on drill hole intersections and underground and surface exposures of the Main Sulphide Zone (MSZ) which hosts significant concentrations of PGE. The petrological and geochemical data presented are part of a broader study currently underway and the present are restricted to the 2m section of the PGE-rich MSZ encountered in drill hole MR126. The PGE-rich MSZ at Unki is unique in having a shear, locally referred to as the Footwall Shear, developed at or close to its base . It is however, similar to the other PGE occurrences on the Great Dyke (MSZ) in having its hanging-wall restricted to within 1m of the websterite/bronzitite contact. Slight axial tilting to t he west is indicated by steeper dips on the eastern flank. The sulphide concentration wit hin the MSZ can be used as a rough guide to the PGE-rich zone, but is not sufficiently precise to be used in stope control. The visual identification of the potentially mineable zone remains a problem that is unlikely to be solved. Based on petrological evidence, the bulk of the sulphides with which the PGE are associated, are cumulus in status. This provides unequivocal evidence for an orthomagmatic origin of the MSZ. The dominant platinum group mineral (PGM) phase is the Arsenide/Sperrylite group which is most commonly found at the contact zones between base metal sulphides (BMS) and gangue. The PGM range up to 90 ~m in length. Geochemical evidence from the analyses of cumulate orthopyroxenes through the 2m PGE-rich MSZ interval at Unki reveals a trend of arked Fe enrichment upwards which corresponds to an enrichment in sulphide. This indicates that precipitation of sulphide was caused by fractionation with lowering of temperature in the magma. The Fe enrichment is followed by a reversal in Mg# of orthopyroxene which corresponds to the decrease in sulphide content, suggest i ng that the termination of the PGE-rich MSZ was due to an increase in temperature associated with an influx of new magma. Coupled with these magmatic events are a complex interplay of chemical and physical processes occurring at a critical stage in the overall fractionation of the Great Dyke magma chamber. The overall persistence and continuity of t he PGE zone as observed in the Unki area is consistent with the inferred orthomagmatic origin of the mineralization
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Fontein, Joost. "The silence of Great Zimbabwe : contested landscapes and the power of heritage." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/24577.
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This thesis focuses on the Great Zimbabwe National Monument, in southern Zimbabwe, which is often described as the largest prehistoric building in sub-Saharan Africa. Great Zimbabwe's historiography has been dominated by a contest over its past which became known as the 'Zimbabwe Controversy'. Cited as evidence of an ancient, foreign civilisation by Rhodesian apologists, Great Zimbabwe was used to provide historical legitimacy for the colonisation. Such claims to legitimacy were seriously undermined by archaeologists who demonstrated the African origin of the site. This thesis begins by reviewing this controversy, arguing that apart from the overt political contest it embodied, it was also a contest over authority to represent the past. Through claims to objectivity and scientific methodology archaeologists were ultimately able to establish the authority of their narratives. This professionalisation of the representation of the past not only prevailed over colonialist interpretations but also the narratives, perspectives and claims over Great Zimbabwe made by various competing local clans, for whom Great Zimbabwe was, and is, a sacred place of considerable significance. Based on long term ethnographic field work, this study considers Great Zimbabwe's position in local contests between, and within, the Nemanwa, Charumbira and Mugabe clans over land, power and authority. These contests pre-date colonisation and continue today, having become intricately ingrained in the 'history-scapes' and identities of each clan. To justify their claims, elders of each clan make appeals to different, but related, constructions of the past. Despite their differences, local narratives about Great Zimbabwe's role as a sacred (or desecrated) site are remarkably similar. Emphasising the disappearance of the ' Voice' of Mwari that used to speak there, they describe the destruction and desecration of Great Zimbabwe that occurred, and continues, through the archaeological and heritage processes by which Great Zimbabwe has become a national and international heritage site today. For local 'traditionalists' it is the refusal to respect the wishes of the ancestors, the 'true owners of the soil', that continues to cause the desecration of Great Zimbabwe and the silence of the ancestors. This thesis also considers the political use of Great Zimbabwe by the Zimbabwean nationalist movement. This was done in two complementary ways corresponding to Chatterjee's argument (1993) that anti-colonial nationalisms have both an 'authentic spiritual domain' and a 'derived material domain'. While for the nationalist elite Great Zimbabwe was as an example of past African achievement, for 'traditionalists' and guerrillas the site became associated with the ancestral legitimacy of the struggle. Here Great Zimbabwe was elevated to the status of 'national sacred site', which has resulted in numerous and continuing calls for national ceremonies to be held at Great Zimbabwe to thank the ancestors for their assistance during the war. The failure of the authorities (NMMZ) to effectively respond to these calls illustrates Chatterjee's argument that it is in the movement from colonial to postcolonial state that there has been 'a surrender to the old forms of the modern state' (1993:11). In 1986 Great Zimbabwe became a World Heritage Site; this study looks at how the adoption of international heritage requirements by NMMZ have led to the increasing professionalisation of Great Zimbabwe's management. Appeals to international heritage standards have been used by NMMZ to solidity its authority at Great Zimbabwe. Local communities have therefore continued to be marginalised through appeals not only to its 'national status' but also its 'World Heritage' status. Finally the thesis describes recent attempts by NMMZ to involve local communities in their conservation efforts and considers how these efforts relate to the concerns of wider heritage discourses about the role of local communities in the management of sites. The thesis examines the extent to which increasing local participation may amount to the cooptation of locals to 'new' international objectives on 'living' and 'spiritual' heritage, rather than genuine consultation.
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Matenga, Edward. "The Soapstone Birds of Great Zimbabwe : Archaeological Heritage, Religion and Politics in Postcolonial Zimbabwe and the Return of Cultural Property." Doctoral thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för arkeologi och antik historia, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-160193.
