Kibiro: The Salt of Bunyoro, Past and Present.

Kibiro: The Salt of Bunyoro, Past and Present. This volume presents the results of Graham Connah's research atand around the important Ugandan salt-producing site of Kibiro. Ithighlights a number of contradictions in the archaeology of the Africancontinent. On the one hand, the archaeologist is blessed withpotentially extensive sources of ethnography and history (both writtenand oral), through which interpretations can be enriched. On the otherhand, the archaeologist is often faced with the task of recording theseethnographies and reconstructing these histories. Thus, the desire toconduct informative problem-oriented research is frequently outweighedby the primary need for descriptive detail and the definition of thebasic regional archaeological sequence The archaeological sequence or sequence for short, on a specific archaeological site can be defined on two levels of rigour. Normally it is adequate to equate it to archaeological record. However, the two terms are not exactly interchangeable. .Connah's Kibiro accesses rich written sources, relating therecords of European writers in the 19th and 20th centuries, and alsoprovides a thorough account of present-day salt-working practices, in anattempt to set the backdrop for an examination of the archaeologicaldeposits at the site. Salt production currently involves the leaching ofsaline soil and subsequently evaporation of the brine brinea salt solution used in the curing of meat. Standard ingredients are sodium chloride (15 to 30%) and sodium nitrate (0.15 to 1.50%) but many other ingredients may be added for special effects.brine shrimpsee artemia. produced in theleaching process. This is not unique, but a novel development at Kibirois the re-use of soil, ensuring the sustainability of this method ofsalt production. Salt gardens - small areas of scraped and smoothedground impregnated im��preg��nate?tr.v. im��preg��nat��ed, im��preg��nat��ing, im��preg��nates1. To make pregnant; inseminate.2. To fertilize (an ovum, for example).3. by a hot, salt-rich spring - are prepared and loosedry soil is spread over their damp surfaces. This soil is spread everymorning and collected every evening. Over a number of days, sun-inducedcapillary action draws out salty moisture from the garden which isabsorbed by the loose dry soil. This salt-rich dry soil is thensaturated to produce the brine for boiling. Connah estimates thisleaching process to increase the salt concentration by as much as 33times. It also reduces the magnesium content; important for those who donot wish a little purgative purgative/pur��ga��tive/ (purg��it-iv) cathartic (1, 2). pur��ga��tiven.An agent used for purging the bowels.adj.Tending to cause evacuation of the bowels. with their salt. The final product is a verypure, 96% sodium chloride sodium chloride,NaCl, common salt.PropertiesSodium chloride is readily soluble in water and insoluble or only slightly soluble in most other liquids. It forms small, transparent, colorless to white cubic crystals. .Historical sources from the late 19th century allude to allude toverb refer to, suggest, mention, speak of, imply, intimate, hint at, remark on, insinuate, touch upon see see, elude the scale ofthe salt trade in the precolonial pre��co��lo��ni��alor pre-co��lo��ni��al ?adj.Of, relating to, or being the period of time before colonization of a region or territory. kingdom of Bunyoro, one of the twodominant interlacustrine states at that time. For instance, one writersuggests the king of Bunyoro exacted an annual tribute of 1000 blocks ofsalt, each block weighing 10-15 kg. Yet he had to purchase still more tosatisfy his needs.This fascinating detail on the modern and recent salt productionprovides an introduction to the study of the archaeological deposits atthe site. The basic premise of the excavations was to document theextent and nature of occupation. Subsequently, these data are used totry and make sense of other sites in the region, located during fieldreconnaissance. Kibiro appears to have been occupied throughout most ofthe present millennium. It can be inferred from the excavations, but notproven, that Kibiro from its inception was involved in salt production.Specialist analyses of pottery, faunal remains and other finds add tothe description of the excavations, but reveal little more about thepeople who produced the salt, or their place in broader society. TheKibiro archaeological sequence appears to have little relevance inhelping to understand other sites located in the region.The archaeological record The archaeological record is a term used in archaeology to denote all archaeological evidence, including the physical remains of past human activities which archaeologists seek out and record in an attempt to analyze and reconstruct the past. is examined in laborious and intensivedetail. Numerous