Classic ethnoscientific techniques were adapted to describe and analyze the knowledge of peasant potters about soils they use for making pottery in a rural village in the Agreste region, State of Paraiba, northeastern Brazil. Five soil profiles from pits where local people obtain pottery clay were formally described by researchers (etic approach) and by peasant artisans (emic approach). Samples collected during both the emic and etic approaches were used for the morphological and analytical soil characterization. The peasant potters were able to distinguish, identify, and name soil materials arranged in layers along the soil profiles, somehow comparable to the arrangement of the pedogenetic horizons. Vision, touch and taste are used by local potters to evaluate the quality of pottery clay. Among the soil profiles described near clay pits, four were classified as Haplic Solonetz, and one as Eutric Planosol, according to the FAO/UNESCO legend. Ethnopedological studies in different social and pedological environments could contribute to the advancement of soil science and are an opportunity for an improvement in the understanding and appreciation of soil knowledge and management by peasant potters.
ethnopedology; ceramic resources; sodium-affected soils
