3 - The Use and Misuse of Nineteenth-Century English and American Ceramics in Archaeological Analysis

Abstract

This chapter discusses the use and misuse of 19th century English and American ceramics in archaeological analysis. It also discusses several topics that should interest archaeologists who have not had much experience in analyzing historical period pottery and porcelain. These include (1) published sources useful for background information, (2) the concept of ware and problems in using the concept, (3) how pottery was decorated and the dates for different methods of decoration, and (4) sources for the identification of various backmarks. Without adequate knowledge of the ceramic materials, that is, knowledge that permits correct identification, analytical results obviously will be seriously flawed. This is not an infrequent occurrence in historical archaeology, and it has hampered otherwise well-thought-out studies of time-and-space systematics, studies of formation processes, and at the highest level, studies of human behavior. There are several temporal and spatial limits to this study. The chapter discuses ceramic materials manufactured in the Great Britain and the United States between approximately 1800 and 1900, because these are arbitrary limits that crosscut several important trends in ceramic manufacturing and marketing.