The Phalaborwa story: Archaeological and enthnographic investigation of a South African iron age group

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Abstract
An archaeological investigation of Iron Age sites in the Phalaborwa district, Transvaal, South Africa provides a chronological sequence which begins perhaps as early as the eighth century A.D., and can be positively documented from the tenth century to the late 1900s. A concurrent ethnographic investigation among the BaPhalaborwa, a Sotho group, provides conclusive evidence to link the tribe with the archaeological sequence, especially through the continuity of the ceramic tradition. Oral traditions of the BaPhalaborvva provide valuable data for the interpretation of the archaeological record, leading to an account which integrates archaeology, ethnography and ethnohistory.