Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Pottery and Pastoralism in East Africa: Ethnographic and Archaeological Perspectives

在非洲，粮食生产的道路遵循着一条独特的轨迹：以牛为基础的畜牧业在非洲大陆早于任何土著农业发展起来。因此，在非洲，任何对早期粮食生产的研究都必须集中在与相对较高的流动性有关的问题上，而不是固定的乡村生活。这项研究项目将是第一批考察流动牧业和物质文化，特别是陶器之间的考古关系的项目之一。尽管在技术和风格上独特的陶瓷业与许多非洲最早的牧民联系在一起，但我们还不清楚陶器的生产和使用是如何在社会、经济或意识形态上融入这些流动牧民的生活的。4000多年前，第一批牧民在一个干旱的气候阶段迁徙到东非。一种独特的陶器，被称为“Nderit”，与这群牧民联系在一起。Nderit陶器被广泛地从国内和礼仪考古遗址中发现，但我们不知道它是如何在这两种情况下使用的。我们也不知道在这些遗址发现的恩德利特陶器的大小、形状和数量可能是由牧民对高流动性和对家畜而不是农业的依赖所构成的。为了解决这些问题，将对肯尼亚西北部图尔卡纳盆地的恩德里特陶瓷进行首次全面研究。分析将集中在Jarigole Pillar遗址的材料上，该遗址由东非迄今发现的最大的Nderit陶瓷组合组成。还将对该地区国内遗址的样本进行分析，以便进行比较。将对Nderit陶瓷表面的脂质残留物进行分析，以确定这些陶罐是如何使用的，并将收集有关粘土类型的数据，以检查陶瓷生产和流通的模式。此外，还将在肯尼亚北部的桑布鲁牧民中进行民族考古研究。这项研究将深入了解牧民对容器的功能性需求，以及现代流动牧民群体内陶器生产和使用的社会和经济背景。该项目旨在帮助解释东非考古记录，但将对世界其他地区流动陶瓷生产商的研究产生更广泛的影响。由于对牧民陶器进行的系统研究很少，这项研究将为对非洲和其他地方流动群体的物质文化感兴趣的考古学家提供有用的跨文化比较材料。在Samburu区，传统的盆栽正在消失，因为传统的盆栽正在被铝和塑料容器所取代。该项目可能有助于保护桑布鲁文化遗产的这一方面，在这一过程中为关于畜牧业和集装箱生产和使用的民族志文献提供宝贵的信息。与肯尼亚国家博物馆的肯尼亚学者的合作将集中在为图尔卡纳盆地的考古建设基础设施。培训学生同样将有助于国际信息交流和制定研究东非早期牧民历史的新的研究倡议。

In Africa, pathways to food production followed a unique trajectory: Cattle-based pastoralism developed on the continent long before any indigenous agriculture. In Africa, therefore, any study of early food production must focus on questions related to relatively high mobility rather than on settled village life. This research project will be among the first to examine archaeological relationships between mobile pastoralism and material culture, specifically pottery. Although technologically and stylistically-distinct ceramic industries are associated with many of Africa's earliest herders, we do not yet understand how pottery production and use was socially, economically, or ideologically integrated into the lives of these mobile pastoralists. The first group of pastoralists moved into East Africa during an arid climatic phase over 4,000 years ago. A distinctive type of pottery, referred to as "Nderit," is associated with this group of herders. Nderit pottery is widely recovered from both domestic and ceremonial archaeological sites, but we do not understand how it was used in either of these contexts. Neither do we know how the sizes, shapes, and quantities of Nderit pottery found at these sites may have been structured by pastoralists' needs for high mobility and reliance upon domestic animals instead of agriculture. To address these questions the first comprehensive study of Nderit ceramics from the Turkana Basin in northwestern Kenya will be conducted. The analysis will focus on material from the Jarigole Pillar Site, which comprises the largest assemblage of Nderit ceramics yet found in East Africa. Samples from domestic sites in the region will also be analyzed for comparative purposes. Analysis of lipid residues on the surfaces of Nderit ceramics will be conducted to determine how these pots were used, and data on clay types will be collected to examine patterns of ceramic production and circulation. In addition, ethnoarchaeological research will be conducted among Samburu pastoralists in northern Kenya. This research will provide insight into pastoralists' functional needs for containers, as well as into the social and economic contexts of pottery production and use within a modern mobile pastoralist group. This project is designed to aid in the interpretation of the East African archaeological record, but will have broader implications for the study of mobile ceramic-producers in other parts of the world. As little systematic research has been conducted on pastoralist ceramics, this research will provide useful cross-cultural comparative material for archaeologists interested in the material culture of mobile groups in Africa and elsewhere. In Samburu District, potting traditions are dying out as traditional pots are being replaced by aluminum and plastic containers. This project may help to preserve this one aspect of Samburu cultural heritage, in the process contributing valuable information to the ethnographic literature on pastoralism and container production and use. Collaborations with Kenyan scholars at the National Museums of Kenya will focus on building infrastructure for the archaeology of the Turkana Basin. Training students will likewise contribute to an international exchange of information and to the development of new research initiatives examining the histories of East Africa's early pastoralist peoples.