Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-14T04:32:02.837Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Understanding Household Population through Ceramic Assemblage Formation: Ceramic Ethnoarchaeology among the Gamo of Southwestern Ethiopia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

John W. Arthur
John W. Arthur*
Affiliation:
University of South Florida St. Petersburg, 140 7th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL, 33701 (arthurj@stpt.usf.edu)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to identify the relationship between ceramic assemblages and household population. This ethnoarchaeological study among the Gamo of southwestern Ethiopia focuses on three villages and the relationship between household population and the ceramic life cycle and vessel uselife. The life cycle analysis in combination with vessel function reveals that household population could be interpreted from vessel frequency and volume. The non-pottery-producing village of Etello displays more correlations between household population and ceramic assemblages than do the two pottery-producing villages of Zuza and Guyla. Furthermore, vessel function plays a principal role in the association between uselife and household population.

Résumé

Résumé

El objetivo de este artículo (trabajo) es el de identificar la relación entre la presencia de vasijas de cerámica y número de miembros en los hogares presentes en el área. Este estudio etnoarqueológico de los Gamo en el sur-oeste de Etiopía, se concentra en tres de estos pueblos y se enfoca en la relación entre el número de miembros en los hogares locales y el uso y función de las vasijas encontradas en la zona. El análisis del ciclo de vida y función de estos restos revela la posibilidad de interpretar la composición de los hogares a partir de la frecuencia y volúmen de las vasijas (los restos). Etelo, un pueblo no productor de cerámica, presenta correlaciones más altas entre el número de miembros en sus hogares y los restos de cerámica encontrados que los pueblos productores de cerámica de Zuza y Guyla. Por otro lado, la función atribuída a las vasijas juega un papel importante en la asociación entre el número de miembros de los hogares y el ciclo de vida de estos restos cerámicos.

Type
Articles
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 74 , Issue 1 , January 2009 , pp. 31 - 48
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References Cited

