Current potters in Manaledi village in the Tswapong Hills of Botswana aver that they and their ancestors for five generations have made pottery exclusively with clay from nearby sources. We begin with an examination of Manaledi and its clay mine to uncover current dialectics between village, landscape, clay, potters, and ancestors. Archaeological sherds found around the village and clay sources document occupation by makers of Early Iron Age (ca. AD 500-750), Middle Iron Age (ca. AD 750-1050), Late Iron Age (ca. AD 1420-1800), and 18th-20th century wares related to current Manaledi pottery. The proximity of archaeological deposits, clay sources, and village made it possible to conduct simultaneously what might otherwise be considered three separate projects. As a consequence, we are able to document that Manaledi clays have been used to make pottery for some 1500 years and to consider long-standing constraints on potting this implies.

博茨瓦纳Tswapong Hills的Manaledi村目前的陶工平均来说，他们和他们的祖先已有5代人使用附近来源的粘土制作陶器。我们首先检查Manaledi及其粘土矿，以发现当前村庄，景观，粘土，陶艺家和祖先之间的辩证法。村庄周围发现的考古石和粘土资源证明了早期铁器时代（大约公元500-750年），中铁器时代（大约公元750-1050年），晚期铁器时代（大约公元AD）的制造者的占领1420-1800年），以及与目前的Manaledi陶器有关的18至20世纪的商品。考古沉积物，黏土源和村庄的临近使得同时进行三个原本可能是分开的项目成为可能。结果，我们能够证明Manaledi粘土已被用于制造陶器大约1500年，并考虑了对陶器的长期限制。