- Great Zimbabwe 500-1600 AD Back to Africa South of the Sahara Chronology Not much is known about the people and the culture of Great Zimbabwe. This is due to the fact that they had no written language and the oral traditions have not survived. What we do know is what they left behind in form of the Great Zimbabwe ruins. The Shona speaking people moved into the valley around 500 AD and began ...campus.northpark.edu/history/WebChron/Africa/GreatZimbabwe.html