Okiek Ceramics: Evidence for Central Kenya Prehistory

Summary

The Okiek have traditionally been a hunting and gathering people living in the high forest areas of Kenya since before the time of the arrival of presently existing tribes in central Kenya. They are distantly related to other Kalenjin speaking peoples. They are distinctive not only in their economic system and adaptation to a forest environment but also in their use of some unique styles of material artefacts, including a distinctive style of pottery, the subject of this paper. Styles of Okiek pottery, their mode of manufacture, and their use are described. The similarity of Okiek pottery styles to pottery excavated from Sirikwa holes is discussed in terms of the existing archaeological and historical evidence which suggests that these two groups may have had a close economic relationship.