Clay, Fire, Air, and Mostly Water: Understanding the Importance of Water Resources in Pottery Workshops in Ancient Iberia by Integrating Ethnoarchaeological, Experimental, and Archaeological Research

Abstract

ABSTRACT Archaeological studies of pottery production have given little attention to the productive uses of water, building historical discourses without taking into consideration its crucial role in many chaînes opératoires. Structures related to the use of water in pottery-making, such as wells, cisterns, or settling ponds, are very rarely discussed. This article aims to remedy that situation by contributing archaeological, ethnoarchaeological, and experimental evidence of the importance of water and structures related to the use of water in large-scale pottery production in workshops in ancient and traditional Iberia. We propose recognition of the importance of water use in pottery production to develop a greater understanding of how pottery workshops have operated in diverse geographical and chronological contexts.