Southern Africa

Southern Africa is defined by broad plateaus, the Kalahari Basin, the Namib Desert and the Great Escarpment, including the Drakensberg. The Atlantic and Indian oceans frame contrasting western and eastern coasts, while the Orange River is one of the region’s principal drainage systems. Climate ranges from extremely arid conditions in the west to subtropical and temperate zones in the east and south, with cooler highland environments inland. Relief, water scarcity and coastal exposure strongly influence settlement and infrastructure. Vernacular building traditions include earth and daga, dry-stone construction, timber and thatch, used in different combinations according to local geology, vegetation and rainfall. Stone-walled traditions reached monumental expression at sites such as Great Zimbabwe, while many domestic traditions use earthen walls and plant-based roofs whose form, pitch and thickness vary with heat, rainfall and seasonal cold. Circular and courtyard-based settlement patterns in many communities also express social organization as much as environmental adaptation.