To appreciate the extent to which the Maravi were involved in long-distance trade, one needs to examine this in relation to what was going on in southern Zambezia, the area south of the Zambezi River controlled by the Mwene Mutapas in Zimbabwe. Long-distance trade has a long history in that area compared to other areas in the interior of southern Africa. Early seventeenth-century written records of the Portuguese show that the Kalongas in Malawi had dealings with the Mwene Mutapas. One of them, Gatsi Rusere, is said to have ‘affirmed that a number of Maravi chiefs, including Kalonga Muzura, were his military allies’. Such an alliance must have had economic benefits too.

Commenting on the nature and intensity of the trade in southern Zambezia, Chirikure pointed out that imported items, such as glass beads, cowrie shells and bronze items began to appear before ad 900. The earliest glass beads were recovered at many archaeological sites, including Chibuene in southern Mozambique, Makuru in south-central Zimbabwe, Schroda in the Limpopo River Valley, and at sites in northeastern Botswana. They belong to a time that archaeologists refer to as the Zhizo period, dated between ad 600 and 900. Bronze was recovered at the site of Berryl Rose Claims in northern Zimbabwe where it was dated to ad 800 and cowrie shells appear elsewhere in the hinterland at about the same time. The distribution of the sites shows that both the elite and ordinary people in southern Zambezia participated in the trade. Some of the commodities used in the exchange of these items were ivory, cattle and perhaps gold. Although the role of gold during this early period is not that clear, the evidence shows that it was being exploited at least by ad 1000. The same might apply to the exploitation of copper. Remains of copper in southern Zambezia were found at several sites, including those that had been occupied by non-elites. This metal was so widely used, it has been argued that Africans considered it more valuable than gold.

The evidence in northern Zambezia, where the site of Mankhamba is located, shows that long-distance trade was not as well established as in southern Zambezia. Although rich copper deposits exist in the north-west of the area, the extent to which copper was exploited during this early period is not clear.