A multi-analytical characterization of fourteenth to eighteenth century pottery from the Kongo kingdom, Central Africa.

Pottery traditions reflect the socioeconomic framework of past cultures, while the spatial distribution of pottery indicates exchange patterns and interaction processes. Material and earth sciences are employed here to determine raw material sourcing, selection and processing. The Kongo kingdom, internationally renowned since the late fifteenth century, is one of the most famous precolonial states in Central Africa.