Archaeological Looking in Southeastern Africa

Join Jessica Thompson, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Yale University, and Assistant Curator of Anthropology, Yale Peabody Museum, for a Gallery Talk on trade and migration in southeastern Africa. The talk invites you to look closer at not only the aesthetics of an object but also the layered histories represented by its very materials. Many of the materials featured in the exhibition Nguni: Migrant Nations of Southeast Africa had been used across southeastern Africa long before the Nguni diaspora. As Thompson discusses, the archaeological record also demonstrates the deeply rooted social significance of the isibaya, or cattle enclosure, as a unifying feature of ancient civilizations in southeastern Africa. Gallery Talks is a weekly series led by Gallery staff and guest speakers on Wednesdays at midday. Each session focuses on one to three works from the collection, inviting participants to look closely, share observations, and engage in conversation in the galleries. Meet by the central column in the Gallery lobby. Space is limited.