Pottery Manufacture Research Articles

Assistants to enlightenment: William Lewis, Alexander Chisholm and invisible technicians in the Industrial Revolution

Artisans, assistants and technicians in laboratories remain largely anonymous amid the rapidly expanding experimental practice of the eighteenth century. Where their activities can be traced, it is apparent that the binary conceptions of scholar and craftsman, of philosopher and practitioner, hardly held during the first industrial revolution. Who actually did the work in the early-modern laboratory remains an important issue. In the case explored in this article, William Lewis, chemical lecturer, and Josiah Wedgwood, pottery manufacturer, both employed the skill and expertise of Alexander Chisholm. Chisholm moved among industrial innovators, gathering the knowledge of workmen, and promoted the experimental method ultimately employed in the Wedgwood manufactory.

SANGRE DE CRISTO MICACEOUS CLAYS

Archaeological research has shown that northern Rio Grande potters have used micaceous clays in the production of cooking, serving, and ritual vessels for more than 700 years, yet little is known about the raw material sources used to make these remarkable wares. Recent survey with traditional potters reveals the locations of micaceous clay deposits and the criteria used to select clays for pottery manufacturing. Instmmental neutron activation analysis (INAA) of raw material samples demonstrates that sources are chemically distinct and that archaeological and ethnographic vessels may be matched to them with a high degree of confidence. Source matches for ceramics attributed to Pueblo, Jicarilla Apache, and Hispanic potters illustrates the potential of geochemical testing to reveal previously unrecognized complexity in the ceramic markets and land-use patterns of the northern Rio Grande. A case study from Picurís Pueblo showcases the relevance of ceramic source analysis to modern pottery communities.

Mineralogical study of kaolinitic clays from Sidi El Bader in the far north of Tunisia

The study concerns kaolinitic clay deposits occurring at Sidi El Bader, near Tabarka, north of Tunisia. At this site, clay is mined for the manufacture of the renowned Nabeul pottery. Two clay samples, SB1 and SB19, were selected that represent the lower and upper part of the quarry section, respectively. The clay deposits at the base of the quarry are brown whereas the clay deposits at the top are white to beige. These clays are associated with the Numidian Flysch of the Kroumiries mountain chain. The data from several analytical techniques (XRD, chemical analysis, SEM, infrared absorption spectroscopy, thermal analysis (TG/DTA) and optical proprieties) reveal that kaolinite and illite are the dominant clay minerals. Quartz and trace amounts of titanium oxide are also present. The size of clay particles of sample SB1 is about 2 μm and their shape is sub-rounded, which suggests low crystallinity. In contrast, the size of clay particles of sample SB19 is up to 6 μm and particles are elongated pseudo-hexagonal flakes consistent with higher crystallinity. This sample contains a lower content of Fe2O3 and TiO2 compared with the SB1 clay sample. The higher amounts of impurities including illite, titanium oxide and iron affect the whiteness and may also reduce the size and the crystallinity of the clay platelets from the clay deposits of the lower part of the quarry.The lowermost poorly crystalline kaolinite could be used for the fabrication of various ceramics (pottery and binding materials, as bricks and tiles). This clay may also be useful in environmental protection by immobilizing pollutants. The uppermost more crystalline kaolinite may be suitable for processing to produce a kaolin that meets specifications for industry fillers and other uses that demand high whiteness and low impurity contents.

CLAY RESOURCES AND TECHNICAL CHOICES FOR NEOLITHIC POTTERY (CHALAIN, JURA, FRANCE): CHEMICAL, MINERALOGICAL AND GRAIN‐SIZE ANALYSES*

