2023 Zambia field season

We just wrapped up our 2023 field season in Zambia.

Co-lead by Martha Kayuni (lecturer at the University of Zambia/PhD candidate at MPI GEA) and me, this year’s fieldwork aims to investigate archaeological remains left by Iron Age communities that utilized two cave sites in Eastern Zambia: Thandwe Rockshelter and Nachikufu Caves (both famous for their rock art and both declared as National heritage monuments). We also discovered and investigated a previously undocumented site. It was a successful field season, thanks to the support from the Max Planck Society, the University of Zambia, the Zambian National Heritage Conservation Commission and the headmen of the villages of Fumbeshi and Mkhuzo. Sincere thanks also to the members of the team: Billiard Lishiko, Helen Mwansa, Namunji Namunji, Wise Masuwa, Misheck Zulu, John Njobvu, Jackline Chinguwo, Lennon Fumbeshi and Maxwell Kalenga.

Now the equally exciting part: artifact analyses and the application of bimolecular methods to study the materials we recovered.