The Materiality of Ritual: An Ethnoarchaeological Study of the Gadaa Ceremonial Landscape and Formation Processes of the Archaeological Record

The materiality of ritual in the ceremonial landscape and the process of the archaeological record received less attention from scholars. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the materiality of ritual and the formation process of the archaeological record within the Gadaa ritual landscape. The research utilized a qualitative approach. Ethnoarchaeological fieldwork in conjunction with historical documents, participant observation, and semi-structured interviews was employed. The findings revealed that the archaeological record of the Gadaa ritual landscape is shaped by discard and accidental loss identified through an ethnoarchaeological perspective. The result confirms the sustainability and discontinuity of the formation process of the archaeological record in the Gadaa ritual practices. The findings indicate that megaliths are used for ritual purposes and as burial markers in Gadaa practices. The result reveals the materiality of ritual in site formation as a firm basis for interpreting archaeology in the ritual landscape.