Zimbabwe, while an arid land for the most part, is blessed with tremendous rock and mineral diversity. Massive and multiple rock outcroppings dot the landscape, providing inspiration and raw material for the sculptors. The first and most famous Shona sculptures were found in the Great Zimbabwe ruins near Masvingo (ceremonial soapstone eagles) and date back nearly a thousand years. Many of the stones available for carving are unique to Zimbabwe or found in few other parts of the world.

The stones are categorized by their hardness from 1 to 10, according to the Moh scale. The harder a stone, the greater the value attributed to it. A diamond is the hardest and rates a 10, while on the crumbly talc only rates a 1. Below are listed the most common stones used by the Shona sculptors and their Moh scale hardness rating.