تلال ماتوبو
الخصائص > Archaeological, historical and cultural Sites

San (Bushmen) lived in the hills about 2,000 years ago, leaving a rich heritage in hundreds of فن صخريs. There are over 3,000 registered rock art sites, with the main periods of painting being between 320 and 500 C.E.. In the many crevices and caves, clay ovens and other historic artefacts have been found, and various archaeological finds date back as far as the Pre-عصر حجري متوسط في أفريقيا، around 300,000 B.P. The following major sites have been developed for tourist access:
Bambata Cave is also a major archaeological site, located in the west of the national park, north of the game park on the Kezi-Bulawayo road. The frieze includes elephants, giraffes, warthogs, tsessebe and mongoose.
Inanke Cave has the most extensive paintings, located in a remote cave accessible by a three-hour hike from Toghwana Dam. Along the route of the hike is an عصر حديدي furnace.
Nswatugi Cave contains beautiful friezes of giraffes, elephants and kudu. Access is from Circular Drive, west of Maleme Dam
Pomongwe Cave, near Maleme Dam, was damaged by a preservation attempt in 1965, where linseed oil was applied to the paintings. Archaeological digs within and downslop of the cave revealed 39,032 stone tools, several hearths, with the main fire-making areas were in the centre of the cave floor. Bone fragments showed that وبريات formed a major part of the meat component of the diet of early human inhabitants of the cave, which also included سلاحف برية and larger game animals. The oldest material on the site is probably pre-عصر حجري متوسط في أفريقيا.
White Rhino Shelter is a small site near Gordon Park, on the main tarred road through the park. The frieze includes the outline of a large rhinos, which is said to have inspired the re-introduction of the species in the 1960s.
The grandeur and stillness of the hills has contributed to their hallowed reputation, especially to the Shona and Ndebele people. Many rituals and other religious activities are performed in the hills. Before the colonial era, it was the headquarters of the spiritualist oracle, the Mlimo.
The hills were the scene of the famous indaba between white settlers and Ndebele leaders in 1896—the حرب ماتابيلي الثانية، known in Zimbabwe as the First Chimurenga—which ended with the assassination of the Mlimo by فريدريك روسل بورنهام، the American scout, in one of the Matobo caves. Upon learning of the death of the Mlimo, سيسل رودس boldly walked alone and unarmed into this Ndebele stronghold and persuaded the impi to lay down their arms. During the indaba it was also in these hills that بادن باول، the Founder of Scouting, first learned غوابة, the fundamentals of كشافة، from Burnham. Even today, a great deal of the pottery and artefacts found on cave floors and most of the clay grain bins in the hills are remnants from the 1896 rebellion era. There are other reminders too - bronze plaques dotted here and there in various hills mark the sites of armed forts or brief skirmishes.
Cecil Rhodes, ليندر ستار جيمسون، and several other leading early white settlers, including ألان ويلسون  ‏ and all the members of the دورية شانغاني killed in the حرب ماتابيلي الأولى، are buried on the summit of Malindidzimu, the 'hill of the spirits' -- this is a great source of controversy in modern Zimbabwe as this is considered a sacred place by nationalists and indigenous groups. This mount is also referred to as the World’s View. (Not to be confused with the World's View, Nyanga).