From Clay to Culture: An Ethnoarchaeological Approach to Ceramic Production in Western India

Disha Ahluwalia1* and Sanjay Kumar Manjul2

Pottery traditions in parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat in Western India provide a critical lens through which to examine the continuity and transformation of craft practices across time. This paper adopts an ethnoarchaeological approach to investigate contemporary ceramic production among potter communities in Rajasthan and Gujarat and its implications for interpreting archaeological evidence from the Indus Valley (Harappan) Civilization.  Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, the study documents chaîne opératoire aspects such as raw material procurement, clay preparation, forming techniques, firing methods, and patterns of distribution and use. The findings highlight that pottery making is not merely a technical activity, but a culturally embedded practice structured by tradition, community identity, and intergenerational knowledge transmission. By comparing ethnographic data with archaeological assemblage and evidence from Binjor (4MSR), Kalibangan, Kirsara, Dholavira and Lothal, this paper argues that many variations in pottery demonstrate how local conditions and generational knowledge systems are important in shaping the pottery traditions of India- past and present.