Pottery Technology Research Articles

Beyond the technological chain

Formal and technological attributes of pottery mirror potters’ habitus, actions, and decisions inhibited or stimulated by users of pottery. The variability of these attributes in time and space reflects networks of producers embedded in a complex social network. But how the knowledge of pottery manufacturing processes can be used to gain more accurate understanding of the society behind the “chaînes opératoires” when the basis for the interpretation is archaeological evidence? Can archaeologists reach reliable picture on relations between pottery technology and society? Can the interpretations be built on testable hypotheses? Those are painful issues accompanying all the archaeological attempts to understand variability and changes in pottery technology, the issues that motivate the main theme of the thematic issue of Archeologické rozhledy: the pursuit of archaeologists to integrate pottery technology analysis to the complex interpretation of the Neolithic societies.

Early Neolithic potters of the Italian Middle Adriatic region

This paper presents the preliminary results of the study of the Early Neolithic pottery production in the Marche region, Italy (VI mill. BC). The main goal of this research is to expand the knowledge of pottery manufacturing processes associated to the typical Central Adriatic Impressed Ware, at present poorly understood. All sites under analysis are located in the piedmont hills of the Apennine Mountains, except one which is on the coast. This study aims to highlight synchronic and diachronic variability in pottery technology, to identify common traits and to investigate the raw materials selection and exploitation strategies. The pottery assemblages are examined by means of an integrated approach which include techno-typological and archaeometric analyses. The environmental factors, the distribution of resources, the technology solutions taken by these early Neolithic communities are considered.

The development of pottery technology in Eythra from the Early Linear Pottery culture to the Late Stroke Ornamented Pottery culture

The site of Eythra, a former village located on the western bank of the White Elster River, has yielded numerous remains of a settlement that existed there during the early Neolithic cultures – the Linear Pottery culture (LBK) and the Stroke Ornamented Pottery culture (SBK). The site covers some 30 hectares, making it the largest excavated settlement of the LBK and SBK areas to date. Chemical analyses of the ceramic fragments from the consecutive stylistic phases that were represented in Eythra were carried out. The objective of this was to find out whether the stylistic changes in the shape and the decoration of the ceramic material correspond to technological changes in regard to such aspects as clay composition and tempering. The transitions between the earliest and the early LBK phases and between LBK and SBK were of particular interest in this respect, as also were the localised developments that took place within the two phases of the LBK and SBK.

Paste recipes and raw material sources for pottery-making in hunter-gatherer communities in the forest zone of Eastern Europe (Dnepr-Dvina region, 7–6th millennia BC)

The Dnepr-Dvina region was one of the first areas in the forest zone where pottery appeared during the first half of the 7th mill. BC. The analysis of samples of ceramic paste and raw materials together with reconstruction of other stages of the production chain allowed us to find out the role that raw materials and paste recipes played in the technology of the first pottery in this region. XRF-analysis, petrographic analysis, PCA and cluster analysis were carried out. The local lake sediments located near the archaeological sites were used for pottery making. Lake water fluctuations were one of the reasons for the availability of raw sources. The choice of raw material sources for pottery production in the Dnepr-Dvina region in the 7–6th mill. BC depended strongly not only on the availability of such materials, but also on technological traditions.

AQUATIC ADAPTATIONS AND THE ADOPTION OF ARCTIC POTTERY TECHNOLOGY: RESULTS OF RESIDUE ANALYSIS

The late adoption of pottery technology in the North American Arctic between 2,500 and 2,800 years ago coincides with the development of a specialized maritime economy. Arctic pottery technologies present an excellent case study for examining possible correlations between hunter-gatherer pottery and aquatic resource use. Review of the timing and distribution of early pottery in Alaska shows that early pottery is rare and dates at the earliest to 2,500 years ago; the earliest pottery is found in small numbers and primarily in coastal areas. Despite expectations that pottery use would be strongly linked to marine lipids, biomarkers and compound-specific δ13C values of 20 sherds from the Cape Krusenstern site complex, dating from 2700 to 200 cal B.P. years ago, are most consistent with freshwater aquatic resources; mixtures of freshwater aquatic, marine aquatic, and terrestrial resources are also possible. While additional analysis of a larger sample and zooarchaeological reference specimens is necessary, our study suggests that the development of pottery production by Arctic peoples is more complex than previously appreciated. This research is the first synthesis in over 30 years of early pottery in Alaska and is the first to include residue analysis of a small sample of pre-1500 B.P. pottery.

