From pottery to politics: An ethnoarchaeological study of political factionalism, ethnicity, and domestic pottery style in the Ecuadorian Amazon

A long-standing assumption in archaeological theory is that pottery in the domestic context represents a form of passive style that does not enter int o symbolic communication in the political domain. This paper presents ethno archaeological data to establish a link between womens active political beh avior and pottery style in the domestic context in a small-scale, segmental society in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Analysis of individual variables of styl e shows that Achuar and Quichua women signify their political alliances in the painted decoration of their domestic pottery more strongly than they si gnify so-called passive processes of learning associated with early encultu ration and ethnicity. Furthermore, analysis of womens judgments of pottery as Achuar or Quichua indicates that they decode cues to political alliances in the pottery of other women, including cues to political differences wit hin and between groups. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed in terms of the principles underlying womens stylistic behavior a s part of the political processes involved in the construction and maintena nce of social identity and social boundaries.