Soapstone holds a special place in Zimbabwean heritage as its national emblem is the soapstone carved, Zimbabwe bird.
The famous soapstone bird carvings stood on walls and monoliths of the ancient city of Great Zimbabwe built, it is believed, sometime between the 12th and 15th centuries by ancestors of the Shona. The ruins, which gave their name to modern Zimbabwe, cover some 1,800 acres (7.3 sq km)
Zimbabwe birds represent sacred or totemic animals of the Shona ? the bateleur eagle (Shona: chapungu), which was held to be a messenger from Mwari (God) and the ancestors, or the fish eagle (hungwe) which it has been suggested was the original totem of the Shona.
Soapstone is a form of talc. It is a mineral that sometimes forms the greater part of a rock and, being relatively soft, it provides an excellent medium for carving.