Unravelling ancient drilling techniques: A case of pottery repair in the Early European Neolithic

Abstract

The emergence of pottery brought many changes in the way people in the past designed, cooked, stored, transported and gave meaning to their social worlds. Yet, the widespread use of these materials also brought challenges, such as how to contend with their brittleness. One of the many creative responses to this challenge, was pottery repair. At the start of the Neolithic period in central and south-east Europe, we find traces of repair activities even among the oldest pottery assemblages, which commonly consist of perforations placed alongside cracks used to bind the damaged vessels. Obtaining measurements and microscopically examining perforations can prove to be challenging, due to the accessibility constraints of most used measuring instruments. Attempting to overcome this limitation, our paper provides a method for identifying ancient drilling procedures (techniques and gestures) by integrating photogrammetric recording techniques into archaeological drilling experiments on low-fired ceramic specimens. Through this method we shed light on the unique characteristics of Early Neolithic pottery repair in the Upper Tisza/Tisa Basin (NE Hungary, NW Romania and SW Ukraine). Our experimental results using lithic borers show clear differences between two drilling techniques, i.e. thumb- and rod-drilling, according to the rotational striations produced, and the variation in the aspect ratio and centroid of perforations at different depths. Furthermore, our analysis of repair holes in Early Neolithic pottery demonstrates the consistent use of mixed drilling techniques for the purposes of repair, and the exclusive use of rod-drilling for the manufacture of sherd spindle whorls. The reconstruction of the sequences of repair also suggests that deviation from these consistent drilling procedures was likely due to the adaptation of the craftsperson to the specific damage condition of the vessels. Thus, repair work cannot be described as following a strict recipe, but as an ongoing creative process of evaluation.