Shell-tempered pottery: Opportunism OR/AND technical choice? On the use of a common resource by Northeast China hunter-gatherers

Abstract

This article investigates the origins, contexts, and extent of use shell-tempered pottery in Neolithic Northeastern China. Using available site inventories, thin-section petrography, spatial mapping, and extensive environmental and subsistence data, this research demonstrates that far from being a uniform phenomenon, shell temper’s use varied according to a variety of social and environmental factors. Shell temper’s use in environments where shell was abundantly available, and shellfish were an important component of the diet, show that ancient hunter-gatherers were making efficient use of their locally available resources. Thin-sectioning demonstrates unique recipes for manufacturing shell-tempered vessels that also vary through space and time, strongly suggesting local, household-level production of pottery vessels. Especially given the absence of many other common tempering materials in this region, shell-tempered pottery had a particular advantage in terms of functional performance. Multiple types of data are employed to create a multidimensional picture of the use of shell-tempering in Neolithic China, shedding light on the close relationships inherent in human-environmental-technological interactions.