Abstract:
The thesis re-examined current interpretations of the environmental role in the social formation
and decline of complex societies in southern Africa in the last 2000 years. The study specifically
focused on the period from the end of the first millennium AD to the second millennium AD in
southern Africa. An understanding of complex societies, in terms of livelihood options,
sustainability and human responses/decisions, was placed within the initial phase of the Little
Ice Age during the transformation of societies such as Mapungubwe and Great Zimbabwe states
occurred. The evaluation of the drought and dry periods for contemporary societies was
assumed to give indicators of what could have happened between the rise and decline of
southern Africa‟s complex societies. The findings from south-eastern and central Zimbabwean
communities suggest new perspectives through livelihood lenses that incorporate human
response and decisions in the face of natural catastrophes to interpret cultural change in an
ever-changing environment. The findings of this study show that even during severe droughts or
other stress-induced environmental events, people employed multiple strategies to reduce the
risk and impact of climatic change. The interesting aspect of climate change and social
organization rests not only on the challenges it poses, but also the opportunities created.
Responding to droughts through diversified coping strategies for both past and contemporary
societies is taken as evidence that people are not adamant victims of climate change.
Key Words: complex societies, Little Ice Age, drought and dry spells, livelihood, transformation