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At least eight soapstone carvings of birds furnished a shrine, Great Zimbabwe, in the 19th century. This large stonewalled settlement, once a political and urban centre, had been much reduced for four centuries, although the shrine continued to operate as local traditions dictated. The Zimbabwe Birds were handed down from a past that has only been partially illuminated by archaeological inquiry and ethnography, as has the site as such. This thesis publishes the first detailed catalogue of the Birds and attempts to reconstruct their provenance at the site based on the earliest written accounts. A modern history of the Birds unfolds when the European settlers removed them from the site in dubious transactions, claiming them as rewards of imperial conquest. As the most treasured objects from Great Zimbabwe, the fate of the Birds has been intertwined with that of the site in a matrix of contested meanings and ownership. This thesis explores how the meanings of cultural objects have a tendency to shift and to be ephemeral, demonstrating the ability of those in power to appropriate and determine such meanings. In turn, this has a bearing on ownership claims, and gives rise to an “authorized heritage discourse” syndrome. The forced migrations of the Zimbabwe Birds within the African continent and to Europe and their subsequent return to their homeland decades later are characterised by melodramatic episodes of manoeuvring by traders, politicians and theologians, and of the return of stolen property cloaked as an amicable barter deal, or a return extolled as an act of generosity. International doctrines that urge the return of cultural property are influenced by Western hegemonic ideologies. Natural justice is perverted, as stolen property acquires a (superior) significance in its new context, which merits the extinction of the original provenance. This leaves “generosity” and goodwill as the promises of the future, holding the fate of one Zimbabwe Bird still kept in exile in South Africa.
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Furberg, Burén Frida. "Great Zimbabwe as Illustrated : A Discourse Analysis of Today's Representation of the Monument." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för arkeologi och antik historia, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-413714.
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This study investigates the current discourses of Great Zimbabwe by analysing traces of colonial terminology within present-day literary illustrations. The aim is to identify western ideas and perspectives still dominant within the discourses and explore its implications. By conducting research on how Great Zimbabwe is being illustrated today within academic literature as well as more popular texts, the study demonstrates the role and power of discourse in relation to questions regarding who is authorized to write history and define heritage. Special focus is placed on discourse’s implications on the perception of reality and identity within a context heavily tainted by colonialism. This investigation is a pilot study which hopes to encourage further research on the representation of heritage sites that are vulnerable to political discourses.Studien undersöker den nuvarande diskursen kring Stora Zimbabwe genom att identifiera och analysera spår från den koloniala terminologin inom dagens litterära illustrationer. Syftet är att urskilja dominanta västerländska idéer och perspektiv inom diskursen och granska dess inflytande. Genom att undersöka hur Stora Zimbabwe illustreras inom dagens akademiska och mer populära litteratur kan studien demonstrera diskursens roll och maktposition, vilket leder till frågor om vem som bär på rätten att definiera historia och kulturarv. Speciellt fokus har lagts på diskursens påverkan vad gäller hur människan uppfattar verkligheten och hur identiteter formas inom den koloniala kontexten. Underökningen är en förstudie som hoppas kunna uppmuntra vidare forskning som behandlar representationen av kulturarv som formats och påverkats av politiska diskurser.
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Mushimbo, Creed. "Land reform in post-independence Zimbabwe a case of Britain's neo-colonial intrancigence /." Connect to this title online, 2005. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=bgsu1131378400.
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Chiripanhura, Pauline. "Archaeological collections as a prime research asset: objects and Great Zimbabwe's past." Doctoral thesis, University of Cape Town, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/27947.
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This thesis sought to explore the lifeways of second-millennium AD inhabitants of Great Zimbabwe through the analyses of material objects housed in museums. Great Zimbabwe comprises walled stone enclosures and non-walled settlements covering approximately 720ha. A number of data acquisition techniques, such as desktop survey, analyses of museum collections, supplementary field survey and excavations, were employed to collect relevant datasets to address the research questions. The sampling strategy adapted for this research enabled the study of material objects from different components making up Great Zimbabwe. The main conclusions drawn from this study are as follows: (i) Within varying temporal scales, the nature and distribution of local and imported objects are largely similar across the site; (ii) chronologically and typologically speaking, there is evidence that different parts of the site were occupied and abandoned at different times; and (iii) based on the similarities in material objects and associated production debris and infrastructure, it is likely that different components were self-sufficient units. This study has underscored the significance of existing collections in developing new interpretations of Great Zimbabwe's past lifeways, thereby motivating for the need for similar work to understand the hundreds of similar settlements scattered across southern Africa.
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Ngwaru, Cathrine. "Improving Pre-Service Teacher Development Practices in English as a Second Language: A case of Secondary School Teacher Preparation at Great Zimbabwe University in Zimbabwe." University of the Western Cape, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/6373.
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Philosophiae Doctor - PhD ( Language Education)Ordinarily, Teacher Development at the level of Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) at Great Zimbabwe University (GZU) comes in two major phases spread over four years - the theoretical and the practical based phases. The theoretical phase comes in the form of courses based on pedagogical content and professional knowledge in the initial years at the university while the practical based phase comes in the form of school-based Teaching Practice (TP) for real and direct teaching experiences. The initial theoretical phase is often based on the liberal arts-like education to develop the whole teacher for adaptable life-long service. This is translated by a number of subject that can vary according the dictates of the focus of a particular national curriculum. TP on the other hand, provides student-teachers the opportunity to apply not only the knowledge acquired in the initial phase but also the schoolbased curriculum they are immersed in plus other contextual experiences they might have. If well-structured and blended, the two phases may ensure a smooth transition from a novice student teacher to an expert professional teacher for long-life practice.
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Mason-Apps, Alexander Dymoke. "The petrology and geochemistry of the lower pyroxenite succession of the Great Dyke in the Mutorashanga area." Thesis, Rhodes University, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005602.
