the gold collection of Mapungubwe Gold fingerprinting analysis has shown that the ore used in this collection was obtained from the same mine as that exploited two centuries later by the kingdom of Thulamela, more than 200km east of Mapungubwe africanhistoryextra.com/p/the-stone-ru…

Thulamela ruins, aerial view. a stratified community lived at Thulamela, with elites on the top of the hill while the rest of the populace occupied the adjacent areas below. africanhistoryextra.com/p/the-stone-ru…

the ruins of Dzata, with its characteristic low-lying walls of dark-blue stones. the 18th-century settlement at Dzata is the southernmost dzimbabwe ruin and was the last of the major capitals to be built in this tradition. africanhistoryextra.com/p/the-stone-ru…

'Sacred Stones where the Emperors were crowned' ca. 1935, Aksum, Ethiopia. -Library of Congress #archivesxt *these were part of the stone thrones

illustration depicting a Marabout (muslim teacher or scholar) and a family from St-Louis. ca. 1796, Senegal -Quai branly #ethnographxt

life-size Cast bronze head of Queen Idia. 16th century. Benin City, Nigeria. -British Museum #randomxt conical hairstyle, openwork coral bead net, long strings of coral beads at sides, and coral bead collar.

Ivory carving: 'elephant bridge' early 20th century, D.R.Congo. -Cleveland art Museum #randomxt

Swahili and Nyamwezi head-cap (kofia ya kiua). embroidered and quilted cotton cloth late 19th-early 20th cent. Zanzibar & Kitunda, Tanzania. -Cleveland museum, Nationalmuseet. #randomxt

section of the Old Town of Quelimane, Mozambique, ca. 1914. -DigitaltMuseum #archivesxt an old Swahili port town that flourished in the 16th century during the heyday of the Gold and Ivory trade from Sofala

Mombasa, old town, ca. 1940. tomorrow's article is about the history of the Mombasa city-state. this will be chapter-13 in the 'Journal of African Cities'