Culture and technology in the pottery of the medieval Sahel

A preliminary view from the Makarauci valley, Niger

Bibliographic Data

ID11738174
AuthorsAnne Haour (0000-0002-0844-4867, Manchester College, corresponding author), Ruth Galpine
Year2005
Volume3
Issue1
Pages127-137
Publication date2005-06-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of African Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1612-1651 • E-ISSN: 2191-5784
PublisherBrill (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.3213/1612-1651-10041
OpenAlexW1975739209
LanguageEN
Citations received3

This article considers pottery sherds from three sites in the Makarauci Valley, Niger, dating from AD 1300-1650, with particular focus on tempering practices. The sherds represented two main types: plain vessels with minerals providing a natural temper, and decorated (mainly pleated strip roulette) vessels tempered with vegetal fibres, now burnt out. There is a very strong correlation between this fibre-tempered fabric and decoration. As the contemporaneity of dates suggests both types of clay were available to the potters, the question arises as to why they used fibre-tempered clays for the manufacture of decorated vessels. We consider evidence for fibre-tempering from around the world and suggest that the answer lies in a combination of cultural and technological factors. Decoration served as the marker of a vessel designed for water storage and carrying, and the decoration disguised the pitted and blemished surface of fibre-tempered pots; the porous fabric meant the vessels were lighter to carry and therefore better suited for water transport

Ancient history · Archaeology · Composite material · Geography · Natural (archaeology · Pottery · Tempering · African Studies and Geopolitics · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies · Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis · History · Materials Science · Geology

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