Ntusi

Ntusi is an archeological site that is located in South-Western Uganda. It is 83 km North-West of the town of Masaka which lies west of one of the African Great Lakes, Lake Victoria. Ntusi lies along the main road that connects Mubende and Masaka. It is also 193 km away from Kampala, the capital city of the Republic of Uganda. The name of the site shows its great age. Ntusi means 'the mounds'. There is no way that could have been its name when it was thriving as a dense settlement and as the mounds began to build up. Hima herdsmen called it this when they grazed their cattle over the Bwera pastures. The archaeological record at Ntusi is unmistakable in the signs of intense occupation and activity.[1] This is seen in the noteworthy mounds and the scraped valley basins. The signs of ancient activity in the archaeological features at Ntusi are studied for explanation.

Bigo

Bigo is another archaeological site in Uganda that is usually studied together with Ntusi because of how close they are to each other. Only thirteen kilometers apart, both are situated in what is known as the Great Lakes Region. Bigo is 10 kilometers of ditches and banks enclosing an area of about 5 square kilometers. The evidence at Bigo suggests the existence of a centralized society with an economy largely based on cattle which then puts Ntusi as if it were abandoned after the development of Bigo about 500 years ago. This abandonment might indicate that cattle rather the balance of cattle and cultivation was becoming economically dominant and were bringing changes in social and political organization. [2]

Geography

Because of Ntusi's location it is willingly accessible by road on motor-vehicle from the capital city in about 3 hours. It is located in the grasslands of Uganda called Bwera. The temperatures and rain in this area are high but are not excessive.[3] With its fertile soils, it has enabled the cultivation of a variety of different ranges of crops, with bananas and finger millet are most important.

Bacwezi

The Bacwezi, are recognized to be historical characters, heroes, and spirits. Ntusi is associated with oral traditions of the Bacwezi, thus then linked with the construct of the Bacwezi Empire. The depressions of Bwogero are known as 'Wamara's bath' - an exceptionally powerful chwezi spirit who is sometimes represented as a king. This is an example of the common tendency around the world to attribute prehistoric features of unknown date to people in recorded history, legend, or myth.[4] Though assumed to be associated, there is no real evidence to support this.

Research

Eric Lanning and Gervase Mathew are considered pioneers by investigated Ntusi Hill in the 1950's.[5] The Ntusi female was escavated by Combe of the Uganda Geological Survey in 1922. And also escavated by the British Institute in Eastern Africa with the Uganda Antiques in 1987. The Ntusi male mound was investigated by Wayland in 1922. The radiocarbon dates from Ntusi are from 1000 to 1400 AD. Archaeological results interpret increasing political, social and economic complexity. Increased competition over agricultural land is suggested by Peter Robertshaw when he tentatively recognized shifts in settlement pattern.[6]

Archaeological Features

There are over 50 small sites. The slopes around Ntusi are blessed with thicker and fertile soil able to grow banana groves, sweet potatoes, maize, beans, groundnuts etc. This cultivation reveals archaeological evidence that comes to the surface like broken pots, food-bones, and grindstones. Farming threatens the archaeological features but the community at Ntusi have come up with a strategy to preserve the features as much as possible along with respecting the values of the community. Yet, the archaeological features have reduced in size. The largest archaeological features include two mounds and the bwogero basin. The mounds have suffered lowering through cultivation. The 'Ntusi male' and 'Ntusi female' are exceptionally large and are the most known. They are preserved as grass-covered eminences standing 4 meters above the surrounding fields and banana groves. [7]

Importance

Linguistic research suggests that about 1000 years ago the farming societies early on in the region were changing as cattle and bananas were increased in importance.The broken pottery, grindstones, curved iron knives, and animal bones of mostly young cattle make Ntusi the most valuable archaeological site in Uganda for the time around 1000 years ago. There was also evidence for iron working coming from beads made from ostrich eggshell, fragments of ivory, traces of circular houses, glass, and cowrie-shell beads indicating contact with the Indian Ocean. This suggests that people who lived at Ntusi seem to have been herding cattle and cultivating between a cattle-keeping elite and commoners. The lack of large sites suggests that Ntusi was a chiefdom and not yet developed into a centralized state. [8]

References

  1. ↑ Sutton, John E.G. (1998). Azania Journal of The British Institute in Eastern Africa Volume XXXIII 1998. Nairobi: Kenya Litho Ltd.
  2. ↑ Graham, Connah (2004). Forgotten Africa An Introduction to its Archaeology. New York, NY: Routledge. pp. 145–150. ISBN 0-415-30591-8.
  3. ↑ Graham, Connah (2004). Forgotten Africa An Introduction to its Archaeology. New York, NY: Routledge. pp. 145–150. ISBN 0-415-30591-8.
  4. ↑ Sutton, John E.G. (1998). Azania Journal of The British Institute in Eastern Africa Volume XXXIII 1998. Nairobi: Kenya Litho Ltd.
  5. ↑ Sutton, John E.G. (1998). Azania Journal of The British Institute in Eastern Africa Volume XXXIII 1998. Nairobi: Kenya Litho Ltd.
  6. ↑ Reid, Andrew (2015-11-30). "Ntusi and the development of social complexity in Southern Uganda". Aspects of African Archaeology.
  7. ↑ Sutton, John E.G. (1998). Azania Journal of The British Institute in Eastern Africa Volume XXXIII 1998. Nairobi: Kenya Litho Ltd.
  8. ↑ Graham, Connah (2004). Forgotten Africa An Introduction to its Archaeology. New York, NY: Routledge. pp. 145–150. ISBN 0-415-30591-8.
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