The majority of academics believe that the ancient Zimbabwean civilisation was created and constructed by Shona-speaking people. Some of them insist that this has been demonstrated beyond all doubt as an irrefutable fact. In an attempt to discover the basis for that assertion, I ploughed my way through more than a dozen books and articles on this topic (written by Pikirayi, Huffman, Beach and others) - but without any success.

It should presumably be possible to summarise (in two or three pages, perhaps) the essential components proving that^ thesis. Has this ever been done? If so, where can it be viewed?

According to some sources, on the other hand, there does seem to be an alternative theory as to who might have built the dry-stone (?)temples and exploited the gold deposits in prehistoric Zimbabwe: namely, they could have been Semitic colonists.

http://www.dlmcn.com/anczimb.html is an attempt to present and review literature which lends some support to the "Semitic" hypothesis. It goes without saying that all comments and criticisms will be well received.

For easy access and reference, here is that article's 'Abstract':

There is evidence that several centuries ago there was a Semitic presence in southeast Africa. There are also strong indications that its principal remnant is the Lemba tribe, now confined to the extreme north of South Africa. Nineteenth and early 20th century missionaries reported that the Lemba were renowned for their mining and metal-working abilities, and for other aptitudes characteristic of the ancient Zimbabwean civilization. It is therefore unreasonable to dismiss completely the possibility that Great Zimbabwe and the other stone buildings nearby were constructed by Semites.