Arthur, John W. 1997 Producers and Consumers: The Ethno-Archaeology of Gamo Pottery Production and Use, In Ethiopia in Broader Perspective: Papers of the XIIIth International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, vol. I-III, edited by Katsuyoshi Fukui, Eisei Kurimoto, and Masayoshi Shigeta, pp. 284–298. Kyoto, Japan: Shokado Book Sellers.Google Scholar
Arthur, John W. 2000 Ceramic Ethnoarchaeology among the Gamo of Southwestern Ethiopia, Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville.Google Scholar
Arthur, John W. 2002 Pottery Use-Alteration as an Indicator of Socioeconomic Status: An Ethnoarchaeological Study of the Gamo of Ethiopia. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 9:331–355.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arthur, John W. 2003 Brewing Beer: Status, Wealth, and Ceramic Use-Alteration among the Gamo of Southwestern Ethiopia. World Archaeology 34:516–528.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arthur, John W. 2006 Living with Pottery: Ceramic Ethnoarchaeology among the Gamo of Southwestern Ethiopia. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Bankes, George 1985 The Manufacture and Circulation of Paddle and Anvil Pottery on the North Coast of Peru. World Archaeology 17:269–277.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baumhoff, Martin A., and Heizer, Robert F. 1959 Some Unexploited Possibilities in Ceramic Analysis. Southwestern Journal of Anthropology 15:308–316.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beck, Margaret E. 2006 Midden Ceramic Assemblage Formation: A Case Study from Kalinga, Philippines. American Antiquity 71:27–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beck, Margaret E., and Hill, Matthew E. Jr. 2004 Rubbish, Relatives, and Residence: The Family Use of Middens. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 11:297–333.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Birmingham, Judy 1975 Traditional Potters of the Kathmandu Valley: An Ethnoarchaeological Study. Man 10:370–386.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brandt, Steven A., Spring, Anita, Hiebsch, Clifton, Terrence McCabe, J., Tabogie, Endale, Diro, Mulugeta, Wolde-Michael, Gizachew, Yntiso, Gebre, Shigeta, Masayoshi, and Tesfaye, Shiferaw 1997 The Tree Against Hunger: Enset-Based Agricultural Systems in Ethiopia. American Association for the Advancement of Science, New York.Google Scholar
David, Nicholas 1972 On the Life Span of Pottery, Type Frequencies, and Archaeological Inference. American Antiquity 37:141–142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
David, Nicholas, and Hennig, Hilke 1972 The Ethnography of Pottery: A Fulani Case Seen in Archaeological Perspective. Addison-Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts.Google Scholar
Deal, Michael 1985 Household Pottery Disposal in the Maya Highlands: An Ethnoarchaeological Interpretation. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 4:243–291.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deal, Michael 1998 Pottery Ethnoarchaeology in the Central Maya Highlands. The University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Deal, Michael, and Hagstrum, Melissa B. 1995 Ceramic Reuse Behavior among the Maya and Wanka: Implications for Archaeology. In Expanding Archaeology, edited by James M. Skibo, William H. Walker, and Axel E. Nielsen, pp. 111–125. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
DeBoer, Warren R. 1974 Ceramic Longevity and Archaeological Interpretation: An Example from the Upper Ucayali, Peru. American Antiquity 39:335–343.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
de la Torre, Amalia, and Mudar, Karen M. 1982 The Becino Site: An Exercise in Ethnoarchaeology. In Houses Built on Scattered Poles: Prehistory and Ecology in Negros Oriental, Philippines, edited by Karl L. Hut-terer and William K. MacDonald, pp. 117–146. San Carlos University, Cebu City, Philippines.Google Scholar
Foster, George M. 1960 Life-Expectancy of Utilitarian Pottery in Tzintzuntzan, Michoacan, Mexico. American Antiquity 25: 606–609.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hayden, Brian, and Cannon, Audrey 1984 The Structure of Material Systems: Ethnoarchaeol ogy in the Maya highlands. SAA Papers No. 3. Society for American Archaeology, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Hildebrand, John A., and Hagstrum, Melissa B. 1999 New Approaches to Ceramic Use and Discard: Cooking Pottery from the Peruvian Andes in Ethnoarchaeological Perspective. Latin American Antiquity 10:25–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Joyce, Arthur A., and Johannessen, Sissel 1993 Abandonment and Variability at Domestic Sites. In Abandonment of Settlements and Regions: Ethnoarchae-ological and Archaeological Approaches, edited by Catherine M. Cameron and Steve A. Tomka, pp. 138–153. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lightfoot, Ricky R. 1993 Abandonment Processes in Prehistoric Pueblos, In Abandonment of Settlements and Regions: Ethnoarchaeological and Archaeological Approaches, edited by Catherine M. Cameron and Steve A. Tomka, pp. 165–177. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lindahl, Anders, and Matenga, Edward 1995 Present and Past: Ceramics and Homesteads: An Ethnoarchaeological Project in the Buhera District, Zimbabwe. Studies in African Archaeology 11, Department of Archaeology. Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.Google Scholar
Longacre, William. A 1985 Pottery Use Life among the Kalinga, Northern Luzon, the Philippines. In Decoding Prehistoric Ceramics, edited by Ben A. Nelson, pp. 334–346. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale.Google Scholar
Longacre, William. A 1991 Sources of Ceramic Variability among the Kalinga of Northern Luzon. In Ceramic Ethnoarchaeology, edited by William A. Longacre, pp. 95–111. The University of Arizona Press, Tucson.Google Scholar
Mills, Barbara J. 1999 Ceramics and Social Contexts of Food Consumption in the Northern Southwest. In Pottery and People: A Dynamic Interaction, edited by James M. Skibo and Gary M. Feinman, pp. 99–114. The University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Nelson, Ben A. 1981 Ethnoarchaeology and Paleodemography: A Test of Turner and Lofgren's Hypothesis. Journal of Anthropological Research 37:107–129.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nelson, Ben A. 1991 Ceramic Frequency and Use-Life: A Highland Mayan Case in Cross-Cultural Perspective. In Ceramic Ethnoarchaeology, edited by William A. Longacre, pp. 162–181. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.Google Scholar
Okpoko, A. Ikechukwu 1987 Pottery-Making in Igboland, Eastern Nigeria: An Ethno Archaeological Study. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 53:445–455.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pastron, Allen G. 1974 Preliminary Ethnoarchaeological Investigations among the Tarahumara. In Ethnoarchaeology, edited by Christopher B. Donnan and C. William Clewlow Jr., pp. 93–114. UCLA Institute of Archaeology Monograph 4. University of California, Los Angeles.Google Scholar
Reid, Kenneth C. 1989 A Materials Science Perspective on Hunter-Gatherer Pottery. In Pottery Technology: Ideas and Approaches, edited by Gordon Bronitsky, pp. 167–180. Westview Press, Boulder.Google Scholar
Rice, Prudence 1987 Pottery Analysis: A Sourcebook. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.Google Scholar
Shapiro, Gary 1984 Ceramic Vessels, Site Permanence, and Group Size: A Mississippian Example. American Antiquity 49:696–712.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shott, Michael J. 1996 Mortal Pots: On Use Life and Vessel Size in the Formation of Ceramic Assemblages. American Antiquity 61:463–482.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Skibo, James M. 1992 Pottery Function: A Use-Alteration Perspective. Plenum Press, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, Michael F. 1987 Household Possessions and Wealth in Agrarian States: Implications for Archaeology. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 6:297–335.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stanislawski, Michael B. 1978 If Pots Were Mortal. In Explorations in Ethnoarchaeology, edited by Richard A. Gould, pp. 379–409. Columbia University Press, New York.Google Scholar
Tani, Masakazu 1994 Why Should More Pots Break in Larger Households? Mechanisms Underlying Population Estimates from Ceramics. In Kalinga Ethnoarchaeology: Expanding Archaeological Method and Theory, edited by William A. Longacre and James M. Skibo, pp. 51–70. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Trostel, Brian 1994 Household Pots and Possessions: An Ethnoarchaeological Study of Material Goods and Wealth. In Kalinga Ethnoarchaeology: Expanding Archaeological Method and Theory, edited by William A. Longacre and James M. Skibo, pp. 209–224. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Tomka, Steve A., and Stevenson, Marc G. 1993 Understanding Abandonment Processes: Summary and Remaining Concerns. In Abandonment of Settlements and Regions: Ethnoarchaeological and Archaeological Approaches, edited by Catherine M. Cameron and Steve A. Tomka, pp. 191–195. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turner, Christy G., and Lofgren, Laurel 1966 Household Size of Prehistoric Western Pueblo Indians. Southwestern Journal of Anthropology 22:117–132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Varien, Mark D., and Mills, Barbara J. 1997 Accumulations Research: Problems and Prospects for Estimating Site Occupation Span. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 4:141–191.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Westphal, E. 1975 Agricultural Systems in Ethiopia. Center for Agricultural Publishing and Documentation, Wageningen, the Netherlands.Google Scholar