Uso e conhecimento do solo por artesãos camponeses no Agreste pernambucano : uma abordagem etnopedológica

Abstract

Ethnopedological studies have focused, mainly, agricultural practices land use. However, peasant and indigenous populations often use soil and land resources for various purposes, including ceramics. This study aimed to describe and analyze the knowledge and use of soils related to the ceramic manufacture, within a group of potter-farmers ("loiceiros") in the municipality of Altinho, State of Pernambuco, Northeast Brazil. The practices and soil knowledge of farmers were described and analyzed by Ethnoscientific’s techniques, giving emphasis to the task of evoking, among potters, the categories of soil (or soil materials) that they recognize, the attributes used to characterize soil materials and the criteria to differentiate and to relate them. According to local knowledge, the material ("clay"), which brings plasticity to the ceramic paste was categorized as "barro vermelho‖ (red clay), "barro preto‖ (black clay) and "barro de pote" (pot clay). The "loiceiros" used to collect "red clay" in three main claypits (―barreiros‖). Soils found near two of these pits were classified as Planossolo Háplico Eutrófico solódico and the other one was classified as Planossolo Nátrico Órtico típico, according to the Brazilian System of Soil Classification. The potters recognized variations in soil properties with depth. In this sense, three types of soil materials emerged in their discourse ("terra", "barro" and "piçarro"), which occurred in overlapping each other in the soil profile, similar to the arrangement of pedogenic horizons. The distinction between the soil materials by the artisans followed mainly morphological and utilitarian criteria. The mineralogical composition of the clay fraction of the soil materials under study included, mainly, 2:1 clay minerals from the group of smectites and micas, as well as kaolinite, feldspar and quartz. The ethnopedological approach carried out within the cultural context of farmers potters allowed to elicit useful information for the advancement of soil science and for a better understanding and appreciation of local knowledge and use of soils.