plates, figures and tables, many of which are ofquestionable significance, record the site in full detail. Veryoccasionally, these empirical descriptions are pierced by the romanceoften associated with working on the African continent. In describingthe dimensions of one site, Connah admits 'the extent of the sherdscatter to the south could not be determined because a group ofelephants prevented a search in that direction' (p. 189).To be fair to Connah, he does recognize the place of his work as acontribution to the research process, rather than the final word on saltproduction at Kibiro. For example, he points out that, havingestablished a cultural sequence, future strategies would be able tofocus on area excavations at Kibiro. These could be used to examine arange of issues of general archaeological significance. On the basis ofthe information presented in this volume, one very obvious future studywould be to examine gender roles in the archaeological record at Kibiro.In the 19th and 20th centuries, it would appear that women had anexclusive role as salt producers, benefiting directly from theirproduce. Elsewhere, women were being excluded from economic productionand power. In this regard, the burial of an ornately adorned a��dorn?tr.v. a��dorned, a��dorn��ing, a��dorns1. To lend beauty to: "the pale mimosas that adorned the favorite promenade"Ronald Firbank.2. ?woman,dating to the 14th century, the only burial encountered duringexcavation, is intriguing.There are inevitably a number of specific problems with thepresentation and interpretation of the archaeological evidence. One suchproblem, which many archaeologists would now have, is the reliance onpottery traditions to suggest a population movement of non-Bantuspeakers into the region. This pottery is in particular characterized bycarved wooden roulette roulette(rlĕt`), game of chance popular in gambling casinos, and in a simplified form elsewhere. In gambling houses the roulette wheel is set in an oblong table. decoration. Connah recognizes 99 separatepatterns, a diversity to which he ascribes considerable significance. Bytheir very nature, however, every wooden roulette must be unique, sinceit has to be individually carved. Therefore, the archaeologicalsignificance of carved wooden roulettes would appear to lie in theirexpressions of individual style, rather than collective identity. Such afocus would, again, benefit from future area excavation, which couldhighlight spatial patterns in the occurrence of carved wooden roulettes.On a further, but more personal note, having just examined a collectionof pottery from southern Uganda, I found the pottery typology typology/ty��pol��o��gy/ (ti-pol��ah-je) the study of types; the science of classifying, as bacteria according to type. typologythe study of types; the science of classifying, as bacteria according to type. thatConnah develops very difficult to apply.A more general problem is the relationship between salt productionand the rise of the Bunyoro state. The significance of salt is merelyassumed. No attempt is made to evaluate that significance, eitherhistorically, detailing how salt was exchanged and its economic andsocial value relative to other commodities, or by putting archaeologicalsalt production into a broader regional context. In this broadercontext, there is increasing evidence, from both archaeology andlinguistics, of economic diversification and specialization and changesin social and political structures from the beginning of the presentmillennium. These are general developments from which Kibiro and itssalt should not be separated. Contrary to the title and theme of Kibiro,there is, as yet, no evidence to indicate that a polity corresponding toBunyoro existed when salt was first produced there. It is also worthnoting that there are still no likely methods through which the teasingproblem of salt distribution could be examined in the archaeologicalrecord.Whilst the lavish illustration and documentation of this book appearat this time to be excessive, adding to its cost, such is the rate ofresearch on the African continent that further work at Kibiro isunlikely to be attempted for several decades. It is, perhaps, in thislight that the volume should be judged. Undoubtedly, archaeologists inyears to come (as well as historians and ethnographers) will find it aninvaluable record of an intriguing topic and an enigmatic site. Thenature of the questions posed in this review indicate that thefoundations for future work have been successfully laid.ANDREW REID Archaeology Unit, Department of History University ofBotswana The University of Botswana, or UB was established in 1982 as the first institution of Higher Education in Botswana. The university has a total of four campuses: two in the capital city Gaborone, one in Francistown, and another in Maun. reiddam@noka.ub.bw