Late Upper Paleolithic-Initial Jomon transitions, southern Kyushu, Japan: Regional scale to macro processes a close look

Neolithization processes are among the most significant changes that have occurred in human history. The timing, order, and appearance of new behavioral elements and causes of behavioral change have been widely investigated. In the Japanese Archipelago, transitions from the Upper Paleolithic to Jomon show the first appearances of Neolithic behavioral elements. Research has commonly yielded inter-regional perspectives comparing technological changes with climate and landscape changes. This paper provides intra-regional comparisons of different environmental variables with technological changes focusing on southern Kyushu, Japan. This paper compares data on climate fluctuations, sea level changes, volcanic eruptions and impacts, and biomes with data on the appearance of and changes in pottery technology and variability, supplemented with studies of stone tools and archaeological features. Results suggest that climatic fluctuations, sea level changes, and biome variability may have had significant impacts on behavioral changes and that volcanic eruptions should be evaluated on an intra-regional and site-based scale.

Potter’s Wheel in the Iron Age in Central Europe: Process or Product Innovation?

The use of a rotational device for forming ceramic objects represents a fundamental innovation in pottery technology. This work addresses aspects of the transmission of this technological innovation on the basis of technological and provenance analysis of Iron Age pottery in a selected region of Eastern Bohemia. The possible trajectories of the innovative process are approximated specifically through the polarities between product and process innovation and transmission of cultural traits in open and closed learning networks. Apart from standard methods of petrographic and geochemical analysis, this analysis employs innovative methodology for identification of pottery-forming techniques. The results indicate the effects of various mechanisms of cultural transmission which shaped the evolution of techniques in the Iron Age society. The technological changes can be explained by shifting accents on product and process performance characteristics in changing selective environments.

Production technology of Nabataean painted pottery compared with that of Roman terra sigillata

The Nabataeans, who founded the city of Petra (southern Jordan) in the late first millennium BCE, are noted for the production of a distinctive very fine pottery with painted decoration and a wall thickness sometimes as little as 1.5mm; this pottery appears largely locally made and not widely circulated. Using a combination of OM, SEM with attached EDS, surface XRF, and XRD, it is shown that the Nabataean fine pottery bodies were produced using semi-calcareous clays which were fired to temperatures of about 950°C. In contrast, published data indicate that contemporary and in many ways apparently functionally equivalent Roman terra sigillata, which was traded throughout the Roman Empire, was produced using fully-calcareous clays which were fired to temperatures in the range 1000–1100°C. Furthermore, the high gloss slip applied to Roman terra sigillata is fully vitrified whereas the red-painted decoration applied to the Nabataean pottery is unvitrified. The more robust Roman terra sigillata is therefore better suited as tableware for serving and consuming food than would be the case for Nabataean fine pottery, and would be a more successful export material.

Pottery technology, settlement and landscape in Antofagasta de la Sierra (Catamarca, Argentina)

Abstract

An archaeometric approach to gain knowledge on technology and provenance of Apulian red-figured pottery from Taranto

A large sampling of Apulian red-figured pottery fragments (fifth to fourth century BC) coming from Taranto (Italy) was analyzed by a multi-technique approach. The ceramic bodies’ elemental composition has been obtained by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), the mineralogical composition of pastes by polarized-light optical and electron microscopies (OM and SEM-EDS), and X-ray powder diffraction (PXRD). The results obtained from the statistical treatment of compositional data, combined with those driven from mineralogical composition of pastes, allow to formulate hypotheses about the provenance of the objects and the manufacturing tradition of the workshops, starting to make it possible to understand the relationships among ceramic technology, artistic expression, and workshop practice in the samples analyzed.

Modelling the diffusion of pottery technologies across Afro-Eurasia: emerging insights and future research

Abstract

TECHNOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF EARLY-LATE NEOLITHIC POTTERY IN DNEPR-DVINA REGION, TECHNOLOGICAL TRACES AND THEIR INTERPRETATION

Different approaches of pottery making analysis are represented in this article. Major role is devoted to the description of technological traces, which can be observed on pottery of early-late neolithic in dnepr-dvina region, as well as to variety of methods that can be used in the analysis of ceramics manufacture techniques. different ethnographic evidences are discussed here, which allow interpreting changes occurred in technological sphere, that might not always be connected with cultural factors. description of operational sequences used for pottery making dated to early-late neolithic of this region, is represented in this article. characteristic features of these techniques, existed at different periods are analyzed, as well as changes occurred in different parts ofexisted operational sequences. it is supposed that similarity of decor, technology of pottery making, and vessels forms, typical for synchronous sites located in different parts of dnepr-dvina region, might be a marker of one society lived on this territory. Whereas local features in vessels form, decor, and technology of pottery assemblages located on definite sites within small microregions, might reflect cultural identity of society/societies lived there.

