ZIMBABWE MYSTERY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 285, 1 December 1936, Page 18

ZIMBABWE MYSTERY.

BEADS MAY GIVE CLUE

A few beads are likely to throw a new light upon the mystery surrounding the ancient Zimbabwe ruins 111 Southern Rhodesia. .< . The beads, which are principally small oblate Indian reds with a translucent oreen centre and small spheroidal white beads with pink and blue stripes, were found in Zululand by Professor Van Riet Lowe, of the University of Witwatersrand. They are identical with those found at the Zimbabwe ruins and at Mapungubwe in the Northern Transvaal. Explaining the significance of the discovery, the professor said in an interview:* "The reconstruction of a culture enjoyed i).v any primitive or prehistoric people depends very largely 011 three things —the tools the men used, the ornaments the women wore and the mode of burial."

What civilisation built Zimbabwe has always remained a mystery, and although *-veral theories have been put forward none can be definitely substantiated.