Overall B (Emily Friesl)

Overall B (Emily Friesl)

The overall grade for the Great Zimbabwe empire is a B. Great Zimbabwe was very advanced in their trading and their technology. All the gold they had helped them be more successful. The tools they made were formed with iron and were used to protect the empire. They really were useful for the people. Great Zimbabwe's religion made them unified as they worshiped the spirits. They were a very creative empire and they grew as a whole in their time. They get a B because they had a lot of strengths and weaknesses. Overall they did pretty good.

Economy B (Taylor Warren)

Economy B (Taylor Warren)

The Great Zimbabwe empire focused on a lot of trading, they were considered a "center for trading". The trade network formed, linked to Kilwa and extended as far as China. Producing goods was also a major part of their economy. They produced a lot of gold, ivory, furs, and skins. They had skills like weaving and pottery which made their items much more valuable, but gold was their main source of wealth. They mainly traded gold and ivory with Kilwa, they traded for Chinese pottery, coins for Arabia, and glass beads. Soon a huge demand erupted for gold and their wealth went down due to the lack of gold. This lead to them with not much left, and they expanded in search for more gold, due to focusing on gold and not their economy, the economy eventually got worse. 
I would give the Great Zimbabwe economy a "B" because they had a great and powerful economy until they started focusing just on gold and when the gold decreased so did their wealth which lead their economy to slowly get worse.

Government A (Riley Richards)

Great Zimbabwe Ruins.

Government A (Riley Richards)

The Great Zimbabwe was one of the most advanced cultures of their time, European travelers were astonished by how well the Zimbabwe people put together their land and had their government set up. They had a large wall called the Imba Huru, it kept many invaders out with its 800 feet long width and its 32 feet hieght. They had virtually no issue with invaders with their large wall protecting their empire. They were very fortuante to have gone to the land they had gone to. They had found enough gold to last them a long time. Their government had become very close companians with the European governments such as England, Portugal, and France. They traded gold for silks, iron, and material items. Their monuments they made were heavily influenced by biblical stories. They had to deal with about 10,000-18,000 people, their whole reign lasted from the 11th century to the 15th century. Their advances in trade, the amount of people they had to deal wit and how well they did it, and their ability to never get defeated by another empire is the reason I gave the Great Zimbabwe's government the grade of an A

Religon: A (Riley Richards)

The Great Zimbabwe's religon made them a very unified nation. They believed in a supreme leader (Mwari) which was their form of Christianity's God. They would pray to Mwari and believed that he would answer their prayers and come in time of need. Mwari was the largest part of their religion, they made many shrines and temples to show how greatful they were to their leader. They also had the idea that family members where sacred to you. When one passed away, it was your duty to take control of the skills that they possessed. They also thought that when you did go to the afterlife, you'd only be with your family. This idea brought families to really cherish each other and not take each other for granted. They also found caves to be very sacred, they believed that was where the spirits would go after they had died. Many marriages and cerimonies took place in caves, it was supposed to give you good luck and good fortune through your marriage.

Arts and Architecture B+ (Emily Friesl)

Arts and Architecture B+ (Emily Friesl)

The People of Great Zimbabwe didn't make as much art as you would think but their architecture was very striking.The ruins of Great Zimbabwe are classified into three architectural groups: The Hill Complex, The Valley Complex, and the Great Enclosure. The Great Enclosure is the most significant of the three. This Great Enclosure has walls as high at 36ft extending approximately 820ft. It is made entirely of stone. They construct these walls with large pieces of granite cut from rocks. They are held together with no mortar and it is outstanding the way they look and are made. This is the largest ancient structure South of the Sahara Desert.There are about 1800 people living inside, outside, and around the Great Enclosure. All of the ruins are also made entirely of stone. Along side of the Architecture in Great Zimbabwe there is a little bit of art.
 The founders of Great Zimbabwe created art such as pottery shards, ivory pieces, gold beads, bracelets and pendents. These pieces of art are developed by artists such as stone sculptures, wood carvers, landscape/wildlife painters, and photographers. Stone art is the most famous work in Great Zimbabwe. They created 8 soap stone birds out of soap stone. These were made just by carving into the stone. The art did imply human advancement because of the skill it took to carve and construct these birds. I gave the art and architecture of Great Zimbabwe a B+ because though they were creative and and an impressive way of architecture there was not that much art. But the things they accomplished did emphasize human advancement. It took a lot for the work they did. 

Technology A- (Emily Friesl)

Technology A- (Emily Friesl)

Great Zimbabwe had a pretty successful use of their technology. The people used iron to develop armor and weapons. They made weapons such as arrows, battle axes, spears, hoes, arrow points and knives. These tools were used to protect the people of Great Zimbabwe. The buildings there were made without mortar. Walls were constructed really wide and low. Spindle whorls were found in sights there . Cotton spinning and weaving could have taken place. Great Zimbabwe was a trading center. They traded about twenty ounces of gold on the trading route in Great Zimbabwe. They were in the neolithic age. They used their technology to get better resources and advancements. They were independent of the things they did/ make for better technology, but their technology helped them out by protecting them from intruders and helping expand their empire. I gave them an A- because of the great things they did to advance as an empire from the neolithic age to the iron age. 

Spindle Whorl

Tools

Society C+ (Connor Jacobson)

Society C+ (Connor Jacobson)

The civilization of Great Zimbabwe consists of approximately 18,000 people. The population was categorized by the unwealthy/slaves and wealthy herders/royalty. A large stone wall was build to split the two classes, commoners and the elite class. The elite class consisted of nearly 200 - 400 people, leaving the rest of the population commoners. This stone wall that was built caused little to near no emphasis on equality and even limited the movement between social classes throughout Zimbabwe. The wall also prevented commoners to go into the elite class land, but allowed the elite class to go into the commoners land. Zimbabwe also did have slaves, which were viewed more as possessions or servants. They were treated horrible, didn't get paid, and were often traded to Persian and Arab traders. (They got the slaves from the African interior and the East African coast)

Because of the commoners (most of the population) being neglected and treated unequal, slaves being beaten and seen as possessions or servants and not getting paid is why I give the Society of Great Zimbabwe a C+.