Kilns and potters: Measuring pyrotechnology diversity to assess dynamics of firing techniques diffusion within Southwest Asia Communities, 6500-4700 BCE

Abstract

This paper focuses on the outward diversity of firing structures in the Late Neolithic and Early-Middle Chalcolithic settlements in Southwest Asia, just after the initial adoption of the kiln in the second half of the 7th millennium BCE. Why was the kiln, considered as a more efficient firing technique, not adopted by all the potters within the same settlements? The diversity of firing structures cannot be attributed to environmental factors, or to the type of pottery produced. Therefore, at the intra-site scale, it might be explained by the variability of the social relationships between the potters, that would have involved specific dynamics of firing technique diffusion. The way the potters organised the pottery production in each village area acknowledged a specific organisation of labour. Then, this approach aims to determine whether a particular organisation of pottery production could have facilitated the diffusion of the kiln. To this end, we have measured the average diversity of firing structures within groups of settlements defined by a specific spatial layout of the chaîne opératoire. Therefore, by comparing the diversity of firing structures of each group of settlements, we have highlighted that the diversity rate was low and the use of kilns was more widespread in settlements were pottery production activities were separated from the domestic activities. In these settings, potters probably had more opportunities for mutual assistance, exchange and collaboration with other potters external to their household.