Pottery Forms Research Articles

Chemical Identification and Cultural Implications of a Mixed Fermented Beverage from Late Prehistoric China

Humans around the world have shown a remarkable propensity to ferment available sugar sources into alcoholic beverages. These drinks have contributed significantly to cultural innovation and development, including agricultural and horticultural skills to harness natural resources; technologies to produce the beverages and to make special vessels to serve, drink, and present them ceremonially; and their incorporation into feasting and other activities. Molecular archaeological analyses of a range of pottery forms from the site of Liangchengzhen, China, illustrates how contemporaneous chemical data, in conjunction with intensive archaeological and botanical recovery methods, enables the reconstruction of prehistoric beverages and their cultural significance. During the middle Longshan period (ca. 2400-2200 B.C.), a mixed fermented beverage of rice, fruit (probably hawthorn fruit and/or grape), and possibly honey was presented as grave offerings and consumed by the residents of the regional center.

Continuity in Tropical Cave Use: Examples from East Timor and the Aru Islands, Maluku

The Aru Islands and East Timor fall within the biogeographic region known as Wallacea and have lain within the tropics for the known history of human occupation. Recent research has identified archaeological sequences that parallel the older radiocarbon chronologies from Australia. Terminal Pleistocene huntergatherer assemblages recovered from at least six caves register the introduction of a Neolithic technocomplex after ca. 4000 B.P. in the form of pottery, domesticates, ovens, the industrial use of shell, and some endemic extinctions. However, there are also intriguing uniformities in the cultural assemblages: in the suites of artifacts discarded and assumed supply zones for those artifacts, in the economic faunal suites, and in the apparent level of intensity of occupation of the different sites. We concur with and extend the argument made by Glover (1986) that there was no substantial change in the nature of cave use in East Timor despite the possible subsistence changes that might have taken place. Their remarkable continuities reflect their similar placement within larger regional land-use systems through time: they represent diverse components of a larger domestic and totemic landscape, which appears to continue to this day. The scale of territoriality, degree of mobility, and extent of trade and exchange of groups must all be considered if the placement of caves within cultural landscapes is to be understood.

The excavation of four caves in the Geodha Smoo near Durness, Sutherland

In response to the threat posed by marine and river erosion, a series of deeply stratified midden deposits was excavated in caves leading off a narrow, rock-cut inlet known as the Geodha Smoo, near Durness, Sutherland. These included the famous Smoo Cave (NGR: NC 4136 6714), at the southern end of the inlet; two smaller caves cut into the western wall of the inlet (Glassknapper's Cave and Antler Cave); and a fourth cave (Wetweather Cave) in the eastern wall. The majority of excavated deposits from these caves appear to relate to Viking/Norse or post-Norse activity, with fish bones, marine shells and mammal and bird bones representing the processing and consumption of marine and terrestrial foods. Possible evidence for metalsmithing in the form of iron slag and boat nails could suggest that boats were repaired in the sheltered inlet. Four radiocarbon dates from Smoo Cave and Glassknapper's Cave provide evidence for use of these sites between the eighth and 11th centuries AD. Convincing evidence for pre-Norse activity, although unsupported by radiocarbon dates, was recovered from Glassknapper's Cave in the form of probable Iron Age pottery, while late Neolithic pottery came from floor deposits in the Wetweather Cave.

Excavation of four caves in the Geodha Smoo near Durness, Sutherland

In response to the threat posed by marine and river erosion, a series of deeply stratified midden deposits was excavated in caves leading off a narrow, rock-cut inlet known as the Geodha Smoo, near Durness, Sutherland. These included the famous Smoo Cave (NGR: NC 4136 6714), at the southern end of the inlet; two smaller caves cut into the western wall of the inlet (Glassknapper's Cave and Antler Cave); and a fourth cave (Wetweather Cave) in the eastern wall. The majority of excavated deposits from these caves appear to relate to Viking/Norse or post-Norse activity, with fish bones, marine shells and mammal and bird bones representing the processing and consumption of marine and terrestrial foods. Possible evidence for metalsmithing in the form of iron slag and boat nails could suggest that boats were repaired in the sheltered inlet. Four radiocarbon dates from Smoo Cave and Glassknapper's Cave provide evidence for use of these sites between the eighth and 11th centuries AD. Convincing evidence for pre-Norse activity, although unsupported by radiocarbon dates, was recovered from Glassknapper's Cave in the form of probable Iron Age pottery, while late Neolithic pottery came from floor deposits in the Wetweather Cave.