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This thesis focuses on the petrology and geochemistry of the lower Pyroxenite Succession of the Great Dyke of Zimbabwe in an area to the south ofMutorashanga. Particular emphasis is placed upon the economically important chromitite C5, and on the pervasive serpentinization of olivinerich rocks. An overview of the Great Dyke, including the Satellite Dykes, the structure and stratigraphy of the Great Dyke, the economic resources of the Great Dyke, and the evolution of the Great Dyke magma, is given. A review of the geodynamic history of the Zimbabwe Archaean craton, which culminated in widespread cratonisation and emplacement of the Great Dyke is also provided. The silicate rocks of the lower Pyroxenite Succession are highly adcumulate dunites and orthopyroxenites, with well-developed granular textures and a restricted mineral assemblage of olivine and pyroxene, with very minor plagioclase and clinopyroxene. Within cyclic units, the silicate rocks commonly display a textural and modal progression from granular dunite through poikilitic harzburgite, granular harzburgite, and olivine orthopyroxenite, to granular orthopyroxenite. Chromitites commonly occur at the base of each cyclic unit, these are thin, massive, coarse-grained layers, and are shown to be modified, texturally and compositionally, by postcumulus annealing processes. The olivine-rich rocks are pervasively serpentinized to a depth of over 300 metres. The serpentites typically display well-developed pseudomorphic mesh textures, with a slight overprint of nonpseudomorphic interpenetrating textures and late-stage cross-cutting veins. X-Ray diffraction studies indicate that chrysotile is the dominant serpentine mineral, and also reveal the presence of a nickeliferous magnesium hydroxide, occurring as an intimate admixture with serpentine, and believed to be a nickel-bearing analogue of brucite. Mineral and whole rock compositions of chromitite and silicate rocks highlight the strongly magnesian nature of the Ultramafic Sequence. Studies ofthe footwall chromites below chromitite C5 are consistant with a model of replenishment of primitive magma into the Great Dyke magma chamber, at the base of each cyclic unit. The magma injection and subsequent mixing with the evolved resident magma gives rise to chromitite fonnation, and a causes a reversal of the fractionation trend, resulting in a return to more primitive compositions in the silicate rocks. The silicates display an overall fractionation trend that reflects the evolving composition of the parental magma.
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Sonnenberg, Liesl. "A comparison of the commoner material culture to that of the elite material culture at Great Zimbabwe." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25526.
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This dissertation presents the results of a study done on the area situated outside of the Outer Perimeter Wall, believed to be the commoner area at Great Zimbabwe. The methodology used in this study combined archival with artefact studies and archaeological field work. The study aimed to acquire an understanding of the uses at the commoner area at Great Zimbabwe. Focus was aimed at material culture used by the underclass to understand how it compares with that of the upper class. The comparison between the elite and non-elite areas showed that there was not a large difference between the material cultures. The ceramic analysis showed an expansion of Great Zimbabwe over time. These results are important and offer a new perspective on the social stratigraphy of the Great Zimbabwe civilization. The differences found related to objects of power, such as stone walling and soapstone artefacts; these objects only being seen in the elite areas. This study offers a new perspective in the analysis of Great Zimbabwe, and the methodology could be used as a foundation for future studies of ancient civilizations world-wide.
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House, Michell. "Straight from the cow's mouth: investigating procurement and management strategies in cattle supplied to Great Zimbabwe using a multi-isotopic approach." Doctoral thesis, Faculty of Science, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/32684.
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Great Zimbabwe was the centre of an ancient Shona state from AD1200- 1700. It is known for its magnificent architecture and involvement in long-distance (intercontinental) and local (inter-regional) trade. In this society, cattle were vitally important in social, economic and political spheres. However, the origins and herd management strategies of cattle from Great Zimbabwe have never been explored using empirical evidence, although researchers have proposed seasonal transhumance between upland and lowland regions. In this thesis, measurements of 87Sr/86Sr, δ 18O, δ13C and δ15N profiles in serial samples of tooth enamel and dentine from 27 archaeological cattle teeth enable investigation of several aspects of cattle procurement and management. Taken together, the isotope measurements show that cattle at Great Zimbabwe came from a broad geographical area. Some cattle were raised (for the first year of life) less than 40kms away from Great Zimbabwe, most were raised in the lowveld of the country between 40 and 120kms south of the site and some may have moved between the two areas. Cattle fed mainly on C4 grass throughout the period from AD1300 to 1600, although some also consumed limited amounts of browse. Heterogenous δ 13C profiles indicate that animals derived from different environments, and that calves were born at different times of year. This study emphasises the advantages of using multiple isotopes to extract maximum information from archaeological tissues. In combination with the distribution of material culture, particularly from sites coeval with Great Zimbabwe, this study contributes to our understanding of the flow of key resources within the Zimbabwe state, enhancing knowledge of relationships between sites and regions. This study emphasises how economically connected the landscape was during the thriving of the Zimbabwe state. It makes a significant contribution to our hitherto very limited knowledge of the flow of regional (as opposed to imported) commodities. Future work should target lesser studied Zimbabwe-type sites in southern Zimbabwe to further explore interactions and relationships between hinterland sites and their centres.
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Butak, Kevin Clifford. "Multi-Scale Magnetic Stratification of an Ultramafic-Mafic Complex: Example of the Great Dyke of Zimbabwe and Implications for Magmatic Differentiation." OpenSIUC, 2011. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/theses/726.
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Layered mafic intrusions represent an important aspect of magmatism on earth and have occurred from Archean to present times. Literature on the geochemistry and petrology of these intrusions abounds but their physical properties, which could provide significant constraints on their formation, have seldom been investigated. Classic petrological methods such as whole-rock geochemistry, textural analysis and mineral chemistry have been applied to several intrusions of various ages. Most of these methods are relatively expensive or time intensive which limits high resolution studies. On the contrary, magnetic methods are typically inexpensive and fast and have been successfully applied to various occurrences of mafic rocks. In this study, several magnetic methods have been applied to a 600 m-long continuous borehole core drilled through one of the world's largest layered mafic intrusion, the Great Dyke of Zimbabwe. The main goal of this study is to constrain the magmatic history of the intrusion. More specifically, it is important to determine if the intrusion functioned as an open system, characterized by multiple magma pulses, or as a closed system, undergoing differentiation after a single magmatic pulse. The magnetic methods have also been validated by other independent approaches including image analysis, and electron microprobe. This study demonstrates that magnetic methods can be used to rapidly obtain critical information on the internal structure of this type of intrusion before applying more costly chemical analyses. The main scientific result of this study is to document the closed system nature of the Great Dyke of Zimbabwe, at least throughout the sequence investigated.
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Maravanyika, Simeon. "Soil conservation and the white agrarian environment in Colonial Zimbabwe, c. 1908-1980." Thesis, University of Pretoria, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/40253.