POTTERY TECHNOLOGY OF NEOLITHIC POPULATION PARKING LEBYAŽINKA I

The article presents the results of the technological analysis of neolithic ceramics of the lebyazhinka i sabstract. the article presents the results of the technological analysis of neolithic ceramics of the lebyazhinka i site. it is located in the samara region, on the left tributary of the Volga river - the sok river, 1.1 km to the east of the current river channel. the site is one of the latest neolithic monuments which have been known in the Volga region from the time of coexistence of the neolithic and eneolithic populations up to the present. according to the peculiarities of the ornamental traditions, the lebyazhinka i pottery was divided into 6 complexes, within which some ceramics groups were distinguished. the study of pottery technology was conducted in the context of the historical-cultural approach to the study of ancient pottery. it is based on binocular microscopy, trace analysis and on the experiment in the form of physical modeling. all in all, 432 samples (fragments of the upper and bottom parts of the neolithic period vessels) were studied. special study of neolithic ceramics aims to find out the specific character of cultural traditions in pottery of the population of our region at the final stage of the neolithic age, their continuity with earlier neolithic traditions, as well as changes that occurred in the period of coexistence with newly come chalcolithic groups of the population.

POTTERY PRODUCTION IN THE MORDOVIA DISTRICT: ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY

The paper tells about the results of systematization and analysis of ethnography data on pottery production in Mordovia district, collected by alexander a. Bobrinsky in the beginning of 1960th during complete questionnaire work. there are 75 messages as from the potters themselves (very rare) as from their younger relatives, local school-teachers, and others. then became clear that most of the local potters were russian migrants (not the Mordovians) lived here from 17-18th centuries. distribution the russian pottery traditions destroyed the local Mordovian ones preserved only in traces. But the russian potters in Mordovia had retained more archaic pottery traditions than the same potters resided in russia. Just these traditions have a lot of interest to study. the author investigates the Mordovian pottery production through the system of Historical-and-cultural approach according to the universal structure of pottery technology and the whole pottery production process as a field of the human culture.

SAMARA EXPEDITION TO EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF ANCIENT POTTERY (SEEIDG): 25 YEARS

The article is devoted to presenting a brief history of the organization and carrying out for 25 years Samara expedition to the experimental study of ancient pottery. Organization of this expedition was due to the need to solve problems related to the study of ancient pottery techniques. The authors examined the concept of cultural tradition in the pottery and is designed structure of the experiment in the field of pottery technology. The main task of technological research in the framework of historical and cultural areas developed A.A.Bobrinskim, is the study of traces of in fractures and on the surface of archaeological vessels arising from the use of certain methods of the ancient potters work. The result of technological research is the reconstruction of the cultural traditions that have existed among the study population. Methods of studying pottery technology is based on a binocular microscope, trasologii and experiment in the form of physical modeling and assumes the reference series. The objectives of the expedition was to create a basic reference collections for all the stages of pottery production, as well as experiments on the problems arising in the analysis of particular archaeological ceramics. The article analyzes the realized expedition general and individual programs in two areas: research and education, and provides a list of reference collections of feedstock, molding compositions and methods for treating surfaces that are available for study.

THEORY AND PRACTICE OF RESEARCH ANCIENT CERAMICS: TRADITIONAL AND THE LATEST METHODS

Presents traditional and new methods of studying ancient pottery. Stressed that in the world literature there is practically no standard (or at least consistent) approach to the study of ancient ceramics samples using the methods of the natural sciences. Was marked severities and shortcomings and the main is: lack of access for archaeologists to use physical and chemical methods; unsystematic and randomness of the results; the inability to compare results. Lack of specialists among archaeologists and weak interest natural scientists led to the fact that have not yet been generalized instructional techniques of individual tests. The methods used for the study of ceramics, do not become the subject of training in higher educational institutions. That's why many archaeologists who study the technology of ancient pottery do not accept these methods because of considering them formal. Noted that the instrumental analysis using the methods of the natural sciences is aimed primarily at identifying those features that allow you to identify the technical and technological traditions and techniques of ancient pottery: raw materials strategy formulation and molding compounds. We propose a set of analytical methods that can be used for the reconstruction of pottery technology. On the example of the ceramic collections of the forest-steppe zone of Western Siberia, the transition time from the Bronze Age to the early Iron Age shows the possibility of some of the methods of the natural sciences: petrography, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and thermal analysis. It is concluded that the use of physical and chemical methods for the study of ancient ceramics can significantly enhance the ability of research material compared to traditional methods and increase the level of evidence and the objectivity for the historical and cultural situation.

