Bantu arrival in southern Africa. Ceramic analysis as a information source for dating, diversity, technology transfer and nutrition

• Applicant: Privatdozent Dr. Jörg Linstädter
• Subject Area: Prehistory and World Archaeology
• Term: since 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 444787411

Ceramics first appeared in Africa about 10,000 years ago and is regarded in the literature as a technical innovation by hunters, gatherers and fishermen in the southern Sahara (Huysecom et al., 2009). In southern Africa, the introduction of ceramics is associated with the arrival of the first farmers and cattle herders, the so-called Bantu or Bantus speakers, some 2000 years ago. Current research, however, now also provides distinct pottery from hunter-gatherer and hunter-herder contexts. In addition, early Bantu pottery from southern Mozambique, the so-called Matola pottery, which was previously placed in an early iron age context (today: Early Farming Community), was dated much older. The present project will study Matola pottery from southern Mozambique using different archaeometric approaches in order to examine the Bantu theory and to better understand the beginning of pottery production with regard to dating and distribution as well as diversity in raw material, technology and use in southern Africa.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Mozambique, South Africa, United Kingdom
• Cooperation Partners: Professor Dr. Richard Peter Evershed; Dr. Decio Muianga, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Karim Sadr
• Co-Investigator: Professorin Dr. Martina Seifert