Living with pottery : Ethnoarchaeology among the Gamo of southwest Ethiopia
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Description
Although plastic and metal vessels offer significant advantages and have almost universally supplanted ceramics throughout the world, pottery fragments are one of the most ubiquitous artifacts in the archaeological record. The southwestern region of Ethiopia is one of the few places in the world where locally made pottery is still the dominant choice for everyday domestic use. The Gamo people continue to produce and use pottery for transporting water, cooking, storing, and serving. Ethnoarchaeology undertaken in a society where people still use low-fired ceramics in daily life provides a powerful framework for archaeological inferences, especially since little behavioral information exists concerning the relationship between status, wealth, and household pottery. Based on John Arthur's extensive fieldwork, this study sheds light on some of the puzzles common to archaeology in any region. It also helps decipher evidence of inter- and intravillage social and economic organization and offers insight on markers for pottery-producing and nonproducing villages and socioeconomic variability.
ISBN
978-0874808834
Publication Date
2006
Publisher
University of Utah Press
Disciplines
Anthropology | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Recommended Citation
Arthur, John W., "Living with pottery : Ethnoarchaeology among the Gamo of southwest Ethiopia" (2006). Faculty Books. 17.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/books/17