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This thesis utilizes three theoretical approaches; political ecology, settler culture and community conservation to examine soil conservation and the white agrarian environment in colonial Zimbabwe to evaluate to what extent players in government and the agricultural sector were conscious or concerned about preservation and conservation of the soil. The thesis also examines the role of local and international ideas in the colony’s conservationist tradition, and whether the soil conservation movement was identity-forming among the colony’s settler farmers. The history of conservation on settler farms in colonial Zimbabwe can be periodized into three broad timeframes - from the 1890s to around the mid-1930s, between 1934 and 1965 and the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) period. In the first three and half decades of the 20th century the history of conservation can best be described as being characterized by a series of “dilemmas.” The British South Africa Company (BSA Co.) administration did not pursue soil conservation in any significant, synchronized or sustained manner. In the second period, from 1934 to 1965, there was considerable progress in the construction of conservation works on settler farms. This process was the result of recommendations made by Natural Resources Commission, a body that was appointed in 1938 to investigate the status of the colony’s natural resources. The mid-1940s were characterized by the formation of Intensive Conservation Areas (ICAs) in settler farming districts whose mandate was to oversee the construction of conservation works to rehabilitate settler farms. With the support of the Natural Resources Board (NRB), and the Department of Conservation and Extension (CONEX), formed in 1948 to provide expertise on conservation-related matters and extension support, all settler farming areas were covered by trained CONEX staff, though in most instances very thinly distributed due to high demand for their service and manpower constraints in the department. The third period, the UDI era, was characterized by attempts by the minority settler government to forestall majority rule in the colony. Malawi and Zambia (formerly Nyasaland and Northern Rhodesia, respectively) had been granted their independence by Britain in 1964. As decolonization was taking place in other parts of Africa, black majority rule in colonial Zimbabwe also seemed imminent. To the alarm of the white minority government, Britain had set out to grant majority rule to its African colonies, including Southern Rhodesia (renamed Rhodesia after Zambia’s independence). The Ian Smith-led government of Rhodesia, feeling betrayed, declared UDI on 11 November 1965, delaying Zimbabwean independence by another 15 years. With the end of the Federation in 1963, the colony could no longer rely on federal resources as it had done between 1953 and 1963. Sanctions, imposed in reaction to UDI, further put the regime in a tight corner. Their impact was quite significant. Fuel had to be rationed, and general belt-tightening across the board inevitably followed as major Rhodesian exports such as tobacco and minerals were embargoed on international markets. The start of the liberation war at the end of the 1960s further complicated matters.Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2013.
gm2014
Historical and Heritage Studies
Unrestricted
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Mota, Lopes Jose Augusto Migueis da. "Colonialism, liberation, and structural-adjustment in the world-economy Mozambique, South Africa, Great Britain and Portugal and the formation of southern Africa (before and under European hegemony) /." Diss., Online access via UMI:, 2005.
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Zazu, Cryton. "Representation and use of indigenous heritage constructs : implications for the quality and relevance of heritage education in post colonial southern Africa." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002015.
Full textAbstract:
This study explores representation and use of indigenous heritage constructs with a view to identifying implications thereof for the quality and relevance of heritage education practices in post colonial southern Africa. Framed within a critical hermeneutic research paradigm under-laboured by critical realist ontology, the study was conducted using a multiple case study research design. The data collection protocol was three-phased, starting with a process of contextual profiling, within which insights were gained into discourses shaping the constitution and orientation of heritage education practices at the Albany Museum in South Africa, the Great Zimbabwe Monument in Zimbabwe and the Supa Ngwao Museum in Botswana. The second phase of data collection entailed modelling workshops in which educators engaged in discussion around the status of heritage education in post apartheid South Africa. This highlighted, through modelled lessons, some of the tensions, challenges and implications for working with notions of social transformation and inclusivity in heritage education. The third phase of data collection involved in-depth interviews. Twelve purposively selected research participants were interviewed between 2010 and 2011. Data generated across the study was processed and subjected to different levels of critical discourse analysis. Besides noting how heritage education in post colonial southern Africa is poorly framed and under-researched, this study revealed that current forms of representing indigenous heritage constructs are influenced more by socio-political discourses than the need to protect and conserve local heritage resources. The study also noted that the observed heritage education practices are oriented more towards addressing issues related to marginalisation and alienation of indigenous cultures and practices, than enhancing learners’ agency to manage and utilise local heritage resources in a more sustainable ways. Based on these findings the study recommends re-positioning heritage education within the framework of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). ESD acknowledges both issues of social justice and the dialectical interplay between nature and culture; as such, it may allow for representation and use of indigenous heritage constructs in ways that expand current political orientations to include sustainability as an additional objective of heritage education. Given that little research focusing on heritage education has been undertaken within southern Africa, the findings of this study provide a basis upon which future research may emerge.
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Massie, Gordon. "Frobenius' archaeological photography at Great Zimbabwe: activating the archive as a creative space of engagement." Thesis, 2017. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/23784.
Full textAbstract:
A Research Report submitted to the Department of History of Art, Wits School of the Arts, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (History of Art) (by course work and research report)
June 2017Images of the past survive longer than the theories they were designed originally to support; they linger on in museum displays, as illustrations in archaeologically orientated books, and as part of popular culture (Smiles & Moser 2005: 6). At a time when western audiences grew excited by the news of discoveries and became vicarious armchair explorers, photographers selected subject matter, composed and constructed photographs to meet the audience appetite, document archaeological sites and satisfy their sponsors. When German explorer Leo Frobenius led his 9th expedition 1 to South Africa, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Zambia, Mozambique and India from 1928 to 1930, there were photographers in the team (Wintjes 2013: 171,172). On their two visits to Great Zimbabwe, the primary objective of the team’s archaeological photographs may have been to document the monumental stonewalled site, collect archaeological data and illustrate Frobenius’ publications; however, once I started to explore the layers within these photographs as more than just re-presentations of the surface subject matter, the narratives became increasingly interesting and complex. The Frobenius photographs have an immediate striking presence as visual re-presentations of the Great Zimbabwe monumental site. I will demonstrate that, through re-looking, re-seeing and re-making, their content extends beyond continued representation of western epistemological ideology to provide a valuable source of new understandings of Great Zimbabwe at the time the photographs were taken and today. Frobenius may not have planned the layers that I examine but that is not relevant. What matters is that these photographs, much like Smiles & Moser’s anticipation, were produced for an initial purpose but almost ninety years later provide new information (Smiles & Moser 2005:6). [Abbreviated introduction; No abstract]
MT2018
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Nashwa, Velaphi Moses. "The flotation of high talc-containing ore from the Great Dyke of Zimbabwe." Diss., 2008. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-09042008-160536.
