Categories: History

Analyse the view that the Khoikhoi economy was more diversified than that of the San.

Analyse the view that the Khoikhoi economy was more diversified than that of the San.

The view that the Khoikhoi economy was more diversified than that of the San is greatly convincing. The Khoikhoi people refer to the immediate successors of the San who lived in the Zimbabwean plateau. It is true that the Khoikhoi means of survival was more sophisticated and complex than that of the San given that it was multi-faceted and varied featuring; livestock production, viable crop production, improved mining, external trade and revamped hunting which was evidently absent in San communities. This essay seeks to interrogate the perspective that the Khoikhoi economy was more diversified than that of the San.

The Khoikhoi economy was more varied than that of the San as it featured livestock production. This is because the Khoikhoi, who had direct interactions, mixing and mingling with the Bantu, adopted their art and skill to rear livestock such as cattle. This has triggered the Khoikhoi to be aptly described in historical circles as the cattle-keeping San or rather livestock rearing San. Cattle domesticated by the Khoikhoi were used not only for supplementing their diet, that is through meat and milk obtained, but also ensured improvement in crop production as cattle were a source of manure as well as a form of wealth in the barter economy. This cattle production was missing in the preceding San communities. Therefore, the Khoikhoi economy was more diversified than that of the San.

The Khoikhoi economy was more varied than that of the San as it was characterised with viable crop production. This is because the Khoikhoi who kept cattle not only used them in ploughing as they were a source of draught power for sledges but also made use of their derivatives (manure) to harness crop productivity and health. Moreover, the Khoikhoi crop production was advanced as it comprised of the growing of crops brought by the Bantu, such as sorghum, millet and rapoko. Furthermore, the Bantu who traded with Khoikhoi brought iron tools such as hoes and axes which made crop cultivation much easier than in the San era whereby crop cultivation was done by sticks which were not only inefficient but ineffective. This is opposed to the San who planted crops under trees making them exposed to massive sunlight deficiency resulting in low crop production. Hence, the Khoikhoi economy was more diversified than that of the San.

The Khoikhoi economy was more mixed than that of the San as it comprised improved mining. This is because the Khoikhoi communities are arguably the first inhabitants of the Zimbabwean plateau to have ventured in underground mining by virtue of them having lived in the transitional phases from the Stone age to Iron age. The Khoikhoi mined gold, iron and tin which were used in trade, iron smelting, blacksmithing and even jewelry. This was unlike the San mining sector which was largely that of picking minerals from the surface as well as shallow digging of mineral pits which faced constant depletion and exhaustion. Thus, the Khoikhoi economy was more diversified than that of the San.

The Khoikhoi economy was more multi-faceted than that of the San as it was characterised with external trade. This is because the Khoikhoi communities began trading relations with outsiders such as the Bantu who had migrated to the Zimbabwe plateau. This trade relationship was lucrative and profitable as the Khoikhoi obtained not only products (iron) but also the technical know-how needed in their economic expansion. However, it should be noted that the San were confined to home, domestic or internal trade which did not bring any meaningful advancement. Against this background, one can assert that the Khoikhoi economy was more diversified than that of the San.

The Khoikhoi economy had more variety than that of the San as it featured revamped hunting. This is because the Khoikhoi acquired skills such as extracting poisons from reptiles and smearing these poisons onto iron arrow heads which would be shot to their prey from the Bantu. As a result, the Khoikhoi seemingly effortlessly hunted big game such as elephants and rhinos. When contrasted with the San hunting of digging pits which was archaic, old-fashioned and inefficient, one is compelled to argue that the San economy was complex, dynamic and diversified. Thus, the Khoikhoi economy was more diversified than that of the San.

To conclude, this paper has scrutinized the view that the Khoikhoi economy was more diversified than that of the San. One one hand, the Khoikhoi economy was more sophisticated and complex than that of the San as it featured; advanced livestock production, viable crop production, revamped hunting, improved mining and external trade while the San economy was a defacto largely hunter-gatherer premised means of survival. One cannot be far too wrong, to concur with the view the Khoikhoi economy was more diversified than that of the San.