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| 2. South of the Limpopo |
| 1000–1500 |
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| In this period in modern South Africa and Botswana, the Khoikhoi peoples became pastoralists and metal forgers and spreadover an extensive area of relatively arid southern Africa, from northern Botswana to the Cape; they were also significant in Natal and Transkei. Cattle also took on increased importance for Bantu speakers, who spread throughout the well-watered eastern half of the region, parallel to the spread of later Iron Age culture. Bantu speakers consisted of two major groups, the Sotho-Tswana and the Nguni, whose major cultural traditions took shape in this era. | 1 |
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| 1100–1350 |
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| North of the Drakensberg (Ukhahlamba) Mountains, there were dramatic changes from this date; there was a greatly increased cultural and economic role for cattle and expansion in the size of settlements. A pastoral and agricultural economy evolved, and cattle were used for bridewealth (lobola), to compensate the bride's kin for her loss to them. These changes may have been associated with a shift in population from Botswana to the western Transvaal, which had a more favorable environment for large-scale cattle raising. | 2 |
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| 1200–1500 |
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| Nguni Bantu speakers spread throughout the southeastern coastal region. The language group was heavily influenced by Khoikhoi, especially in the southwest, and the population groups were also significantly mixed. Khoikhoi were gradually absorbed into the Bantu-speaking populations in Natal and Transkei. Nguni speakers in this region practiced semipastoralism, and Khoikhoi influence was notable in matters concerning cattle keeping. | 3 |
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| 1488 |
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| Bartolemeu Dias of Portugal “discovered” the Cape of Good Hope (See 1400–1550) and made contact with the Khoikhoi. | 4 |
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| 1497 |
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| Vasco da Gama made contact with the Khoikhoi at Mossel Bay. (See Southern Africa) | 5 |
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