This article critically assesses how heritage has been appropriated in various contexts to create national, partisan, and corporate identities in Zimbabwe. Using iconography, we attempt to establish how various players have created visual identities based on iconic archaeological artefacts and places. We discern that archaeological evidence has played a vital role in the invention and re-invention of national identity and patriotic iconography. Archaeological evidence has influenced the branding of corporate bodies, including universities, which are the major focus of this paper. Visual manifestations of the ancient Zimbabwe Culture (madzimbahwe), especially Great Zimbabwe, dominate the branding process. The Zimbabwe bird, Conical Tower, and motifs associated with the drystone built heritage form the key visual elements in the country’s branding enterprise. We advance the argument that the period associated with madzimbahwe has been projected as the only ‘Golden Age’ of ancient Zimbabwe. Consequently, other heritages, diverse histories, and past cultural achievements have been marginalised.

本文严格评估了在各种情况下如何利用遗产来在津巴布韦创建国家，党派和公司形象。我们使用图像学来尝试确定各种玩家如何根据标志性的考古文物和地点来创建视觉识别。我们发现，考古证据在发明和重新发明民族身份和爱国肖像方面发挥了至关重要的作用。考古证据影响了包括大学在内的法人团体的品牌形象，这是本文的重点。古代津巴布韦文化（madzimbahwe的视觉表现）），尤其是大津巴布韦，在品牌塑造过程中占据主导地位。津巴布韦的小鸟，圆锥形塔楼以及与干石建造的遗产相关的图案构成了该国品牌企业的主要视觉元素。我们提出这样一个论点，即与madzimbahwe有关的时期被认为是古代津巴布韦的唯一“黄金时代”。因此，其他遗产，不同的历史和过去的文化成就已被边缘化。