An Ethonarchaeological Study of Pottery Production in Tigray: The Case of Saharti Samre and Hintalo Wajirat Districts
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2016-06
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Addis Ababa University
Abstract
It has been described that little is done on ethnoarchaeological investigation of pottery crafts in Ethiopia.
Furthermore, except some attempts made in Hintalo-wajirat, detailed ethnoarchaeological study on
pottery production in Saharti-Samre and Hintalo-Wajirat districts of Tigray region has not been
conducted so far. Thus, the purpose of this study was to document the over all aspects of pottery
production from ethnoarchaeological perspective so as to gain better understanding of pottery in the
archaeological record. To achieve this, purposive sampling technique was employed to select both
samples of pottery making villages and sample of informants. The data gathered through survey,
observation and interview were analyzed qualitatively. Accordingly, the results of this study revealed that
clay and sand are the basic elements for pottery making across the selected villages. In the study area
pottery production is generally performed through various processes beginning from raw material
procurement to paste preparation, forming and shaping, making decoration, drying, polishing and firing.
Though some difference and similarities are observable in some of the stated processes among potters of
the selected villages, none of these differences reflect variation in ethnicity as all potters of the selected
villages belong to the same ethnic group. However, the presence of similarities in some aspects indicates
the prevalence of socio-cultural contact among the artisans of the different villages. Since most activities
are performed in the compound of the potters, firing pits with debris of ash, fragments of pots and toolkits
employed to perform various steps of pottery making could be left in the compound of potters.
Furthermore, pots could be broken and discarded outside production areas at market places and
households of consumers. Thus, this study suggests that production areas, market places and households
of consumers could become sources of archaeological site formation in Saharti-Samre and Hintalo-
Wajirat districts
Description
Keywords
Ethnoarchaeological Investigation