Many authors have considered pottery manufacturing constraints and sociocultural elements as factors in change in past civilizations over time. The main issue of this research is to better understand the reasons for changes, or choices, in pottery raw materials. The very precise and detailed stratigraphy and cultural succession of occupations is based on dendrochronological data from the lake‐dwelling sites of Chalain (Jura, France). Petrographic, palaeontological and chemical analyses were used to determine the nature and origins of the raw materials used by the Neolithic potters. Stratigraphy and dendrochronological data were used to reconstruct in detail the evolution dynamics of fabric changes. Several raw material sources were identified for many of the pottery groups. Each of them was sampled for qualitative experimental tests of pottery forming. The experimental results show a high variability between the sediments tested. This variability was quantitatively estimated by XRF, XRD, the Rietveld method, calcium carbonate quantification and laser grain‐size analyses of matrices, indirect measures of plasticity. These analytical results allow a better understanding of the differences observed in the experimental tests. On the basis of these experimental and analytical results, changing parameters such as pottery manufacturing constraints, mineralogical characteristics of raw materials and sociocultural factors are considered. In conclusion, all the social and technical parameters, in each archaeological context, must be taken into account for a better understanding of the changes occurring throughout the chronological sequence.

Shipbuilding and cultural identity on Clydeside

The Clyde is famous throughout the world for its shipbuilding. It has been called the cradle of steam navigation and is the birthplace of the Queen Mary and countless other liners, warships and cargo ships. Glasgow was not always a city of industry: its early life was dominated by the cathedral and the university. However, by the eighteenth century the import of tobacco and sugar and the manufacture of textiles and pottery began the transformation of the city into a centre of commerce and industry.

Hohokam Ritual and Economic Transformation: Ceramic Evidence from the Phoenix Basin, Arizona

The Hohokam regional system in southern and central Arizona was marked by a dense network of ballcourts during the eleventh century. The ritual ballgames provided venues for social and economic interaction that probably included the barter and exchange of thousands of clay containers each year. Previous ceramic evidence has shown that pottery production was highly concentrated with far-flung distribution, although by the twelfth century the ballcourt network had collapsed. New data from Las Colinas, a ballcourt village situated near the lower Salt River, demonstrate that the organization of pottery manufacture and distribution radically changed in the lower Salt River valley just at the time the Las Colinas ballcourt was abandoned, implying that the ritual ballgames had been a central component of the Hohokam regional economy.

The Occurrence of Cereal Cultivation in China

This paper examines the progress and remaining problems on the occurrence of cereal cultivation in China, which led to agriculture, and discusses some related theoretical issues. Based on currently available data, it is argued that the occurrence of cereal cultivation in China was associated with and related to the climatic and environmental changes after the last glacial epoch, the occurrence of new technology, including the manufacturing of pottery, and the adoption of a broad-spectrum subsistence strategy, whereas sedentism does not seem to be a prerequisite for this cultural change. The transition from hunting-gathering to agriculture in China seems to have been a gradual process, and foraging remained a subsistence strategy of the early farmers. The occurrence of cereal cultivation in China differed from that in other core areas, demonstrating the diversity of human cultures and contributing to our understanding of the origin and development of agriculture in the world.

Multiple Origins of Accounting? An Early Italian Example of the Development of Accounting for Managerial Purposes

ABSTRACT Utilising archival materials relating to an Italian pottery manufacturer, Manifattura Ginori, this paper examines the development of the company's accounting system during the 19th century. By the early 1800s, Manifattura Ginori is shown to have developed a double-entry bookkeeping system and to have carried out cost calculations. Deficiencies in the archive unfortunately do not enable us to determine precisely the nature of the links between the cost calculations and the financial accounting system during the early decades of the 19th century. However, as the century wore on, and the business moved from being an artisanal based manufacturer of high quality porcelain to a large-scale, industrial producer of utilitarian wares, Manifattura Ginori developed its system of accounting to reflect organisational changes and managerial needs. The Ginori archives therefore not only provide us with a rare glimpse of accounting in an early industrial context in Italy, but also of the use of accounting as a mechanism for business management and control in a non-Anglo-Saxon context. In particular it allows us to examine the role of accountants, to throw light on factors causing accounting change, and the relevance of alternative theoretical paradigms in interpreting such changes. By placing the experiences of Manifattura Ginori in a context of developments elsewhere in Europe, especially Britain and France, some implications can be drawn regarding the possibility of multiple origins of accounting ideas.