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Chikumbirike, Joseph. "Archaeological and palaeoecological implications of charcoal assemblages dated to the Holocene from Great Zimbabwe and its hinterland." Thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/14942.
Full textAbstract:
In most of Africa archaeological charcoal samples are often used to establish chronology through radiocarbon dating, but are rarely used to address why people may have selected specific wood taxa for particular purposes. This thesis is an enquiry into the palaeo-ethnobotanical and palaeoecological implications of charcoal assemblages dated to the late Holocene from the Great Zimbabwe and Chigaramboni sites, Zimbabwe. The research provided a more detailed picture of socio-economic utilization of wood, such as the use of woods for iron smelting, construction and domestic hearths. Previous excavations at Great Zimbabwe and Chigaramboni have produced large samples of charcoal at specific activity sites and at a few different depths thus giving a minor perspective of time. There was a wider selection of wood at Great Zimbabwe as compared to Chigaramboni. Charcoal samples analyzed in this thesis are a product of purposeful human action and they represent a subsample of the local vegetation and related human activities contemporaneous with the period of sites’ use. A substantial effort has been invested in the development of a modern vegetation reference collection database. This will go a long way in assisting future researchers in the region and is an extremely valuable and essential primary contribution to the development of wood charcoal studies in the region.
Thirty different tree species were burnt at Great Zimbabwe and indicate the multipurpose nature of the settlement. In contrast only 14 species were exploited at Chigaramboni which is an iron and metallurgical processing site. The latter fuel woods were also used at Great Zimbabwe. Based on the cracks and fissures in the charcoal it is postulated that the firewood used in metallurgy were collected whilst they were wet. Since Spirostachys africana and Colophospermum mopane do not occur in the area today it is suggested that there was long distance movement of wood, particularly those with excellent construction qualities. It is quite possible that the inhabitants of Great Zimbabwe, or their trading partners, opted to travel long distances in order to collect those particular logs. The fuel woods used at the two sites occur in the region today so it is likely that the Miombo woodlands of Great Zimbabwe and Chigaramboni have not changed notably from the time of occupation by their original inhabitants to date. Based on the mesophytic species identified, such as Acacia robusta, Acacia sieberiana, Acacia xanthophloea, Acacia polyacantha, Acacia burkei, Faurea saligna, Schotia brachypetala, Kigelia africana and Parinari curatellifolia, it is concluded that the inhabitants of ancient Great Zimbabwe and Chigaramboni archaeo-metallurgical site experienced a mesic environment. New excavations of different occupation levels would be required to determine vegetation and climate fluctuations during the past but at present there is a moratorium on such disturbance of the historical sites.
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Aspinall, Kelle J. "Great Zimbabwe : well of ancient wisdom : an examination of traditional Karanga mythology, symbolism and ritual towards an interpretation of spatial distribution and contextual meaning of symbolic structures and settlement dynamics of the royal settlement of Central Great Zimbabwe." Thesis, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/2549.
Full textAbstract:
The intention of this thesis is to examine the possibility of seeing mythology and ritual as sources for understanding spiritual, symbolic and spatial structures in architecture. Mythology and ritual are used as sources of creativity for examining a culture's architecture and as a way to understand the creative and cultural processes informing an architectural record. Central Great Zimbabwe is used as a case study for examining this. Karanga ethnography has not previously been considered as a source for interpreting Great Zimbabwe. However, historical evidence documented in this thesis shows that the Karanga were the creators and occupiers of Great Zimbabwe. The study pursues the need expressed by P. 1. Sinclair to consider the mythology of the region as an informative tool to understanding the symbolic values inherent in the landscape of settlement dynamics and symbolic structures; ...one might expect such aspects of material culture as architectural style and settlement layout, organisation and decorative motifs as well as a choice of subsistence needs to be strongly influenced larger scale expressions ofsymbolic values... exist in the expressions of kingship and power Further illustrations might include the associations of the granite mountains found throughout the plateau margins with the widespread distributions ofstone buildings. The mythology of the region has been little considered from this point ofview (Sinclair, P. 1987: 159). The study sets out to test Sinclair's observation by examining whether the Karanga symbolic values sourced from the mythology and ritual practices of the region may be reflected in the settlement dynamics and spatio-symbolic expression of Central Great Zimbabwe. Parts of the study examine Thomas Huffman's fieldwork, documentation and methodology. As the most prolific documenter on Great Zimbabwe, with the most recent interpretations, Huffman's findings are rec.orded and discussed in detail and his hypothesis for domba (initiation centre) function for the Great Enclosure is tested against the information evident in Karanga mythology and ritual. Since his hypothesis is widely criticised by his colleagues, this criticism is also included in this study as an informative tool to contextualise this field of research and outline the current ethno-archaeologica1 debate concerning the function of the Great Enclosure. This dissertation takes a different approach to that of Huffman and therefore the outcome of this study deviates from that of Huffman's. lIDs study adopts a synchronic approach to history while HufIman's methodology is a structuralist one and takes a more diachronic approach. Since both approaches are necessary in this field of study, the synchronic approach here is seen as a way of contributing new information and interpretation to the field. The intention of the thesis is not to suggest an 'answer' to the 'mystery' of Great Zimbabwe, but to offer possibilities and to recognise that this is merely one approach in a very complex, interactive and dynamic research field. In any qualitative study area, research should lead to still further research and should not be considered to be leading to the 'answer' to a 'problem'. Therefore, this study explores a wide range of disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, philosophy, religion, history and archaeology in order to broaden and deepen the study. Architecture is neither a science nor an art but sits comfortably between the two domains. It is therefore an interactive discipline and is marked by a divergent flow of creativity. Rather than taking a convergent approach, which is marked by a structuralist need to solve problems, this study approaches research in a divergent way, where the grappling with the 'problem' itself is seen as a process leading to discovery and possibility rather than to an 'answer'. The study therefore does not examine Karanga mythology as a way to answer the 'mystery' of the stone ruins, nor to provide proof or evidence for an archaeological hypothesis. It is rather a study towards examining ways in which mythology and ritual can be used to broaden and deepen an understanding of symbolism and meaning in architecture. A method of inquiry which validates the diversity of views and documentation in this field of study is validated by this dissertation and is seen as a valuable way of approaching the history of architecture in Southern Africa at this particular time, where African society is itself undergoing transformation as it reinterprets its past in a 'de-eolonised' African context. For that reason, interpreting Great Zimbabwe based on local ethnography is seen as a valuable way offurther validating African creativity and local origin. We can no longer afford to view history one-dimensionally. We need to learn to accept different grounds and more than one belief system. Examining Karanga mythology and ritual is considered in this study as a new way of seeing and interpreting historical artifact in order to expose the creative domain of discovery. This approach is relevant to the paradigmatic shifts being made in Southern Africa and globally, where society is discovering new ways of seeing itself and concentrating more on its processes than on its products. Society is becoming more tolerant of other perspectives and we need to consider how we can learn more about our society both past and present within the context of so many changing paradigms. The results of the proposed investigations for this study as outlined above are documented summatively in Part 5, Chapter 9 and generally in the Conclusion at the end of the study.Thesis (M.Arch.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.
