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 Africa to the 1400s

Great Zimbabwe W hile Arabs were settling at Kilwa on the east coast, another Bantu city was being built further inland in southeastern Africa. It was called Great Zimbabwe. Great Zimbabwe was important for Indian Ocean trade because most of the gold and ivory sold by Arab merchants at Sofala (a port on the coast) passed through the city. The Stone Walls Bantu-speaking people started living around the Zimbabwean Plateau about one and a half thousand years ago. The early settlers lived on the hill and were farmers who kept cattle. Then, in the 1200s, the Bantu people built a

massive stone wall to surround their settlement. The wall was made out of granite, a local stone that cracks into pieces at night after a hot sunny day. A century later, the ruler moved from the hill to the valley and founded Great Zimbabwe. It consisted of a house for the ruler with many other huts for members of the royal family surrounding it. All the homes were made out of thick clay and covered in designs. Each house had its own stone wall surrounding it. There were also courtyards and areas where people could cook. Soon after 1300, a great stone wall 30 feet (10 m) high was built to protect the whole area.

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