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

在非洲，粮食生产的途径遵循着一条独特的轨迹：以牛为基础的畜牧业在非洲大陆上的发展远远早于任何本土农业。因此，在非洲，任何关于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，而不是集中在定居的乡村生活上。这个研究项目将是第一个研究流动畜牧业和物质文化（特别是陶器）之间的考古关系的项目。尽管技术和风格独特的陶瓷工业与非洲最早的许多牧民有关，但我们还不了解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。第一批牧民在4000多年前的干旱气候时期迁入东非。一种独特的陶器，被称为“恩德里特”，与这群牧民有关。恩德里特陶器在家庭和仪式考古遗址中广泛发现，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中发现的恩德里特陶器的大小、形状和数量是如何根据牧民对高流动性的需求和对家畜而不是农业的依赖而构成的。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柱子遗址的材料上，该遗址包含东非迄今为止发现的最大的恩德里特陶瓷组合。还将分析来自该区域国内场址的样本，以便进行比较。将对恩德里特陶瓷表面的脂质残留物进行分析，以确定这些罐子是如何使用的，并收集粘土类型的数据，以检查陶瓷生产和流通的模式。此外，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需求，以及现代流动牧民群体中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的流动陶瓷生产者的研究产生更广泛的影响。由于对游牧陶瓷的系统研究很少，这项研究将为对非洲和其他地区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。在桑布鲁地区，随着传统花盆被铝制和塑料容器所取代，盆栽的传统正在消失。该项目可能有助于保护桑布鲁文化遗产的这一方面，在此过程中为有关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侧重于为图尔卡纳盆地的考古建设基础设施。同样，培训学生将有助于国际信息交流，并有助于研究东非早期游牧民族历史的新研究计划的发展。

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.