Vanishing Potters in the Ubangi River Basin: A Comparative Ethnoarchaeology

Abstract

This article applies an ethnoarchaeological approach to investigate pottery chaînes opératoires throughout the Ubangi River Basin across northern Democratic Republic of the Congo and southwestern Central African Republic. Six potters were interviewed from four different ethnolinguistic groups usually united under the geography-based linguistic label “Ubangi”. While there is a remarkable similarity in the forming techniques across the four groups, including the use of drawing a lump and superimposed coils, several important distinctions have been observed. Additionally, the comparative analysis of pottery-related vocabulary is used as a tool to uncover potential contact events and cultural transmission among these groups. By documenting the distribution and association of various manufacturing and decorative practices amongst Ubangi-speaking potters, this paper contributes important information to the growing body of archaeological data for Central Africa. Furthermore, this paper is the first to document a corpus of traditional knowledge within these Ubangi-speaking communities that is rapidly disappearing throughout Africa.

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