Back to the Grindstone? The Archaeological Potential of Grinding-Stone Studies in Africa with Reference to Contemporary Grinding Practices in Marakwet, Northwest Kenya
Back to the Grindstone? The Archaeological Potential of Grinding-Stone Studies in Africa with Reference to Contemporary Grinding Practices in Marakwet, Northwest Kenya
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DOI：
10.1007/s10437-017-9264-0
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发表时间：
2017-08
影响因子：
1.6
通讯作者：
Anna Shoemaker;M. Davies;H. Moore
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Anna Shoemaker;M. Davies;H. Moore
本文介绍了对肯尼亚西北部埃尔格约-马拉克维特县磨石器及其用途的观察。马拉克维特的工具使用情况与非洲关于磨石的文献精选概述相联系。马拉克维特的磨石不仅融入了日常生活，还融入了生活中更具表演性和仪式性的方面。这些工具具有独特的地方传统，承载着社会和功能上的重要性。有人认为，对磨石工具组合的区域和时间上的具体研究可以为各种物质的加工提供信息。尽管磨石工具很常见，但在许多非洲考古组合中，磨石工具是一个很少被讨论的组成部分。然而，研磨石的重要性必须重新评估，因为它们有可能为过去的食物和材料加工提供信息。
This article presents observations on grinding-stone implements and their uses in Elgeyo-Marakwet County, northwest Kenya. Tool use in Marakwet is contextualized with a select overview of literature on grinding-stones in Africa. Grinding-stones in Marakwet are incorporated not only into quotidian but also into more performative and ritual aspects of life. These tools have distinct local traditions laden with social as well as functional importance. It is argued that regionally and temporally specific studies of grinding-stone tool assemblages can be informative on the processing of various substances. Despite being common occurrences, grinding-stone tools are an under-discussed component of many African archaeological assemblages. Yet the significance of grinding-stones must be reevaluated, as they hold the potential to inform on landscapes of past food and material processing.