PITS, TUNNELS AND CATTLE IN NYANGA, ZIMBABWE: NEW LIGHT ON AN OLD PROBLEM*

Muozi Hill Later Iron Age site is part of the Nyanga complex of terraces and pit structures. The debate on the use of these structures has been raging for many decades. The faunal material from the Muozi Hill site provides evidence for dwarf cattle, 20% or more smaller than modern African breeds. These animals are, on average, smaller than any cattle thus far identified from the southern African Iron Age. This in itself does not necessarily prove that these structures were used as cattle pens. The estimated size of the animals is, however, such that most of them would have been small enough to enter the pit structures through the tunnels and passages, so the use of these structures as cattle pens is a possibility. The samples also yielded sheep and goat remains, but these do not appear significantly smaller than modem breeds.