Early Formative Pottery from the Tuxtla Mountains and Implications for Gulf Olmec Origins

AbstractThis paper explores patterning in ceramic data from an Early Formative component at the site of La Joya, located in southern Veracruz, Mexico. The discussion uses ceramic paste characteristics, in addition to vessel form and decoration data, to suggest that this Early Formative pottery assemblage undergoes an in situ transformation between the “pre-Olmec” Tulipan phase and the “Olmec” Coyame phase. This conclusion is then used to revisit the hypothesis of a Chicharras phase (ca. 1250 B.C.) immigration of Pacific coastal groups into the southern Gulf lowlands (e.g., Clark 1990, 1997; Clark and Blake 1989; Coe and Diehl 1980). A consideration of ceramics from several Isthmian lowland contexts does not support this scenario. The discussion suggests that an over-reliance on the surface characteristics of ceramics at San Lorenzo may have encouraged an erroneous Gulf Olmec origin story.

BACKCOUNTRY POTS

In Mesoamerica, the pottery made and used in regions peripheral to highly developed core areas is relatively plain; it is not standardized; and it has a narrow range of forms. Such pottery does not represent cultural “backwardness” or a tradition separate from that of core areas. Instead, backcountry pottery is explained by rational economic behavior of producers and consumers whose choices are constrained by location at the distant ends of dendritic or solar market systems. The literature on peasant markets provides a basis for distinguishing core versus peripheral economic behavior. Expectations for peripheral pottery are generated from this and from archaeological studies of pottery specialization. The pre-Hispanic pottery form Peñoles, a mountainous periphery of the Valley of Oaxaca, exhibits the expected characteristics. These results are limited by small sample size; more detailed studies should find a macroregional economy that is more variegated than that portrayed by the core–periphery dichotomy.

On pottery form, classification, and usage

On pottery form, classification, and usage

Abbasid Pottery from Area E at Khirbat Yajuz, Jordan

An important assemblage of Early Islamic pottery was retrieved from Area E at Khirbat Yajuz. The pottery includes bowls, cups, basins, cooking pots, lids, jars, jugs, pithoi and storage jars. Decoration included painted, incised, thumb-impressed and cut ware. One complete and 23 fragments of lamps were decorated with geometric and floral designs, as well as arabesques and birds. Abbasid cultural materials such as copper coins and two fragments of steatite were associated with the pottery. The stratigraphic and architectural evidence, the comparative study of the pottery forms and wares, and the associated materials all provide a date from the mid-eighth to tenth centuries AD.

Ceramic Technology and Social Boundaries: Cultural Practices in Kalinga Clay Selection and Use

This study examines cultural sources of variation in ceramic compositional patterning in two pottery-making villages of the highland Philippines. In Dalupa, many potters are part-time specialists whereas in Dangtalan, women make pottery less frequently. Previous studies show that both pottery form and decoration correspond well with Kalinga social boundaries, but how do morphological and decorative patterning relate to compositional variability? Although researchers have made substantial advances in our understanding of natural and postdepositional sources of compositional variability, little is known about behavioral factors that affect chemical and mineralogical compositional patterning. This study examines cultural practices of clay selection and use in an ethnographic setting, and undertakes technical analyses to assess the relationship between behavior and material culture patterning. Our study identified paste differences between the clays and fired ceramics from Dangtalan and those from Dalupa. Findings from our compositional research thus parallel earlier morphological and stylistic studies, and illustrate multivariate differences in ceramics from these two Kalinga communities. This ethnoarchaeological and analytical project contributes, therefore, to understanding objective parameters within a behavioral context. It also provides an example of how a combined characterization approach, using chemical and petrographic techniques, can yield insights on intraregional variation at a finer scale of resolution than is often attempted.

Ceramic Patterns, Social Interaction, and the Olmec: Neutron Activation Analysis of Early Formative Pottery in the Oaxaca Highlands of Mexico

The distribution of greyware decorated with distinctive motifs and white pottery throughout Early Formative Mesoamerica signals interaction between distant regions. The interaction represented by these ceramics is investigated in the Oaxaca Highlands by examining patterns of pottery production and exchange. Pottery from five sites in the region was chemically characterized by neutron activation analysis (NAA). The results suggest differences in the production and exchange patterns of greywares decorated with the motifs and white pottery, and that the motifs were not controlled by any particular group of people.

