JWA Research

Introduction

Ceramics are an ubiquitous material found on Holocene archaeological sites. Archaeologists depend, in part, upon contemporary ceramic studies to develop inferences about prehistoric demography, wealth, social complexity, social change, and subsistence. Between September 1996 and April 1998, I conducted field research among the Gamo people of southwestern Ethiopia who continue to produce and use pottery on a day to day basis. This ethnoarchaeological study was supported by a National Science Foundation Dissertation Improvement Grant. My project contributes to the understanding of the role of ceramics in historic and prehistoric societies by addressing several key issues including: 1) deciphering how ceramics are used in a household context; 2) the association between ceramic use and household wealth; and 3) determining if there is a correlation between ceramic use and specific castes. The significance of my dissertation project is that it will allow archaeologists to move beyond common sense inferences about ceramics to those derived from detailed documentation in a living context.

Methodology

Research among the Gamo was undertaken in three stages. The first stage began in September 1996 and consisted of organizing field equipment in Addis Ababa and obtaining permits from the Ministry of Information and Cultural Center for Research and Preservation of Cultural Heritage in Addis Ababa. During the second stage I focused my fieldwork in the villages of Ochollo Zuza, Leesha Guyla, and Doko Kalay Etello. I mapped and conducted brief interviews in every household in each of the three villages. I recorded the primary occupation and social status of the head male and female in each household (e.g., elder, farmer, potter, hide worker etc.). This stage of research provided information on the spatial localities of different social and economic households in each village and allowed me to develop rapport with villagers. The census questionnaire covered issues concerning the ceramic user's family and clan history such as: 1) general information about the informant (name, sex, age, occupation, clan, number of people and houses per compound, etc.); 2) their economy (information on crops farmed and livestock raised, foods usually consumed during parts of the year, at which market purchasing or selling is conducted); and 3) pottery preference and types of pottery purchased. The third stage of my research began in mid-March 1997. I chose 20 households from each village, which consisted of different castes, based on the census information. I visited each household to conduct in-depth interviews, inventory household ceramic vessels and groundstones, measure morphological attributes on all household vessels and groundstones, analyze ceramic use-alteration attributes, and recorded the spatial location of each vessel and groundstone within the compound. One household compound was visited everyday and information was gathered on the age and general use history of each vessel and groundstone. Then each vessel and groundstone was measured to gather morphological data. In addition, use-alteration observations were collected for each vessel. After the vessel and groundstone information was gathered, the informant was asked questions concerning vessel discard and household diet information. I measured and gathered use life information on a total of 1,058 ceramic vessels and 122 groundstones from 60 household compounds in the three Gamo villages. This information will provide morphological, use-life, use-alteration, and functional information that will be correlated with the subsistence, wealth, and occupation of each village and specific household compound. The vessel information will indicate if there is a correlation between the subsistence and socioeconomic class of a household compound and vessel volume, type diversity, frequency and/or the number of broken pots.

Procurement, Production and Distribution

The procurement and production of clays and ceramics are conducted by Gamo potters (mana) and are distributed to the rest of Gamo society. The potter's placement in Gamo social hierarchy is ascribed and determined by birth, and no action may change the hierarchical positioning of individual potters or other craft specialists. The Gamo potters are full-time craft specialists, who produce pots throughout the entire year. They produce approximately 14 different types of vessels, which are sold either at one of the weekly markets or through a patron-client relationship.