Glass and pottery manufacture at Silkstone, Yorkshire

This article reports an excavation on the site of a 17th-century glasshouse and 18th-century pottery at Silkstone, Yorkshire, and summarizes the results of an intensive analytical programme of scientific analysis of the glassworking debris arising from it. The area excavated was small, but the sieving of soil samples ensured a high rate of recovery of artefacts and debris associated with the industries. A large number of samples of glass and glassworking waste from the well-dated stratigraphic sequence were analysed to determine their chemical compositions. This has confirmed that both 'white' and 'green' glass were produced and has shown that the 'white' glass changed from a mixed alkali glass to a lead glass c. 1680. These results illustrate both the importance of the Yorkshire glass industry and the information which can be obtained from even limited excavations of industrial sites through the use of scientific techniques.

The ceramic technology used in the manufacture of Iron Age pottery from Galilee

Abstract The Iron Age ceramic technology used in the manufacture of functional pottery from Galilee was studied. Applied methods included petrography, X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy and chemical analyses. The results demonstrate that the potters in biblical times had knowledge of raw materials and manufacturing technologies, enabling them to select suitable ones, according to their advantages, for the manufacture of cooking pots, storage jars and tableware vessels. The paper describes the petrography of the pottery, the composition of the ceramic matrix, the firing temperature, the tempering of the cooking pots, the processes that allow consolidation of the ceramic and the origin of the pottery. The results are placed in an archaeological context.

Fibre-tempered pottery of the Stallings Island Culture from the Crescent site, Beaufort County, South Carolina: a mineralogical and petrographical study

Abstract Late Archaic to Early Woodland (4500–3000 years bp ) Stallings Island Culture fibre-tempered plainware pottery is found from northern North Carolina to NW Florida and is often separated into two temper groups (Stalling and Orange series) based upon fibre type. Thirty-four sherds were studied to determine textural or mineralogical characteristics to assist in form and type separation. This study finds that only a few of the sherds were dominated by fibre. The fibre is visible as secondary porosity (voids) with some carbonized remains and exhibits specific shape and orientation at different locations within the sherd. Only two sherds had carbonized stem fragments that allowed identification of the Spanish moss ( Tillandsia usnedoides ). The remainder of the Crescent site plainware pottery has such low (to no) fibre contents as to be indistinguishable from similar age sand-tempered Thom’s Creek wares. The identity and textural features of the fine-grained aplastic minerals (quartz, feldspar, biotite and opaque minerals) in the paste are similar in both fibre- and non-fibre-tempered sherds, and this suggests that the materials used are consistent with sediment extraction from a fluvial coastal plain or estuarine setting. These observations indicate that the degree of fibre incorporation in these sherds may be related to the specific clay source (or manufacturing location) or represent examples of an evolving pottery manufacturing process within the Stallings Island Culture.

Risk of repeat accidents by economic activity in Italy

Rationale The phenomenon of repeat work-related accidents has not been sufficiently studied. Objectives To evaluate the role of work-related factors in the occurrence of repeat accidents in Italy, using economic activity and the size of the enterprise as proxies and basing the analysis on available administrative data. Methods The data, provided by the Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority (INAIL), refer to accidents in the industry and artisan sectors and in the service industry between 1994 and 1999. We selected the data on accidents among 633,735 persons 25–55 years of age with a first accident in 1996–1997, and we determined the occurrence of further accidents within two years in the same economic activity, taking into account job mobility and factors associated with underreporting (geographic area, age, and size of the enterprise). The gender-specific relative risk was computed for each economic activity, given by the ratio between the risk of repeat accidents in a given economic activity and the risk in all of the other activities. Results Individuals with a single accident differed from those with a repeat accident in terms of the distribution by gender, age-class, and severity of injury. The economic activities with the highest relative risk were generally those known to represent a risk of accidents in general: metal ore and coal mining, shipbuilding, the manufacturing of railroad equipment, building construction, road and railway construction, the primary iron and steel industry, foundry work, logging/wood manufacturing, slaughtering, and agriculture. However, certain activities not generally considered as hazardous showed a high risk of repeat accidents (e.g., public hygiene, and the manufacturing of bricks, pottery, and glass). Conclusions The epidemiological pattern of repeat accidents by economic activity reflects that of accidents in general, though with exceptions. Results suggest that factors associated with specific technical aspects and production processes are important determinants of safety. The differences between single accidents and repeat accidents by gender, age class, and severity of injury suggest that studying repeat accidents separately from first accidents is quite useful.

