REGIONALISM AND SOCIAL LANDSCAPE AS INFERRED FROM AN ETHNOARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY OF POTTERY PRODUCTION IN JORDAN

Abstract

In this paper, an ethnoarchaeological study of pottery from Jordan is used to highlight the importance of the context of production and technique in order to gain a better understanding of the formation of a distinct prehistoric cultural region and its social components. Stylistic differences are delimited by technological characteristics, and understanding the technological process of object-making is vital in searching for and explaining patterns in material culture. Different production units can be responsible for different pottery forms, rather than the pottery being attributed to different cultures. Moreover, the context of production has a substantial effect on the end product, which conflicts with normative interpretations of presence/absence patterns of material culture. Focusing on the social dimension of a region enables identification of the social producers and an understanding of how they can be differentiated, even when they share the same technical structures in producing material culture....