A translation of DeBoer and Lathrap’s classic “The making and breaking of Shipibo-Conibo ceramics”

Abstract DeBoer and Lathrap discuss the ceramic industry of the Shipibo-Conibo of eastern Peru, documenting the passage of objects from their context in a contemporary behavioral system to their incorporation into the archaeological record. They describe the procurement of raw materials, vessel manufacture, and distribution within households, the primary functions and the secondary uses of vessels, and the pattern of ceramic discard. While not primarily concerned with classification, the authors provide useful information about native taxonomy (particularly as it relates to vessel function), and about variations among potters. In focusing on variations in vessel use and longevity, and on the processes which transform ceramic objects into archaeological artifacts, the article contributes to a growing literature illuminating formation processes of the archaeological record, and has implications for the formulations of archaeological sampling design (introduction by Carol Kramer of the 1979 version).