Prevalence, management and impact of urinary incontinence in the workplace

The few prior studies of urinary symptoms in the workplace have been small investigations of women in specific occupations (e.g. nursing) or industries (e.g. pottery manufacture). In this study, the aims were to describe the prevalence, management and impact of urinary incontinence for a large cross-section of employed women in the USA. Five-page questionnaires were mailed to 5130 American households selected from the National Family Opinion survey panel during the spring of 2004. Usable questionnaires were returned by 3364 women in the target age range of 18-60 years. About 37% of the 2326 employed respondents reported urine loss during the last 30 days. The most common strategies for managing incontinence at work included frequent bathroom breaks and wearing pads. The use of urine control methods increased with the severity of urine loss. The effect of incontinence on workplace activities also increased with the severity of urine loss: 88% of employed women with the most severe symptoms reported at least some negative impact on concentration, performance of physical activities, self-confidence or the ability to complete tasks without interruption. Urinary incontinence is prevalent among employed women. Those who experience severe symptoms report that it has a negative effect on aspects of work. Programs on the prevalence and impact of urinary incontinence would help educate both employers and employees, and may lead to the development of better management techniques in the workplace.

Using portable energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) analysis for on-site study of ceramic sherds at El Hibeh, Egypt

As part of its geoarchaeological research program, the El Hibeh Project of the University of California, Berkeley field-tested at the site of El Hibeh, northern Middle Egypt, the utility of a portable EDXRF unit for obtaining geochemical analyses of pottery suitable for provenance and other ceramic classification studies. When the geochemical ceramic data from the field test are combined with basic petrographic analysis for the pottery sample set, compelling results are generated. In particular, a triangular scattergram using elemental iron, strontium and rubidium data, in parts per million, provides excellent temporal and spatial separation of ceramic fabrics type, origin and date. The geochemical behavior of iron, strontium and rubidium is discussed in relation to geological source materials utilized for pottery manufacture.

Bronze Age ceramics in southwest Spain: An exploratory archaeometric study of technology and function

Pottery from the Bronze Age of southwest Spain has traditionally been approached from a “typological” stand seeking the establishment of chronological sequences. This article examines ceramics from two different Bronze Age sites, a settlement (El Trastejón) and a necropolis (La Traviesa), from an archaeometric viewpoint. The methodology involved includes mineralogical characterization by XRD and optical microscopy, chemical analysis by XRF, and morphometric analysis through digital processing of thin sections. The analytical results are contextualized within the general framework of our current archaeological knowledge of both sites and their general background, and then a preliminary interpretation is proposed in terms of the prehistoric technology of pottery manufacture and functionality. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Comparison of naturally accumulated radiation-doses between RTL, BTL, OSL, and IRSL using white minerals from burnt archaeological materials and usefulness of RTL-dating from quartz extracts

Naturally accumulated doses after pottery manufacture were compared between optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) from quartz grains and infrared-stimulated luminescence (IRSL) from feldspar grains, together with a red-thermoluminescence (RTL) result from quartz grains. Quartz and feldspar extracts from nine Jomon pottery pieces, which were manufactured and used 3,500-6,000 years ago, were subjected to three kinds of luminescence measurements using a new automated luminescence measuring system. Since this system included a small X-ray irradiator, a single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol was applicable to each luminescence dosimetry. Naturally accumulated doses from RTL were higher than OSL- and IRSL-dose results. This is probably due to relatively easy-bleaching effects or unstable luminescence properties related to the OSL in quartz grains and well-known anomalous fading effects of feldspar grains. On the basis of these results, the RTL-luminescence ages, estimated using the accumulated doses and annual doses, are closer to the predicted archaeological ages. In conclusion, it was also confirmed here that the RTL-dating is most suitable dating-method when quartz extracts from burnt archaeological materials are available.