Artefak Tulang Situs Gua Babi (Kalimantan Selatan): Variasi Tipologis Dan Teknologisnya

Situs ini pertama kali ditemukan pada tahun 1995 oleh tim Balai Arkeologi Banjarmasin bersama dengan Puslit Arkenas ketika melalukan survei eksploratif di Pegunungan Meratus. Hasil pengamatan muka tanah di halaman gua menunjukkan indikasi adanya data arkeologi yang perlu mendapat penelitian lebih lanjut. Kemudian secara berkesinambungan, Balai Arkeologi Banjarmasin melakukan ekskavasi sejak tahun 1996 sampai 1998. Berdasarkan penelitian tersebut telah menghasilkan sejumlah data arkeologi berupa industri alat batu (serut ujung, serut samping, serut cekung, serut berpunggung tinggi, bor, lancipan bertangkai, bilah dipakai, lancipan, serpih dipakai, batu inti, perkutor dan batu penumbuk, batu pelandas, kapak perimbas, serpih, bilah serta serpihan), artefak tulang, perhiasan serta tembikar. Selain data artefaktual, ditemukan juga sisa-sisa fauna, cangkang moluska serta komponen manusia.

Tongan pottery chronology, 14C dates and the hardwater effect

As with many other Pacific iarchaelogical sites, the chronology of the Lapita sites on Tongatapu (Tonga) rests on two bases: a seriation of form and ornament attributes of pottery, and the absolute chronology as determined by radiocarbon dates. Both systems were in disagreement, casting doubt on the reliability of the pottery seriation. The enclosed nature of the lagoon of Tongatapu, coupled with the dissolution of fossil limestone, creates a water reservoir with an apparent age greater than the apparent age of that provided by the open ocean. A lagoon-specific reservoir correction factor was measured using pre-modern reference shells with known dates of collection. When the radiometric dates are corrected using this factor, both chronologies, pottery seriation and radiometric dates, are in perfect agreement. The paper demonstrates how micro-reservoirs impact on ages derived from 14C determinations and shows the need to determine the magnitude of localised variations in 14C.

Iron Age Chronology: A Reply to I. Finkelstein

This paper contests I. Finkelstein's proposed low chronology for the mid-twelfth to mid-eighth centuries BCE. Though indeed there are few, if any, chronological ‘anchors’ during this period, it is claimed that the suggested low chronology is based on flimsy evidence, and creates new unsolvable problems, instead of resolving the older ones. Pushing the date of the Philistine Monochrome pottery phase (local Myc. IIIC) beyond the end of the Egyptian presence in Canaan is based on a debatable assumption. It led Finkelstein to suggest a wholesale lowering of the date of later assemblages. The extension of the Iron Age I material culture into the late tenth century BCE is unjustified and leads to a distorted archaeological picture of the period of the United Monarchy, and ultimately to misleading historical conclusions. The conclusions pertaining to the ninth–eighth centuries do not allow sufficient time for the complex stratigraphic development documented at several sites, such as Hazor. The stratigraphic and ceramic evidence shows that in each region of the country there was a slow development in pottery forms during the tenth–eighth centuries BCE. Ceramic chronology is a complex and intricate subject beset with difficulties and must be supported by the integration of other evidence. New data from 14C shortlived samples offer potential solutions.

Iron Age Chronology: A Reply to I. Finkelstein

This paper contests I. Finkelstein's proposed low chronology for the mid-twelfth to mid-eighth centuries BCE. Though indeed there are few, if any, chronological ‘anchors’ during this period, it is claimed that the suggested low chronology is based on flimsy evidence, and creates new unsolvable problems, instead of resolving the older ones. Pushing the date of the Philistine Monochrome pottery phase (local Myc. IIIC) beyond the end of the Egyptian presence in Canaan is based on a debatable assumption. It led Finkelstein to suggest a wholesale lowering of the date of later assemblages. The extension of the Iron Age I material culture into the late tenth century BCE is unjustified and leads to a distorted archaeological picture of the period of the United Monarchy, and ultimately to misleading historical conclusions. The conclusions pertaining to the ninth–eighth centuries do not allow sufficient time for the complex stratigraphic development documented at several sites, such as Hazor. The stratigraphic and ceramic evidence shows that in each region of the country there was a slow development in pottery forms during the tenth–eighth centuries BCE. Ceramic chronology is a complex and intricate subject beset with difficulties and must be supported by the integration of other evidence. New data from 14C shortlived samples offer potential solutions.

