The overlooked history of African technology

In the border region where Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and South Africa meet, indigenous hunters have for centuries made and used an impressive array of tools. There is the bow, made from giant raisin trees and called the "vurha" or "uta" in the languages of two ethnic groups in the area, the chiShona and the xiTshangana. Local craftsmen make arrows ("matlhari" or "miseve"), knives ("mukwanga" or "banga"), and axes ("xihloka" or "demo"). Until the advent of colonial rule, villagers also dug pits lined with poison-tipped stakes ("goji" or "hunza"), where animals as big as elephants were captured.

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