Evidence for a single clay/temper source for the manufacture of Middle and Late Helladic Aeginetan pottery from Asine, Greece

AbstractIn an effort to further characterize the Middle and Late Helladic pottery industry on Aegina, we have analyzed amphibole in 23 sherds imported to the coastal settlement of Asine. The sherds derive from vessels of different classes and shapes and range in age from MH I‐II to LH IIIB‐IIIC Early. All sherds come from vessels that carry manufacturing marks, and their amphiboles have compositions that are incompatible with those of Methana, Poros, and Melos. Twenty of the sherds have amphiboles that are identical in composition and overlap a narrow range of amphibole compositions found in specific lava flows on the northern portion of Aegina. Given that the dacites across Aegina contain amphiboles with a wide range in compositions, we suggest that the narrow range of amphibole compositions in the sherds indicates that they were derived from either a specific clay source on the island, located in a stream system southeast of the prehistoric settlement at Kolonna, or that the potters used a specific temper source along the same stream system. Multiple clay or temper sources would have produced sherds with a broader range of amphibole compositions reflecting the diversity of amphibole compositions found on Aegina. One sherd has amphibole compositions indicative of an additional Aeginetan component that is not found in the other sherds. Two sherds have amphiboles with compositions that do not match any known reference amphiboles for Aegina, Methana, Poros, or Melos. These may have been derived from still unsampled dacites on Aegina or have been manufactured from materials located outside the Saronic Gulf. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

CARACTERIZACIÓN PETROGRÁFICA DE UNA MUESTRA DE PASTAS AGUADA: VARIACIONES DE MANUFACTURA Y TIPOLÓGICAS

Results concerning petrographic analyses of 27 pottery fabrics corresponding to Aguada Culture sherds from northwestern Argentina are presented. The studied sample belongs to Choya 68 site (Dept. Capayan, Catamarca) and six Ambato types fabrics from La Rinconada site (Dept. Ambato, Catamarca). Different compositional groups were identified by cluster analysis and their relation to Aguada types defined for Hualfin valley (W. Catamarca), Ambato types and the broadly spread Portezuelo style in Choya 68 are discussed. Likewise with regard to the regional geology some considerations about the local or non local pottery manufacture are stated.

Photoacoustic Analysis of Pigments from Archeological Ceramics

Photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS) is widely used for diverse applications in different areas. These include studies in material, environmental, and life sciences. In the present work the study of pigments from pottery surfaces and volumes of Mexican (Aztec) and Poblana cultures that were developed in central Mexico from 1325 to 1521 and 1521 to 1800, respectively, is reported. The optical absorption spectra from each archeological sample was obtained using PAS. The superficial spectra were also compared with standard color pigments and archeological registers. Complementary energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis of these archeological potteries gave us their elemental composition which agreed with other studies about their composition and technology of the pottery manufacturing.

Excavations at Deptford on the site of the East India Company dockyards and the Trinity House almshouses, London

An archaeological excavation was conducted on the site of Deptford power stations prior to the redevelopment of the site (National Grid Reference TQ 3760 7780). The excavations followed an evaluation that identified two areas where significant archaeological remains survived.The first of these excavation areas, on the site of the Trinity House almshouses, revealed three major phases of building. The earliest structural remains correspond to the documented 16th-century origins of the complex, while subsequent buildings date to the 17th and 18th centuries.The second area revealed the structural remains of a dockyard, founded by the East India Company in the early 17th century. Excavation exposed slipways and wharves of the dockyard, and waste products associated with shipbuilding activities were recovered. Evidence for the medieval river embankment pre-dating the dockyard was also recorded.The manufacture of pottery is another known activity on the site during the 18th century. No structural remains of any pottery were found, although a large quantity of pottery wasters and kiln waste was retrieved from land reclamation dumps.