Editing History of Botswana (section)

=== Post-classical period ===
The [[Taukome people]] arrived in present-day Botswana by the 7th century, and their possession of [[glass bead]]s indicates early connection to [[Indian Ocean trade]].{{Sfn|Klehm|2021|p=10}} The number of livestock kept in the area increased significantly between the 8th century and the 10th century.{{Sfn|Denbow|Thebe|2006|p=26}} The Tswana people organised themselves into a tribal government, called a ''[[morafe]]'' (plural ''merafe''), each led by a chief called a ''[[kgosi]]'' (plural ''dikgosi'').{{Sfn|Hillbom|Bolt|2018|p=28}} This system produced a more hierarchical government relative to others in the region.{{Sfn|Samatar|1999|p=40}} Cattle became a central part of society in the region, and ownership of cattle denoted one's status.{{Sfn|Klehm|2021|p=11}} The early history of the Tswana people remains largely unknown because little archaeological evidence has been left.{{Sfn|Hillbom|Bolt|2018|p=27}}

Trade routes connected tribes throughout the [[Kalahari Desert]] by 900 CE,{{Sfn|Denbow|Thebe|2006|p=xv}} and access to the Indian Ocean trade expanded in the region over the 10th century.{{Sfn|Klehm|2021|p=11}} The [[Toutswe people]] became the predominant group in present-day Botswana during the 11th and 12th centuries as they became wealthier through ownership of cattle. [[Specularite]] mining became widespread during this period.{{Sfn|Klehm|2021|p=13}} The value of products fluctuated during this period as expanding trade with foreign nations and the discovery of gold took interest away from specularite and animal products like ivory.{{Sfn|Denbow|Thebe|2006|pp=27–28}} One tribe in Tsodilo was particularly influential in the trade of specularite until it fell at the end of the 12th century.{{Sfn|Denbow|Thebe|2006|p=27}} The tribes in southeastern Botswana were far removed from these developments and remained largely unaffected.{{Sfn|Denbow|Thebe|2006|p=28}}

Neighbouring present-day Botswana during the 11th and 12th centuries were the people of [[Leopard's Kopje]], who formed the [[Kingdom of Mapungubwe]] and projected influence throughout the region.{{Sfn|Klehm|2021|pp=12—13}} Their influence declined by the 13th century, and they were replaced as the regional power by [[Great Zimbabwe]] as the gold trade became a driving factor in the region's economy.{{Sfn|Klehm|2021|p=14}} It controlled many of the tribes that existed in what is now northeastern Botswana.{{Sfn|Denbow|Thebe|2006|p=xvi}} After the fall of Great Zimbabwe in the 15th century, several other states developed. The [[Kingdom of Butua]], formed by the [[Kalanga people]]s, was established on the present-day [[Botswana–Zimbabwe border]].{{Sfn|Klehm|2021|p=14}}{{Sfn|Denbow|Thebe|2006|p=xvi}}

Migration of Tswana peoples through present-day Botswana occurred over the following centuries as they were displaced by native and colonial populations from the south.{{Sfn|Leith|2005|p=19}} Large migrations of Kalanga and Sotho–Tswana peoples into present-day Botswana occurred during the 15th and 16th centuries,{{Sfn|Klehm|2021|p=14}} and the Kalanga peoples controlled the land between the [[Motloutse River]] and the [[Makgadikgadi Pan]] until the 18th century.{{Sfn|Denbow|Thebe|2006|p=27}} The [[Hurutshe people|Hurutshe]], [[Kgatla people|Kgatla]], and [[Kwena people|Kwena]] peoples split from the [[Phofu dynasty]] in the Transvaal region amid drought and hereditary conflicts, eventually migrating north to present-day Botswana.{{Sfn|Denbow|Thebe|2006|p=10}}