Specialties

Keywords: African Archaeology, Iron Production, Political Economy, Craft Production and Specialization, Frontiers, Geophysics, Southern Africa

My research interests focus on the ways that smaller-scale and non-centralized “hinterland spaces” in the interior of Africa were active participants in larger regional, continental, and global networks. By adopting a localized perspective to more global questions, I have a special interest in the ways localized material variations in people’s daily lives reflect the myriad of interactions produced by regional and interregional communication and exchange. I focus on craft production, and specifically on iron production which has historically carried symbolic and political importance for many in sub-Saharan Africa, and has particular significance in the political and economic histories of southern Africa.