Ceramic production and community specialization: A Kalinga ethnoarchaeological study

Abstract

Abstract Ceramic production and exchange have become important issues in archaeological research on specialization and state formation. As one form of craft specialization, intensified ceramic production constitutes a common alternative to farming in societies faced with land shortages. Ceramic specialization is commonly practised at the community level, but little is known about the conditions under which village‐level specialization develops. Ethnoarchaeological research in the northern Philippines documents specialized ceramic production at the community‐level and embeds ceramic production into a regional system of community‐based productive specialization. This Kalinga study provides insights on the process of emergent ceramic specialization.