PXRF analysis of pigments in decorations on ceramics in the East Mediterranean: A test-case on Cypro-Geometric and Cypro-Archaic Bichrome ceramics at Tel Dor, Israel

As part of an attempt to identify the provenances and technology of pottery in Cypro-Geometric and Cypro-Archaic Bichrome styles at Tel Dor, Israel, the black and the red paint pigments and the ceramic body were analysed chemically by using a pXRF apparatus in a handheld configuration. This method enables analysis of the thin painted decoration directly on the surface of the vessels. As a comparison, we also analysed the fabric of the vessels, as well as comparative potential Cypriot pigment ores. The analyses reveal that the black paints consist of manganese-based pigments comprising manganese and iron. The red paints consist of iron-based pigments rich in iron and poor in manganese. In contrast, the ceramic body of the vessels is rich in silica and alumina and contains lesser concentrations of iron and only traces of manganese. The results demonstrate the utilization of Cypriot pigment ores (black umber and red ochre) for the painted decoration on these ceramics. Beyond the specific Tel Dor case, the results are intended to initiate a compositional data-base of pigments on East Mediterranean ceramics in the Bronze and Iron Ages. We argue that to serve this end the chemical data should be presented in detail, in order to enable future comparative studies.

Identification of Pottery‐Forming Techniques using Quantitative Analysis of the Orientation of Inclusions and Voids in Thin Sections

The relationship between forming techniques and orientation of the components of ceramic materials in the context of pottery technology has long been recognized and used for identification of the techniques employed to create archaeological ceramics. The alignment of inclusions is usually characterized by qualitative categories or ordinal scales. This paper evaluates the potential of quantitative orientation analysis for identification of pottery‐forming techniques. A collection of experimental pottery formed using five forming techniques and combined techniques was analysed. The forming techniques were characterized by the intervals of the mean direction and the circular standard deviations of the orientation of the major axes of the ellipses equivalent to the objects representing random sections of inclusions and voids. The most informative criteria for the identification of pottery techniques are the circular standard deviation of the inclusion/void orientations in the core area of the vessel wall in a perpendicular thin section and the mean direction in a tangential section.

Direct radiocarbon dating of Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides) from early fiber-tempered pottery in the southeastern U.S.

Growing archaeological interest in illuminating human-scale events and experiences in the ancient past has led to increased scrutiny of chronological assumptions based on old and (by today's standards) imprecise radiocarbon databases. One result has been a greater awareness of the need for more numerous and higher quality assays that can be directly linked to the specific events in question. In this paper, a method is described and tested for extracting and directly dating the organic fiber temper characteristic of North America's oldest pottery technology. Multiple extraction techniques are considered, as are a number of chemical pretreatment options. Six pairs of assays on Orange and Stallings vessels from Florida and Georgia are used to demonstrate the veracity of radiocarbon age estimates from fiber temper. In each of these cases, the fiber assay meets or exceeds recently proposed chronometric hygiene standards.

Lun Bawang and Kelabit Potteries of Sarawak

In 2013, an ethnographic study of the Lun Bawang and Kelabit potteries in Sarawak was undertaken by the authors and staff of the Centre for Global Archaeological Research (CGAR), Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang and the Sarawak Museum Department, Kuching in the district of Lawas and the Kelabit Highlands, Sarawak (Fig. 1). The primary objective of the study is to locate the few remaining Lun Bawang and Kelabit potters in these regions in order to gather data and information on traditional pottery technology, types and functions. It is also hoped that the findings of the study can provide some useful insights into the connections between the past and present pottery-making traditions in Sarawak. The Lun Bawang and Kelabit potteries have been studied since the mid-1950s by a number of researchers such as Harrisson (1955), Morrison (1955) and Janowski (1991). Harrisson’s (1955: 301) work, however, was focussed mainly on the distribution and general characteristics of native pottery in Sarawak and Sabah. He made brief mentions of the possible links between the traditional and prehistoric pottery of Borneo. Morrison (1955) reported briefly on the Lun Bawang pottery-making in Ba’ Kelalan, Lawas. Between 1986 and 1988, Janowski (1991) studied and reported in detail about the Kelabit pottery-making at the village of Pa’ Dalih in the Kelabit Highlands. Although these previous studies have provided useful records of traditional pottery-making of the Lun Bawang and Kelabit, they are too brief and not comprehensive enough for understanding the traditional pottery-making of Sarawak. This study is therefore an attempt to fill the gaps in knowledge about the traditional pottery-making of the Lun Bawang and Kelabit which is now a dying tradition.