Archaeological ceramics from eastern Africa: past approaches and future directions

Ceramics are an essential part of the Holocene archaeology of eastern Africa and the
development of increasingly complex typologies has rightly played a key role in our
understanding of chronology and social identity. However, this focus on taxonomies
can also be restrictive, as we lose sight of the communities who made and used the
ceramics in our endless search to classify and re-classify ceramics. Focusing on
ceramics from the Great Lakes and Rift Valley (Kansyore, Pastoral Neolithic and
Urewe), we critique past approaches to ceramic analysis, and suggest future studies
should better recognise their social role. We end with a case study of Kansyore ceramics,
emphasising function and use.

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09/13/2018 - 10:43