Our research is inherently interdisciplinary, drawing on archaeology, anthropology, history, heritage studies, and related fields to investigate African civilizations and their enduring legacies across Africa and the global African diaspora. We are particularly interested in understanding the social, cultural, technological, and environmental processes that have shaped African societies over time and continue to influence the contemporary world.

Key areas of research include:

• Early state formation and urbanism – examining the emergence, growth, and transformation of complex societies and cities across Africa particularly southern Africa.
• Human-environment interactions – investigating how past societies adapted to changing climates, landscapes, and environmental conditions.
• Anthropology of technology – exploring the social and cultural dimensions of technological innovation, production, and use.
• Museum and archival collections – generating new knowledge through the study and reinterpretation of archaeological and ethnographic collections.
• Heritage interpretation and presentation – examining how the past is represented, communicated, and experienced by diverse audiences.
• Decolonial archaeology and heritage – centering African perspectives and addressing the legacies of colonialism in research, museums, and heritage practice.
• Politics of knowledge production – exploring whose histories are told, how knowledge is created, and the power relations that shape historical narratives.
• Digital archaeology, gaming, and archaeogaming – investigating the use of digital technologies, virtual environments, and games in archaeological research, teaching, and public engagement.
• African diasporas and global connections – tracing the movement of peoples, ideas, technologies, and material culture across the Atlantic and Indian Ocean worlds.

Our work combines both field-based and collections-based research. Through archaeological fieldwork, we investigate landscapes, settlements, and material remains to better understand long-term historical processes and human experiences. In museums, archives, and laboratory settings, we revisit existing collections with new questions and analytical approaches. By integrating materials analysis with anthropological, historical, and quantitative methods, we seek to generate new insights into Africa’s past and its relevance to contemporary society.

A growing focus of our research examines the global connections that have linked Africa with the Americas, Europe, Asia, and the wider Indian Ocean world. We explore the movement of people, goods, technologies, and ideas through trans-Atlantic and Indian Ocean networks, tracing the historical processes that connected African societies to broader global systems and shaped the experiences of African-descended communities around the world.

Central to our work is collaboration. We partner with scholars and institutions across Africa, North America, and Europe, including the University of Oxford, the Field Museum, Groote Schuur Museum, Iziko Museums, Midlands State University, Great Zimbabwe University, the University of Venda, and the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe. Equally important are our collaborations with local, Indigenous, and descendant communities, whose knowledge, perspectives, and lived experiences enrich the research process and contribute to more inclusive, ethical, and meaningful interpretations of the past.

Current projects

1. Recentering ancient Mberengwa (2017–Present)

This project investigates the evolution of Zimbabwe culture civilizations in southern Africa, moving beyond well-known centers such as Mapungubwe, Great Zimbabwe, and Khami. Using Mberengwa and its surrounding landscapes in southern Zimbabwe as a case study, the project examines processes of state formation, settlement organization, craft production, foodways, interregional interaction, and human responses to environmental change. Combining archival research, archaeological survey, excavation, and laboratory analysis, the project seeks to generate new perspectives on the social, economic, and political dynamics that shaped early complex societies in southern Africa. A key component of the project is its commitment to community-engaged archaeology and the inclusion of local perspectives in interpreting the past.

2. Pots and terraces: Decolonizing the Nyanga agricultural complex (2012–Present)

This project explores the relationship between technology, culture, and knowledge production in ancient Nyanga, northeastern Zimbabwe. Focusing on pottery, terracing, and other forms of material culture, the research examines how technologies embodied social values, cosmologies, and everyday practices. Drawing on archaeological evidence, ethnography, and archival sources, the project challenges long-standing Eurocentric approaches that have emphasized classification over meaning. It seeks to reconstruct how objects and technologies communicated ideas about fertility, identity, rainmaking, and human-environment relationships. Working closely with heritage professionals and local communities, the project also reconsiders the significance of Nyanga’s agricultural landscapes for contemporary discussions of sustainability, heritage, and decolonization.

3. Objects, texts, and monuments: Rethinking museums and colonial heritage in 21^st century Africa, and Africa’s diaspora (2023–Present)

This project examines the challenges and opportunities surrounding the interpretation of colonial heritage across Africa, and Africa’s diaspora. Through case studies across the world, it investigates museums, monuments, archives, and historical collections as sites of memory, contestation, and knowledge production. The research explores questions of restitution, representation, decolonization, and public engagement while seeking new approaches to interpreting colonial-era collections and landscapes. Rather than viewing colonial archives solely as repositories of imperial knowledge, the project demonstrates how they can be critically re-examined to recover overlooked histories, amplify marginalized voices, and generate new understandings of Africa’s past and present.

4. Games, play, digital heritage, and virtual Pasts (2022 – present)

This project investigates the role of games and play in archaeological research, heritage interpretation, and public education. Through the study and design of tabletop games, role-playing games, educational games, and digital gaming environments, the project explores how interactive experiences can communicate complex historical and archaeological knowledge in engaging and accessible ways. Particular attention is given to African histories, cultural heritage, and the representation of the African past in contemporary gaming cultures. By treating games as both cultural artifacts and research tools, this work examines how play shapes learning, memory, identity, and historical understanding. The project seeks to develop innovative approaches to public archaeology that connect academic research with wider audiences while creating new opportunities for storytelling, collaboration, and community engagement.