Use Of Pottery Research Articles

Huaynuná, a Late Cotton Preceramic Site on the North Coast of Peru

AbstractRecent investigations have revealed evidence for two distinct prehistoric Andean religious traditions at the preceramic site of Huaynuna north of the Casma Valley. One, more private, religious tradition is represented by the presence of a ventilated hearth set in a small enclosure, a feature heretofore found primarily in early highland sites associated with the Kotosh Religious Tradition. The second, more public, religious tradition is represented by a relatively large elevated structure built on a hillside, a precursor to the much larger religious mounds that are widespread on the coast of Peru during the Initial Period. Radiocarbon evidence from Huaynuna coupled with dating from other Casma Valley sites, indicates that larger-scale irrigation agriculture, use of pottery, and weaving did not appear in the Casma Valley area until about 1600 B.C., some 200 years later than similar occurrences on the central coast of Peru.

Use Technologies: An Ethnoarchaeological Study of Kalinga Pottery

AbstractIt is difficult to assess the relative importance of technical and non-technical factors in inferring modes of technological decision-making in prehistory. Examination of pottery use technology among the Kalinga using both ethnoarchaeological material and laboratory analysis demonstrates the importance of not only technical (physical properties or functional), but also behavioral or social aspects of technological choices. Kalinga consumers may select pots for functional superiority, or for reasons of village allegiance. Explaining the resulting pattern in the material record requires attention to both technical and behavioral aspects of the pottery technology.

A Late Quaternary inland sea and early pottery in Papua New Guinea

Swadling et al. (1988) suggest that an inland sea, open to the north, was formed in the Sepik-Ramu lowlands by rising sea level in the late Pleistocene. This sea was infilled during the later Holocene. They also imply that these geographical changes would have significantly affected the human and ecologie prehistory of the region, although without documenting any detail. We report here evidence for existence of the inland sea and for its history of recession towards the current Sepik River mouth. We also report evidence of unusually early use of pottery at sites on former shorelines east of the lower Ramu River and of a 5000-year-old Tridacna shell adze found in alluvium about 300 km from the Sepik mouth.

GRADUAL CHANGE IN HUMAN TOOTH SIZE IN THE LATE PLEISTOCENE AND POST-PLEISTOCENE.

Starting with the onset of the last glaciation approximately 100,000 years ago and continuing to the end of the Late Pleistocene approximately 10,000 years ago, human tooth size began to reduce at a rate of 1% every 2,000 years. Both the mesial-distal and the buccal-lingual dimensions of mandibular and maxillary teeth were undergoing the same rate of reduction. From the beginning of the Post-Pleistocene until the present, the overall rate of dental reduction doubled, becoming approximately 1% per thousand years. Buccal-lingual dimensions are now reducing twice as fast as mesial-distal dimensions, and maxillary teeth are reducing at an even more rapid rate than mandibular teeth. Late Pleistocene rates are comparable in Europe and the Middle East. The Post-Pleistocene rates are also the same for Europe, the Middle East, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. It is suggested that the cookery at the beginning of the Late Pleistocene allowed the earlier changes to occur. The use of pottery within the last 10,000 years further reduced the amount of selection that had previously maintained usable tooth substance. Reduction then occurred as a consequence of the Probable Mutation Effect (Brace, 1963; McKee, 1984).

Graffiti and the Evidence of Literacy and Pottery use in Roman Britain

The distribution of graffiti on pottery is examined and conclusions drawn about varying levels of literacy on different types of site. The pattern established provides a contrast with the evidence from monumental inscriptions and gives new information about the use of pottery in Roman Britain.

Boudicca, the First Colchester Potters' Shop, and the Dating of Neronian Samian

Historically dated pottery assemblages have been widely used in the establishment of ceramic chronologies, especially those currently used for samian ware.2 The methods employed in the construction of these chronologies have hitherto been comparatively unsophisticated and the results have rarely been subjected to critical scrutiny. Further, in most of the development and use of these chronologies it has been the presence of specific types (for instance stamps or decorated sherds) that has been considered significant rather than the overall composition of the assemblages. This is despite the fundamental assumption on which the chronologies are based, that assemblages deposited at or near the same time, within the same distribution network, will be similar in composition. This assumption has itself rarely been tested to establish the limits within which other factors determining pottery supply, use and deposition, may obscure these underlying chronological structures, and render them unreliable for the precise dating upon which Roman archaeologists rely.

