NDLI: Ceramics, Ethnohistory, and Ethnography: Locating Meaning in Southern African Iron Age Ceramic Assemblages

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Pikirayi, Incent Lindahl, Anders
Copyright Year	2013
Abstract	For ceramics to be relevant in the Southern African Iron Age, archaeologists must broaden their theoretical base to include social and other contexts when interpreting material culture items such as pottery. Pottery remains critical in understanding cultural dynamics in the region for the past two millennia, but current usage is narrow in scope. Using ethnohistorical data and archaeological examples from South Africa and Zimbabwe, we argue that pottery provides valuable information on the region's Iron Age, if archaeologists address the social meaning of ceramic assemblages. Ceramic production among rural communities provides the basis on which a wide range of social issues are discussed and used to critique pottery recovered from archaeology. Ethnography suggests that ceramic assemblages are context specific, and archaeologists are cautioned against making generic statements on the basis of similarities of vessel shape and decoration motif.Pour faire en sorte que la céramique contribue aux études de l'Âge du Fer en Afrique australe, l'interprétation archéologique doit prendre meileure mesure des différents contextes dans lesquels évolue la poterie. La poterie joue un rôle critique dans la compréhension des dynamiques culturelles de la région au cours des deux derniers millénaires, mais elle demeure limitée dans son usage. Sur la base de données ethno-historiques et d'exemples archéologiques tirés d'Afrique du Sud et du Zimbabwe, nous soutenons que la poterie peut fournir des informations précieuses sur l'Âge de Fer régional si les archéologues s'attachent à examiner la signification sociale des assemblages céramiques. La production potière dans les communautés rurales nous permet de traiter un large éventail de questions sociales et de formuler une critique de la poterie issue de l'archéologie. Nos données ethnographiques suggèrent que les assemblages céramiques doivent être traités dans leur contexte propre, et mettent les archéologues en garde contre les explications générales sur la base de similarités morphologiques et décoratives.
Starting Page	455
Ending Page	473
Page Count	19
File Format	PDF
ISSN	02630338
Journal	African Archaeological Review
Volume Number	30
Issue Number	4
e-ISSN	15729842
Language	English
Publisher	Springer US
Publisher Date	2013-12-06
Publisher Place	Boston
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Ethnohistory Ethnography Ceramic assemblage Social meaning Production Distribution Archaeology Anthropology Regional and Cultural Studies
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Archeology Archeology (arts and humanities)

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

Taking Southern African Ceramic Studies into the Twenty-First Century: A Zimbabwean Perspective

Remarks on Early Iron Age Burial Sites from Southern Cameroon

The Pottery Informatics Query Database: A New Method for Mathematic and Quantitative Analyses of Large Regional Ceramic Datasets

Stephanie Wynne-Jones and Jeffrey Fleisher (Eds.), Theory in Africa, Africa in Theory: Locating Meaning in Archaeology

Descent of Iron Age Farmers in Southern Africa During the Last 2000 Years

Ceramic Production and Dietary Changes at Juffure, Gambia

State Formation in Southern Africa: A Reply to Kim and Kusimba

Mapping the Stone Age of Mozambique

Southern African San Rock Painting as Social Intervention: A Study of Rain-Control Images

Ceramics, Ethnohistory, and Ethnography: Locating Meaning in Southern African Iron Age Ceramic Assemblages

Similar Documents

Taking Southern African Ceramic Studies into the Twenty-First Century: A Zimbabwean Perspective

Remarks on Early Iron Age Burial Sites from Southern Cameroon

The Pottery Informatics Query Database: A New Method for Mathematic and Quantitative Analyses of Large Regional Ceramic Datasets

Stephanie Wynne-Jones and Jeffrey Fleisher (Eds.), Theory in Africa, Africa in Theory: Locating Meaning in Archaeology

Descent of Iron Age Farmers in Southern Africa During the Last 2000 Years

Ceramic Production and Dietary Changes at Juffure, Gambia

State Formation in Southern Africa: A Reply to Kim and Kusimba

Mapping the Stone Age of Mozambique

Southern African San Rock Painting as Social Intervention: A Study of Rain-Control Images

Ceramics, Ethnohistory, and Ethnography: Locating Meaning in Southern African Iron Age Ceramic Assemblages