Ceramic Ethnoarchaeology

Kramer, Carol

doi:10.1146/annurev.an.14.100185.000453

Cited by 122 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Ceramic change and its demise are undoubtedly diverse in their causes and the result of multiple interacting factors (e.g., Kramer 1985;Le Moine 1987;Sargent and Friedel 1986;Stark 1991). New conditions encountered during contact and colonialism precipitated the Yapese to replace their ceramic vessel technology with metal pots.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contained Identities: The Demise of Yapese Clay Pots

Descantes¹

2001

asi

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The loss of ceramic technology is widespread in Oceanic island societies. While this disappearance has taken place at different times, under different conditions, on different Pacific Islands, a model created by examining the technology loss of one soasian ciety may cast light on the contributing factors to the decline of ceramic production of other Oceanic contexts. A model to account for the relatively recent end of ceramic pot production and use on the island of Yap, Federated States of Micronesia, during the colonial period is offered. Ceramic manufacture on Yap was at least a 2000-year-old tradition before it ceased in the twentieth century. Relying on a historical approach that considers the social dynamics of pots and a combination of archaeological, ethnographic, and ethnohistoric records, the Yapese gradually replaced their ceramic vessel technology with metal pots because of new conditions encountered during contact and colonialism. Factors involved in the ease of replacement of ceramic pots include limited access to the specialized labor required to produce ceramic containers, the superior durability offered by the replacement technology, and the fact that ceramic pots were valued more for their function.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contained Identities: The Demise of Yapese Clay Pots

Descantes¹

2001

asi

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“…The role of material culture in mapping identity has therefore been much-written about (Kramer 1985a, Hegmon 1992, Pfaffenberger 1992, Gosselain 1999, Hegmon 2000, Livingstone 2000, Sillar & Tite 2000, Stark 2003. A body of theory usually glossed as the 'theory of technology' has recently made important advances by considering technology as a cultural product.…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Archaeological Investigation of the Kirfi Area, Northern Nigeria: Craft, Identity and Landscape

Sani

2013

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa

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This doctoral research presents the first sustained archaeological investigation of Kirfi, Bauchi state, northern Nigeria. As part of this work, test pits were excavated at three sites and research was carried out into modern craft practices. These yielded good chronological sequence and allowed the development of a pioneering pottery typology. One central question explored is to what degree the Hausa world just to the north-west of the study area impacted on Kirfi in the past 1000 years. It is argued that theories of technological styles and society can be usefully deployed to understand cultural developments and territorial expansion in African societies. Ideas about economic systems, settlement and social factors resulting in population movements and the definition of cultural identities are key to exploring the complex cultural make-up of the last millennium. I also show that oral tradition is valuable to studies of later African societies when carefully critiqued, in view of the dearth of early written and historical scripts. This thesis will also show how external influences were to alter a native system by the integration of Islam into the socio-political development of Kirfi, including it in a world system that shaped the evolution of the Bauchi region, which then became a principal actor in the spread of a political system in the early part of the 19 th century after the jihad of Shehu Uthman Fodio. The influence of Islam (as opposed to formerly practiced ritual systems), longdistance trading systems and the role of slaves as a commodity, 'Hausaness', craft and economic specialisations are all put forward as factors that played out in the settlements under study here. This finally transformed ancient socio-political systems leading to the ways of life of today.It is hoped that the present research, through its collaborative use of archaeological methods and ethnoarchaeological study, will help improve our understanding of an area that has up to now been a virtual terra incognita and make a wider contribution to African archaeology by interpreting the impact of 'Hausaisation' on the southern Bauchi area.3

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“…A hallmark of the past three decades has been the emphasis on the interpretation of archaeological ce ramic materials through, for example, the method and theory of ceramic ecology (Matson 1965, D. Amold 1985, Rice 1987, Kolb 1989a) and ceramic ethnoarchaeology (Kramer 1985, Longacre 1991, P. Amold 1991, Longacre and Skibo 1994, Deal 1998. Crown, Longacre, D. Amold (in both contribu tions), M. Stark, and P. Amold (in Chilton) utilized ethnoarchaeology, and Sinopoli is able to employ ethnohistoric accounts (see Kolb 2000).…”

Section: Materials Meaningsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Material Culture and Cultural Meanings: Current Studies of Archaeological Ceramics and in Ceramic Ethnoarchaeology

Kolb

2000

BHA

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The description and interpretation of material culture may be regarded as the essence of archaeology, a discipline that seeks to recover, describe, document, and interpret past human culture. More recently, understanding that actions occur in a material world that is constituted symbolically, archaeolOgical ex� planations are often framed in sociocultural meanings, the ana1ysis of agencies, practices and behaviors.I shall subsequently return to this issue. Because of their longevity in the archaeological record, lithic and ceramic artifacts are crucial to the endeavor to interpret human culture. Objects fashioned from clay and subjected to intentional artificial sources of heat made their initial appearance in the archaeological record more than 26.000 years ago. Ceramic objects have been created in a seemingly endless variety of shapes and forms, varying from fertility figurines. to cooking and food storage vessels. lamps, smoldng pipes, medicinal pastilles, tokens, beehives, and coffins to modem whitewares and pyroceramics. there fore, ceramics are one of the most tangible products of human culture and are relatively widespread -25-DOI: http://dx

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Ceramic Ethnoarchaeology

Cited by 122 publications

References 29 publications

Contained Identities: The Demise of Yapese Clay Pots

Contained Identities: The Demise of Yapese Clay Pots

An Archaeological Investigation of the Kirfi Area, Northern Nigeria: Craft, Identity and Landscape

Material Culture and Cultural Meanings: Current Studies of Archaeological Ceramics and in Ceramic Ethnoarchaeology

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Ceramic Ethnoarchaeology

Cited by 122 publications

References 29 publications

Contained Identities: The Demise of Yapese Clay Pots

Contained Identities: The Demise of Yapese Clay Pots

An Archaeological Investigation of the Kirfi Area, Northern Nigeria: Craft, Identity and Landscape

Material Culture and Cultural Meanings: Current Studies of Archaeological Ceramics and in Ce­ramic Ethnoarchaeology

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Product

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Material Culture and Cultural Meanings: Current Studies of Archaeological Ceramics and in Ceramic Ethnoarchaeology