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Ncube, Sinikiwe. "The origin and petrogenesis of the ultramafic enclaves at Unki mine, Selukwe Subchamber, Great Dyke, Zimbabwe." Thesis, 2014.
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The unique Selukwe Subchamber of the Great Dyke is bounded by the Shurugwi greenstone belt (SGB) on the west side for approximately 25 km and granitoids on the east side, as compared to other subchambers of the Great Dyke that are bounded on both sides by granitoids. It is also the narrowest section of the entire Great Dyke. The extensive xenolith suite is found on the western flank and the central zone of the subchamber. This study focuses on the PAR 11 borehole and the surface xenoliths in the Selukwe Subchamber (SSC). The PAR 11 core was drilled into an anomalous sequence of ultramafic rocks situated in the Mafic Succession of the SSC.
There are basically two rock types in the PAR 11 borehole: peridotites and pyroxenites. Comparison of the major and trace element geochemistry of the PAR 11 body with the MR 92 data of Coghill (1994) for the SSC reveals that they are similar but less evolved. The mineral assemblages and proportions of phases in the PAR 11 borehole samples are indicative of essentially the same composition as that which formed the layered sequence of the Great Dyke. Therefore, on the basis of the rock types and chemical compositions, the PAR 11 body and the Great Dyke cumulates appear to be petrologically and chemically similar and had the same petrogenesis.
There are three rock types in the xenolith suite that have been observed in the mafic succession of the Unki area: peridotites, pyroxenites and gabbros. Major and trace elements show a wide range of compositions that have CaO/Al2O3 ~ 1, which are dissimilar to both PAR 11 and MR 92 borehole data. REE patterns show depletion of LREE, with flat HREEs indicating a different magma to that which gave rise to the Great Dyke. Such flat patterns are typical of a primitive mantle source similar to that of komatiite magma. Stowe, (1974) describes dunite and chromite in the SGB and does not describe pyroxenites and gabbros. Therefore, it is not clear in the first instance that the xenoliths were derived from the SGB. It also does not necessarily mean that these rock types did not occur in the SGB and, if they did, maybe they were derived from an intrusion within the SGB that is at depth and never been seen
iv
before. The xenoliths do not have mineral compositions that are similar to the Great Dyke and therefore precludes them as having been derived from the Great Dyke Marginal Facies, a possible source of such rocks. Therefore, it is concluded from this study that they were inherited from another source which also does not appear to be the SGB because there is no report of such rock types (other than peridotite) in the SGB. They are also not mantle derived.
The metasedimentary rocks that occur as xenoliths are banded iron formation and quartzites and are all clearly derived from the different formations of the SGB. The quartzites are from the Mont d’Or Formation and Wanderer Formation. The BIFs are from the Upper Greenstone and Wanderer Formation. The Shurugwi Greenstones were stripped off from the western flank whereas the Archean granitoids to the eastern flank of the Great Dyke remained.
The conclusion from this study is that the Shurugwi greenstones and Archean granitoids of the Selukwe area were intruded by the large volume of new magma that was the parental magma to the Great Dyke. The hot parental magma carried up with it xenoliths from outside the Great Dyke and large blocks from within the Great Dyke to the uppermost rocks of the level of the P1 pyroxenite layer and mafic unit.
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Bangira, Courage. "Mineralogy and Geochemistry of Soils of Ultramafic Origin from the Great Dyke, Zimbabwe and Gillespie County, Texas." Thesis, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2010-12-8619.
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Although soils developed from ultramafic parent materials have significance to
agriculture, ecology and health, their bio-geochemistry is poorly understood. The
mineralogical and bio-geochemistry of soils formed from the ultramafic parent materials
of the Great Dyke, Zimbabwe and Gillespie County, Texas was investigated. The
objectives were to determine the mineralogical and bio-geochemical properties of the
soils in order to assess the potential impact and challenges to agriculture, and
environmental quality. Soil samples were taken from the crest, shoulder, footslope and
the toeslope. Chemical analyses were performed by nuclear and spectroscopic
techniques. Mineral characterization was conducted by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and
spectroscopic techniques. Microbial whole-community structure was determined by the
fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) technique. The results indicate wide chemical and
mineralogical compositions among the studied sites. The soils contain relatively high
concentrations of heavy metals (some sites contain Cr(VI)), but low levels of K and Ca.
The highest concentrations of trace metal were associated with chromite, Fe oxides and
serpentinite. The concentrations of Mg were higher than those of Ca and varied between
Zimbabwe and Texas soils largely due to the parent materials.
Unique to these soils is the occurrence of talc, serpentine, chlorite, Fe-rich smectite,
amphiboles, pyroxenes, Fe and Cr oxides in relatively large amounts. These soils also
lack micas and have neglible amounts of kaolinite and feldspars. Palygorskite and
serpentine occurred in specific soil horizons and at specific landscape positions.
FAME profiles indicate that the soil microbial community structure is predominantly
bacteria and fungi (including arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi) at each landscape position
across the transect. Biomarkers for actinomycetes were undetectable. The proportions of
Gram-positive bacteria were higher than those of the Gram-negative bacteria.
Very low levels of nutrients (Ca and K), higher Mg/Ca molar ratios, and the relatively
high concentrations of heavy metals in these soils impact agricultural productivity. High
concentrations of heavy metals, the presence of the Cr(VI) as well as its great potential
to form in these soils might impact microbial activity and environmental quality. The
occurrence of fibrous minerals (e.g serpentine and amphiboles) in these soils will likely
impact human health.
