A Heritage of Small Things

Archaeological and Ethnographic Aspects of the uses of Plant Materials in Bannu District, Pakistan

Abstract

Natural materials derived from plants and animals are used for a diverse range of purposes by people, both in the past and in recent times. In this paper, consideration is given to the non-food uses made of plant materials, especially fibre-rich tissues such as leaves and stems, and the various types of fibres that may be obtained from leaves, stems, seeds, and fruits. Following a review of the evidence for the use of plant fibres from Harappan and pre-Harappan sites in Pakistan and of the ethnobotany of some fibre-yielding wild plants in Bannu District, evidence is presented on the present-day use of plant fibres (at village Bharat and as evidenced in traditional artefacts from the bazaar in Bannu City) and in the archaeological record from the early village sites of Sheri Khan Tarakai and Lewan. There are striking similarities between the techniques used both today and in the past to make matting from leaves and basketry from leaves and stems. These traditional crafts, both past and present, represent elements of both tangible and intangible cultural heritage, the latter being made more tangible by considering modalities of production (i.e., of the chaînes opératoire adopted). Of particular interest are the social processes underlying the cultural transmission of traditional knowledge of the handicrafts considered here, and the impressive persistence of such knowledge over very long spans of time. It is suggested that even small things such as these traditional handicrafts deserve to be recognised as a precious element in a nation’s cultural heritage.