This program of research examines the relationships between pottery production and identity in Southern Africa. The association between style and group identity has been based upon the idea that the form of objects communicated something about the identity of the producers. However, while some cultural values and the material representation of these values are made highly visible in the objects we produce, others are so embedded that they go unnoticed in the less visible and more mundane aspects of material culture.

Ethnographic research in West Africa has demonstrated that the production of style, as opposed to the appearance of objects, also provides a sensitive indicator of social identities. This work has provided a model linking the process of artefact production with artisans’ social identity. However, it has not been widely investigated outside of Western Africa.

The main objective of the project is to determine what factors influence the decisions of potters during the production process and how differences in production reflect the identity of potters. To accomplish this objective we are focusing on the interaction spheres influencing the production dynamics of modern and historically recent Zulu potters of southeastern Africa, one branch of Nguni speaking peoples in Africa today. We hope to investigate the historical dynamics of Nguni socio-political group formation, migrations and proposed stylistic boundaries through a combination of field and laboratory research.