Ethnographic Clay Sourcing Practices: Insights for Archaeological Assemblage Interpretations

This paper uses examples of ethnographic clay sourcing strategies from coastal and central Kenyan communities (Digo, Jomvu, Chonyi, Tigania and Mbeere), and potsherds from the Manda archaeological site in Kenya (seventh-fourteenth centuries AD), to illustrate archaeological clay variability and discuss cultural and social behaviour which may contribute to paste inconsistences in an archaeological assemblage. I demonstrate that while function and environmental constraints influence the potters’ decision in the selection of clay sources/treatment, the choice may also be influenced by other factors such as aesthetics, which are dependent on the values of the customer, and in some cases, societal taboos. I also argue that clay sources are not always indicators of production centres, and that heterogeneity and homogeneity in paste composition could imply production centres and customer homesteads respectively.