I do see what you mean.
For a land with such a relentlessly bloody history, and one that continues to be regarded as extremely violent, there does seem to be a shortage of weapons types. And of weapons innovation.
Contrast that to India – regarded as a spiritual haven, a land of enlightenment even. They had every conceivable weapon under the sun. Some of which boggle the imagination.
The problem I think is simply one of knowledge. I studied African history and the fact remains that it is still largely unwritten. History in South Africa in particular really begins with the European arrival.
South African societies have no writing tradition, but do have an oral tradition that hasn't really been explored all that deeply yet. The best way to assess whether or not a throwing axe was likely is to see whether other similar groups slightly north have throwing axes now. Basically, all Southern Africans (with the exception of Kalahari Bushmen) are Bantu-speaking. Their roots are much the same the same as other groups south of the equator. As people, they migrated fairly recently (it seems within the last 500 years or so).
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