Acquisition of a Toyota Land Cruiser for the Ethnoarchaeological Caste Project in Southwestern Ethiopia

University Of South Florida, Tampa FL

Investigators

Abstract

With support from the National Science Foundation, the University of South Florida St. Petersburg will purchase a Toyota Land Cruiser GX. Principal Investigator Dr. John Arthur and Co-Principal Investigator Dr. Kathryn Weedman will use the vehicle to conduct archaeological, ethnoarchaeological, and oral history research in the remote highlands of southwestern Ethiopia. Arthur and Weedman's research among the Gamo of southwestern Ethiopia will reveal an interpretation of Gamo culture history and the development of their caste system, both of which have never been investigated. Caste systems are prevalent throughout Asia and Africa, including Ethiopia, where they have a profound affect on the marriage relations, status, occupation, settlement patterns, ritual purity, diet, and burial placement. However, there has been little archaeological research, especially in Ethiopia or Africa, which addresses the identification, origin, and development of caste societies. By combining oral history, archaeology, and ethnoarchaeology, it is hoped that this project will disclose new hypotheses and interpretations through indigenous worldviews concerning the origin and development of a non-western state system, caste. In addition, their research also will contribute to a better understanding of broader issues in anthropology and archaeology including craft specialization, identity and the formation of complex societies. The vehicle will enable Arthur and Weedman to transport American, French, and Ethiopian researchers, students, and assistants in Ethiopia. It will primarily be used in the Gamo region, which is a very remote highland area of Ethiopia that requires a 4-wheel drive vehicle to safely maneuver the dirt-track roads. There is virtually no public transportation in the Gamo region and certainly none that could directly carry researchers and their equipment to the villages and archaeological sites where they will be working. Arthur and Weedman intend to collaborate with five European and Ethiopian researchers, as well as train at least six American and Ethiopian students. The purchase of the vehicle will allow the transport of more personnel while saving precious field-time and reducing long-term costs. This award will provide Arthur and Weedman with a significant long-term cost-effective means for transportation in the highlands of southwestern Ethiopia enabling them to train more students and collaborate with other researchers.