Abstract
The phase and the ceramic materials that, in Southern Mesopotamia, go under the label of “Uruk” (after the toponym of the site in southern Iraq) have traditionally been considered the origin for the development of the potter’s wheel in the Near East, according to a perspective that associated the emergence of the potter’s wheel, the “mass” production of the so-called bevelled-rim bowls and first urbanization. According to recent excavations and ceramic studies it is now clear that this was a narrative based on a priori convictions. However, even if under very different socio-technical conditions, it is true that the potter’s wheel made an early appearance in Southern Mesopotamia within the Uruk cultural sphere, and then developed in a widespread and discontinuous way in the Uruk network. Based on recent ongoing fieldwork data from Syria (Tell Feres) and Iraqi Kurdistan (Logardan and Girdi Qala), ceramic analyses have taken into account new criteria to identify the use of the potter’s wheel. This paper outlines the chronological and socio-technical scenario behind the adoption of the potter’s wheel in the Uruk world, picturing the peculiarities of this cultural environment, as well as the parallels with the emergence conditions of the potter’s wheel in northern Mesopotamia and other areas of the Near East.
Highlights
IntroductionAccording to a traditional historical perspective, the spread of the potter’s wheel in Mesopotamia – and especially in the southern Alluvium – occurred in the 4th millennium BCE (Abu al-Soof, 1985; Lloyd, 1948; Laneri and di Pilato, 2000; Butterlin, 2003)
1.1 Urbanisation and potter’s wheel: from myths to current questionsAccording to a traditional historical perspective, the spread of the potter’s wheel in Mesopotamia – and especially in the southern Alluvium – occurred in the 4th millennium BCE (Abu al-Soof, 1985; Lloyd, 1948; Laneri and di Pilato, 2000; Butterlin, 2003)
At Tell Feres the excavated area occupied by vestiges from the 4th millennium BCE is about 600 m2, while for the Qara Dagh sites it exceeds a total of 1300 m2
Summary
According to a traditional historical perspective, the spread of the potter’s wheel in Mesopotamia – and especially in the southern Alluvium – occurred in the 4th millennium BCE (Abu al-Soof, 1985; Lloyd, 1948; Laneri and di Pilato, 2000; Butterlin, 2003). This conviction – the result of a linear and teleological vision of history (and essentially of Western history – Childe, 1929) – offered a coherent theoretical and historical framework. New Data on Modalities and Conditions of Emergence of the Potter’s Wheel in the Uruk World
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More From: Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica Natural Sciences in Archaeology
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