Crossing the Borders: New Methods and Techniques in the Study of Archaeological Materials from the Caribbean

32 / Hofman, Isendoorn, Booden, and Jacobs
the source a small vessel is made to test the workability of the clay, which is then
thrown into the river for the ori:no akï:rï, the spirit connected with the clay who
resides at that place. The clay spirit is the manifestation of Okoÿumo, the water
spirit, but it carries a different name for each sort of clay (Vredenbregt 2002:115;
2004).
Similarly Martijn van den Bel observed that the Palikur in French Guiana use
a clay (hibug) obtained from an alluvial clay deposit rich in kaolin but in itself
not very suitable (too dense and sticky) for the coiling technique (Van den Bel
1995). Therefore, the Palikur like the Kari’na add kwep ashes (from the bark of
Licania sp.), as a temper material to the clay to make the substance suitable for
coiling, with good results after drying and firing. After they burn the bark to form
ash and charcoal they grind it in a wooden mortar. For large vessels they use a
coarse grinding, while for smaller vessels a finer grinding is required (Vredenbregt
2002:115–116; 2004). Recent experiments with kwep evidenced that next to the fact
that porosity of the fabric increases by adding burned bark, these ashes have the
functional advantage of being highly absorptive (Jacobs and Van den Bel 1995:130;
Van den Bel et al. 1995). The potters may have been aware of these advantages, but
the preference for burned and pounded kwep used as a temper material among
the Kari’na and Palikur has been defined by ancestral tradition. The knowledge
of specific clay recipes was passed from mother to daughter, from generation to
generation.
Local vs. Nonlocal Clays
The geological diversity of the islands of the Lesser Antilles results in a large variation
of clay sources. The volcanic islands are very rich in clays, whereas, in general,
sources of usable clays are scarce on the limestone islands. This must have had direct
repercussions for the gathering of raw materials for the production of pottery
by the insular communities. We may assume that local clays, if available, were used
for the manufacture of the majority of the pottery. However, the Saban case study
showed that although clays are locally available, approximately one- third of the
pottery has been manufactured of clays from other islands, mostly in the direct vicinity
of Saba but in other cases from more distant locales.
Ethnoarchaeological research in the Guyana’s shows that, sometimes, long distances
are traveled to gather clay even if clays are locally available in the direct vicinity
of the settlement. In some cases it was clear that these sources were known
from ancestral tradition and that a symbolic value was attached to them. Kari’na
women, for example, collect their clays from Ura:ni, a place of a former village
along the riverbank of the Maroni, which was located about 30 minutes upstream
from the home village by motorboat (Vredenbregt 2002:115; 2004). Renzo Duin observed
that Wayana potters from the Upper Maroni River travel nearly 20 km from
their home village, requiring at least two hours by canoe upriver to gather clay.
You are reading copyrighted material published by the University of Alabama Press.
Any posting, copying, or distributing of this work beyond fair use as defined under U.S. Copyright law is illegal and
injures the author and publisher. For permission to reuse this work, contact the University of Alabama Press.