Think Globally, Act Locally: Global Requirements and Local Transformation in Sugar Pots Manufacture in Sicily in the Medieval and Post-Medieval Periods

Abstract

Since medieval times, sugar production and consumption has had a huge impact on European social, cultural, and economic development. The introduction of sugar cultivation entailed knowledge transfer and new technological requirements, such as the manufacture of sugar pots used to crystallise sugar, which requires a specific design, and thermal and mechanical properties. This paper presents part of the results of the SPotEU project, funded under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, which explores the development and impact of sugar production in western Europe through the study of sugar pot manufacture from an interdisciplinary perspective, integrating archaeological and historical research with material science and material culture approaches. This paper focuses on sugar pots from Sicily, one of the main regions for sugar production in Western Europe in the 11–16th centuries A.D. Sugar pots were assessed from technological and performance points of view, aided by instrumental analysis (petrography, SEM, XRF, XRD, mechanical, and thermal property tests). The archaeological and analytical results are presented, revealing different centres of sugar pot production on the island, and specific choices in the design of the vessels and their properties. This allows us to discuss how craftspeople locally adapted their ceramic-making traditions to face the new product demands from the sugar production industry in the Mediterranean.