Archaeology shows how hunter-gatherers fit into southern Africa's first city, 800 years ago

Where the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers meet, forming the modern border between Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe, lies a hill that hardly stands out from the rest. One could easily pass it without realizing its historical significance. It was on and around this hill that what appears to be southern Africa's earliest state-level society and urban city, Mapungubwe, appeared around 800 years ago.