Early Formative Pottery of the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico. Kent V. Flannery and Joyce Marcus. Prehistory and Human Ecology of the Valley of Oaxaca No. 27. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1994. 424 pp., 313 figures, 10 tables, appendix, bibliography. $45 (paper).

Early Formative Pottery of the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico. Kent V. Flannery and Joyce Marcus. Prehistory and Human Ecology of the Valley of Oaxaca No. 27. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1994. 424 pp., 313 figures, 10 tables, appendix, bibliography. $45 (paper).

The Mat White-painted Pottery from Eastern Thrace: a new look at the relations between the Balkans and Anatolia

The excavations and surface surveys carried out in Eastern Thrace as well as the Southern Marmara region over the past few years have made much headway in filling the substantial gaps still existing in the cultural sequence of the region. Although the field data are far from complete, the results of this research help us to reconstruct the prehistory of the region and to gain a better understanding of the relations between the Balkan and Anatolian prehistoric sequences.The network of cultural exchange between Anatolia and Southeast Europe during the fifth and fourth millennia B.C. may be demonstrated by examining some major artifact types, such as pottery forms, terracotta figurines, bone spoons, etc. (cf. Thissen 1993a, 302–3, Özdoğan 1993, 179–81). In pottery the similarities between Anatolia and Southeast Europe are especially apparent in types of decoration, also to some extent in the repertoire of shapes (not all shapes are similar) and method of manufacture.During our investigations in the province of Edirne, Eastern Thrace, were recovered mat white-painted sherds of Anatolian and Aegean type which help to fill the gaps in our knowledge between Anatolian and Balkan prehistoric sequences.

: Early Formative Pottery of the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico . Kent V. Flannery, Joyce Marcus.

: Early Formative Pottery of the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico . Kent V. Flannery, Joyce Marcus.

The Iron Age Background to the Formation of the Phrygian State

Recent excavations at Gordion have revealed below the destroyed Phrygian city (ca. 700 B. C.) an early Iron Age settlement with handmade coarse ware, which is followed by a settlement that contains the earliest Phrygian pottery forms. The handmade ware relates to that from Troy and the Balkans and is considered firm evidence of the historically recorded migration of the Brygians into Anatolia. A suggested chronology for the two early settlements is posited, based primarily on information from Troy. This chronology is then examined together with the information derived from preserved ancient traditions. A hypothesis is generated regarding the chronology of the establishment of kingship in Phrygia. This event is posited to have occurred in the late ninth century B. C., and the historical King Midas is considered to have been the fourth Phrygian king to reign.

Historical Implications of the Pottery from the Earliest Tombs at El Kurru

seum of Fine Arts/Harvard University expedition excavated them in the early part of this century. Although there may have been some intrusive objects within the tombs and their enclosures, many of the objects found in the debris were undoubtedly contemporary with the burials. The tomb assemblages had been looted in antiquity but still contained Egyptian and local ceramic, faience, and stone vessels,1 Egyptian-style amulets and beads of faience, gold, silver, and stone arrowheads of non-Egyptian origin. However, the pottery from in and around the enclosures of these graves has never been considered when assigning them dates. In this paper I will discuss a number of published and unpublished vessels from the earliest graves at El Kurru. My discussion is only a preliminary study of selected vessels. It includes pottery forms which are similar to examples from sites in Egypt, Nubia, and the Levant. Some of these forms show continuity with earlier New Kingdom ceramic traditions, some are clearly Third

Nouvelles données sur la chronologie du camp de Renieblas V à Numance (Soria, Castilla-Leôn, Espagne)

By reviewing the fine pottery and amphorae from the excavations carried out between 1909 and 1912 by Adolf Schulten in the camp of Renieblas V at Numantia, and adding new fragments of amphorae discovered in 1986, the author is able to define or confirm the termini ante quos (around the narrow margin of 133. ..130) of several forms of Italic pottery (Campanian A and B) and amphorae of the same origin or Iberian. In the context of this chronological fixation the author reconsiders the dating of the shipwrecks of Filicudi A (Liparian islands ; around 140-130 B.C.) and of Punta Scaletta (islet of Giannutri ; about 146-133).