A thousand years of pottery in Andalusia: The popular tradition as a built bridge with the past

Abstract

Challenging postmodern times in the area of Andalusia, Spain, some traditional potter families have survived and continue to pass on, from generation to generation, the knowledge necessary to develop this millenarian activity. Fortunately, the passing of the centuries hasn’t altered the unique characteristics of this activity, making it possible to interpret intangible questions related to pottery communities of the past using documentation based on ethnology and ethnography. In this case, the fruits of observation and effective comparison with the material culture at the Vetton/Celtiberian Pottery Center of Las Cogotas, have shed light on some social and symbolical conclusions that would have been impossible to reach if only data from the archaeological record had been used. Therefore, due to the importance of the intangible, it becomes necessary to protect and preserve the traditional and popular pottery activities of Andalusia, which contribute to the development of new ways of research in the study of pottery.