Bridging Ethnoarchaeology and Archaeology in the Ethiopian Gamo Highlands

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article is a case study that applies long-term ceramic ethnoarchaeology to recent archaeological research in the Gamo region of Ethiopia. The region is located on the western escarpment of the Great Rift Valley. Today, an important cultural characteristic of the Gamo is their caste system. They divide society into occupational castes including Mala farmers and Tsoma artisans who are segregated in their access to land and food resources. Working collaboratively with Gamo Boreda elders, we located a historic Mala household at the archaeological site of Ochollo Mulato (1270–1950 CE) and an artisan household at the archaeological site of Garu (eighteenth and nineteenth centuries CE). The historic archaeological pottery assemblages from Ochollo Mulato and Garu are considered in light of thirty years of Gamo ceramic ethnoarchaeological research to understand changes in subsistence and social organization through time.KEYWORDS: GamoEthiopiacastepotteryceramicsfeastingbeerculinary AcknowledgmentsI would like to first thank the Gamo people for accepting me into their communities and homes, and for being gracious hosts and teachers. Each time I am fortunate to be in Gamo, they teach me new expressions of thought, and for this I am grateful. This article is dedicated to Jim Skibo, friend, and mentor. I thank Brenda Bowser for inviting Tania Valamoti and me to contribute a Special Issue in the journal Ethnoarchaeology as an outcome of the WAC-9 session Breaking Bread and Raising a Glass: Bridging Ethnoarchaeological and Archaeological Research on Food and Culinary Habits. My field research experience is always enhanced because I am lucky to have Kathryn Weedman Arthur and Matthew C. Curtis as colleagues and friends. I thank Kathryn Arthur for creating Figure 2 and Matthew C. Curtis for producing Figure 8 and Figure 10. I thank the reviewers who took the time to review the manuscript. Permission for this research was given by the Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage, which is part of Ethiopia’s Ministry of Culture. Each day Kathy and Hannah Arthur confirm to me that love is more than a dream.Disclosure StatementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationFundingThis work was supported by the National Science Foundation [Grant Number BCS-1027607], the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the University of South Florida St. Petersburg and Tampa.Notes on contributorsJohn W. ArthurJohn W. Arthur is Professor of Anthropology at the University of South Florida. He has worked in Ethiopia since 1995 conducting ceramic ethnoarchaeological and Holocene archaeological research. He has received funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities and has published two books as well as numerous articles in journals such as Science, Nature, and PNAS. While working in Ethiopia, Dr. Arthur began to research the importance of beer in contemporary people’s lives, which led to his most recent book, Beer – A Global Journey through the Past and Present, published by Oxford University Press.