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Wade, Richard Peter. "Southern African cosmogenics and geomythology of the Great Zimbabwe cultural complex since the mediaeval trade network era." Thesis, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/50832.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis is an expansion on preliminary methodological systematics to a multi-disciplinary identification of cosmology in sub-Saharan Africa.
The work also draws causal relationships to an explanatory level through rigorous inferences of the observed past across cultural boundaries, specifically amongst the oral traditions, archaeology and ethnography of the Great Zimbabwe cultural complex.
It provides cosmogenic knowledge of sub-Saharan African indigenous astronomy and the geomythology of Great Zimbabwe as evidence suggesting supernova remnant RX J0852.0-4622 / G 266.2-1.2 as an historical event at the turn of the 14th century.
And, that there may be a repository of hidden knowledge amongst other southern hemisphere continental populations that were visibly and physically affected possibly by the nearest, most recent and brightest supernova.
Amongst the newly identified finds announced in the research are various early structures that relate to astronomy, tombs, burials, artefacts, sacred areas, a vast cave system with palaeontological potential, a lost city and a meteorite strewn field associated with impact craters from a recent phenomenal bolide airburst.
The vast socio-political belief system change caused by the impact is discussed, which may also form part of the centuries old origins geomythology, recorded and found amongst the enigmatic genetically-related trader descendants since the mediaeval trade network era of southern Africa.
Furthermore, the work concludes postulates of the 14th century climatic change as a result of the γ-ray flux from the supernova and a host of migrations and affectations throughout the world at the time of the so-called unrecorded event and how the Great Zimbabwe Great Enclosure functioned as a cosmic reference to a unique event.
A Japanese written record on the 13th September 1271 appears to verify and revere a strange orb of light that appeared before dawn which is depicted as a mandala circular ring surrounding a dot. The viewing altitude and azimuth of this orb coincides with the path taken by RX J0852.0-4622 at the exact times recorded in the texts.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2015.
tm2015
Geology
PhD
Unrestricted
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Gwimbi, Patrick. "Evaluation of the effectiveness of EIAs in mitigating impacts of mining projects along the great dyke of Zimbabwe." Thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/14621.
Full textAbstract:
The poor quality of Environmental Impact Statements (EISs), lack, or low implementation of the proposed mitigation measures and little or none monitoring of the implemented mitigation measures (if any is implemented) are the perceived barriers to the effectiveness of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) in protecting the environment from project development activities.
This thesis evaluates the effectiveness of EIAs in mitigating the environmental impacts of mining activities along the Great Dyke of Zimbabwe from a systems thinking perspective. The Mitigation Effectiveness Triangle (MET) which integrates the quality of EIS, mitigation implementation through project Environmental Management Plans (EMPs) and EIA follow-up in post EIA, as a system is the conceptual framework used in the study. Four specific research objectives are investigated: the quality of EISs in terms of impact identification and evaluation, and proposed mitigation measures; the extent to which the mitigation measures proposed in EISs are implemented by the project proponent; the EIA follow-up evidence on the effectiveness of implemented mitigation measures in protecting the environment from mining activities; and, the utility of the MET conceptual framework in enhancing the effectiveness of mitigation in EIA.
A mixed methods research design was employed to collect and analyse the data. The research was in three phases. Phase I focused on the quality of EISs. Data from twenty-two mine EISs conducted between 2003 and 2010 were purposively sampled to provide information about the quality of EISs in terms environmental impact identification and proposed mitigation measures. The amended Lee and Colley (1992) EIS quality review package and Mitchell’s (1997) mitigation guidelines were used to gather and grade the quality of EISs in terms of the impacts and mitigation measures. Phase II focused on the practical implementation of mitigation measures proposed in the reviewed EISs. Two purposively selected case studies and their project EMPs, environmental managers, local communities surrounding them and field observations provided the required data. In phase III, the EIA follow-up evidence of environmental quality parameters after the implementation of mitigation measures was evaluated in order to assess the effectiveness of the implemented mitigation measures. The collected data was subjected to statistical analyses using STATA® version 11 (Stata-Corp, Texas, USA).
The key finding of the thesis supports the MET conceptual framework. The framework is premised on systems thinking, that advocate for the integration, tieredness and interrelationship among EISs, EMPs and EIA follow-up evidence in order to enhance the effectiveness of mitigation in EIA. The quality of EISs in terms of impact identification and evaluation indicated that 15 (68 percent) out of the 22 reviewed EISs were graded as satisfactory; while 17 (77 percent) were graded as satisfactory in terms of proposed mitigation measures. Based on the quality of EISs findings, the study concluded that the EISs had the potential to influence some of the decisions during project planning. The reviewed EISs were however also fraught with some deficiencies, suggesting that some of the decisions recommended in EISs could be rejected by decision-makers during planning.
Regarding the implementation of mitigation measures proposed in EISs, the research findings showed that 63 (98 percent) out of the 64 impacts identified in the EISs were included in project EMPs by the project proponent. In addition, 46 (63 percent) of the 73 mitigation measures proposed in the two EISs were also included in project EMPs. Data from the environmental managers at case study mines, field observations and the local communities living around the case study sites indicated that mitigation measures proposed in EISs were implemented.
EIA follow-up evidence included water quality parameters (pH, nitrates, ammonia, arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, copper, and baron), air quality (fugitive dust, sulphur dioxide, and carbon dioxide), land, biodiversity, hazardous and solid waste, occupational safety and energy consumption. This evidence was confirmed by environmental managers and members of the local communities during questionnaire interviews.
The authorized pollution limits, including the Standards Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ), the World Health Organization (WHO) maximum allowable limits were used as criteria for determining the effectiveness of the implemented mitigation measures. On that basis, some mitigation measures were found to be effective while others were not. The impact of mining on members of the local communities’ health and their limited involvement in monitoring of the implemented mitigation measures seemed to influence community perceptions on the effectiveness of the implemented mitigation measures.
The study concludes by providing arguments in support of the MET conceptual framework as the first step towards holistically understanding the effectiveness of mitigation in EIA in practice. The study recommends the evaluation of mitigation effectiveness in EIA by not limiting to the quality of EISs alone, but also the implementation and monitoring of the mitigation measures in order to get a holistic picture of their effectiveness in practice. These findings suggest the need to strengthen the three components: quality of EIS, implementation and monitoring of mitigation in EISs.Environmental Sciences
PhD. (Environmental Management)
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Masaka, Dennis. "Impact of Western colonial education in Zimbabwe's traditional and postcolonial educational system(s)." Thesis, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/20951.
Full textAbstract:
In this study, we employ the theory of deconstruction to challenge and reject the
contention that a knowledge paradigm was non-existent among the indigenous people of
Zimbabwe before the arrival of the colonisers. This is necessary because the imposition
of the colonisers’ knowledge paradigm was premised on the supposed absence of an
epistemology among the indigenous people. In defending the thesis that education and
indeed an epistemology was in existence among the indigenous people of Zimbabwe, we submit that education is part of any given culture. In the light of this, it becomes
untenable to deny the existence of education among the indigenous people of Zimbabwe
before the arrival of the colonisers. Knowledge ceases to be the exclusive preserve of the
colonisers. It must be noted that the imposition of the colonisers’ knowledge paradigm
was accompanied by the suppression and partial destruction of the epistemology of the
indigenous people.
The suppression and partial destruction of the indigenous people’s epistemological
paradigm is called epistemicide. The epistemicide that the colonisers inflicted on the
indigenous people led to the exclusive dominance of their knowledge paradigm in the
school curriculum at the expense of that of the indigenous people. In the light of this
status quo, we present transformation and Africanisation as corrective to the unjustified
dominance of the present day curriculum by the epistemological paradigm of the
colonisers. We argue that despite the commendable proposals contained in the Report of
the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into Education and Training (1999: 24) to
change the curriculum so that unhu/ubuntu becomes its organising principle and to allow
the co-existence of the indigenous people’s epistemological paradigm and others, in
practice the dominance of the colonisers’ epistemological paradigm remains in place. We
submit that the Africanisation of the curriculum is a matter of justice that demands the
end of the dominance of the knowledge paradigm of the colonisers and the co-existence
of the indigenous people’s knowledge paradigm and othersPhilosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology
D.Litt et Phil. (Philosophy)
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Muzangwa, Jonatan. "Imagery and visualisation characteristics of undergraduate students' thinking processes in learning selected concepts of mathematical analysis." Thesis, 2018. http://uir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/25649.
Full textAbstract:
The present study investigated imagery and visualisation characteristics of undergraduate students’ thinking processes in learning selected concepts of mathematical analysis. The aim was to discover the nature of images evoked by these undergraduate students and the role of imagery and visualisations when students were solving some selected problems related to mathematical analysis. The study was guided by the theory of registers of semiotic representations. Psychological notions on imagery were also fused to cater for a cognitive approach to the study.
A sample of 50 undergraduate mathematics students participated in the study. The researcher employed both quantitative and qualitative methods. Before the main study, a pilot study was conducted to account for the reliability and validity of the research instruments. The data were collected through use of a cognitive test that was composed of 12 tasks with items selected from mathematical analysis. These tasks were specially designed to capture the variables of imagery and visualisations. A structured interview was also conducted as a follow-up to the results of the cognitive test.
The study found that visual images were noticeable in the thinking processes of undergraduate students in solving problems related to mathematical analysis. The nature of the visual images evoked by the students varied from person to person. The nature of these images was also determined by the nature of the task. The most common types of imagery were diagrams, prototypes and symbols. On rare occasions the students also evoked metaphoric images. It was also observed that these images were used for illustrative purposes and to spark the idea for a proof. It was also interesting to note that some images were used to discover the limit of a converging series. The results confirmed the need to use visualisation with caution, especially when treating concepts which involve infinity.
The study recommends that instructors of mathematics should encourage visual thinking in the learning and teaching of mathematical analysis. Knowledge of the students’ concept images helped the researcher to understand the nature of the learning difficulties of the students.
Further research should focus on the strengths and weaknesses of visual-mediated learning and also on the relationship between creativity and visual thinking.Mathematics Education
D. Phil. (Mathematics, Science and Technology Education (Mathematics Education))
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Chikande, Tonderai. "Reflections on support design in geotechnically challenging group conditions: a case of Zimbabwean great Dyk platinum mining." Thesis, 2018. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/24877.
Full textAbstract:
A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering, Johannesburg, 2018Falls of ground pose costly hazards to personnel and equipment and thus measures should be taken to prevent them. The stability of excavations is ensured by good support design and sound mining practices. This research endeavours to analyse and improve the support systems used in geotechnically challenging ground conditions for Great Dyke platinum mines by analysing the current support systems and recommending effective support system thereof. Various techniques were used to determine the quality of ground conditions, predict the rock mass behaviour and to identify the appropriate support system. An analysis of the current ground control methods and their limitations was also undertaken. The reflections showed that the current support system and mining practices in geotechnically poor grounds need to be modified to improve safety and productivity. Stoping overbreak is influenced by poor ground conditions and the explosives currently used. The use of emulsion is recommended to replace ANFO. Redesigning of pillars through a reviewed design rock mass strength is also recommended taking into cognisance the current rock mass data. Pillar staggering was also seen as the best practice in geotechnically poor ground conditions in a bid to limit exposure. An evaluation of the current tendon system indicated an opportunity for improvement following comprehensive empirical and analytical design techniques. A new support system was recommended, taking into consideration cost-benefit analysis to clamp overlying layers as well as the catastrophic wedges. Barring down using pinch bars in poor ground was seen as a risky and time-consuming exercise, hence the use of mechanical scalers is recommended to achieve zero harm and to meet production targets. Smoothwall blasting is recommended in poor ground to minimize hangingwall damage. The results gathered and analysed showed that, technically, emulsion explosives are beneficial but the increase of operational cost down-weighs them. However, in solution to the problem which prompted this research, the author suggests the mines to take up emulsion as it promotes safety at higher productivity in terms of tonnage output. Other recommendations include the use of hydrological surveys to determine groundwater levels and implement corrective measures. Both empirical and numerical modelling approaches need to be utilized in determining the optimum support. Additional support is also recommended where there is pillar robbing and pillar scaling to increase the pillar strength. Poor support design and poor mining practices pose danger to employees, resulting in loss of profitable reserves and entrapment of expensive mining machinery thereby culminating in additional capital costs and reduced life of mine.
XL2018