The volcanic eruption of Thera and its effect on the Mycenaean and Minoan civilizations

Since Professor Sp. Marinatos linked the eruption of Thera with the destruction of Cretan sites, difficulties have been met in reconciling the dates of the two incidents which, based on pottery, were c. 1520 BC and 1450 BC, respectively, giving a “time gap” of 70 years. None of the mechanisms proposed for the Cretan site destructions-tsunamis, ash fallout, earthquakes, civil disturbances or invasion can be reconciled with the magnitude of the simultaneous site destructions. Therefore, an alternative theory is proposed that the Cretan holocaust was caused by “nuées ardentes” emanating from Thera. It is postulated that these were released through a “split” in the cone wall, of limited area, generating a high velocity jet of tephra fluidized in a red hot gas stream. Such a jet is immensely destructive and lethal, causing death by pulmonary oedema. The shape (like a blowtorch) and course of the ash fallout, as measured by deep sea cores, shows that these nuées ardentes passed over the eastern part of Crete, causing severe destruction and depopulation. The geological record confirms that tephra deposits from such Peléan eruptions have travelled for 160km, or more, and that normally the main eruption is preceded by a preliminary one of lesser intensity, with a time gap ranging from 51 to 203 years. Settlements on or at the base of the volcano would have been abandoned at the time of the preliminary eruption/earthquakes ( c. 1520 BC). A time gap of 70 years would be reasonable, fitting with the Cretan catastrophe around 1450 BC. In the meantime, reoccupation had commenced, but was terminated by the final eruption. Apparently, Knossos on the periphery of the blast was severely damaged by fire (possibly again in LM II) and rebuilt, being finally destroyed in late LM IIIB. During this time span some “blurring” of pottery dating may be attributed to recovery and use of pottery “heirlooms”. The nuée ardente theory explains the simultaneous destruction of sites by fire and blast, the Cretan depopulation, as well as the time gap. In general 14C results confirm the dates proposed. So far tephra deposits have not been identified on Crete itself, but grains of it have been found at Pyrgos. It is suggested that cores from lake bottoms should be examined for the area, and that Cretan soil samples should be checked for tephra particles by employing the flotation technique, used in mining, for separating them.

Mother-infant interaction and the development of behavior problems in childhood

Despite its long-standing assumption of the spread of early pottery innovated by the Late-Glacial hunter-gatherers in Japan, cultural diffusion as an explanatory model has not explicitly tested. This study addresses the question of the extent to which cultural diffusion played a role in proliferating the innovated early pottery technology across the Japanese Archipelago by employing the distance decay model of cultural diffusion. Based on the assembled dataset of the Late-Glacial assemblages with early pottery radiocarbon dates, distances between the presumed core where the earliest dates were obtained (i.e., Odaiyamamoto I) and the adopted sites do not exhibit the time-progressive pattern. In contrast, frequencies of potsherds relative to lithic artifacts increases as time progressed, implying that early pottery technology was gradually accumulated nearly by the end of the Younger Dryas, ca, 11,000 cal. BP. This study demonstrates that cultural diffusion does not fully explain the emergence and spread of early pottery in Japan, while the Late-Glacial travel and exchange networks enabled hunter-gatherers to transmit and accumulate knowledge of pottery use.

NATURALLY OCCURRING HYDROCARBONS IN THE GULF OF MEXICO AND THE CARIBBEAN

ABSTRACT Results are presented of 8 years of research on naturally occurring hydrocarbons in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. They are found beneath the bottom, on the bottom, in the water column, and floating on the surface. The geographic emphasis has been in the Gulf and the Caribbean, but data on hydrocarbons floating at or near the surface have also been collected along a profile from Dakar, Africa, to Trinidad. Tar samples were also collected seasonally along the entire Texas coast, as well as off the eastern Mexican coast and the western Florida coast. Various types of geologic, geophysical, and oceanographic data were obtained from research vessels and a submersible. They corroborate historical evidence of tar on beaches from naturally occurring seeps, including its use in pottery by the Karankawa Indians in pre-Columbian times and for caulking ships by early Spanish explorers. Charts published in 1902 through 1909 indicate heavy oil slicks off the Louisiana and Texas coasts, and in 1903, oil ponds off the Sabine River. The present research has also documented scores of active gas seeps on seismic subbottom profiler records and by visual and photographic observation from a submersible. The major conclusion of this study is that a low-intensity, persistent introduction of hydrocarbons over thousands of years has not been deleterious to the marine environment. An ecosystem influenced in this manner can continue to be biologically active and should not be considered to have been irreparably harmed.

The faunal remains

Summary A brief survey of archaeological occurrences on Mount Marsabit in northern Kenya revealed sparse scatters of stone artefacts in the non-forested areas. Excavation in Kulchurdo rock shelter yielded signs of occupation in the fourteenth or fifteenth century AD by stone tool-making peoples who made little use of pottery, hunted wild game and had access to domestic ovicaprids.

The Use of Stone Artefacts and Pottery among the Khoisan Peoples in Historic and Protohistoric Times

The Use of Stone Artefacts and Pottery among the Khoisan Peoples in Historic and Protohistoric Times

Post-Pleistocene changes in the human dentition.

AbstractPublished evidence indicates sharp reductions in the hominid dentition following the end of the Pleistocene. These reductions, both in size and in morphological complexity, have proceeded farthest in those areas where culture change has occurred most rapidly. The model proposed here suggests that post‐Pleistocene dental reduction may be the result of the change in selective forces consequent from the invention and use of pottery and the changes in food‐preparation techniques after the end of the Pleistocene. Models for testing this hypothesis are discussed.

A Hypothesis Concerning the Relationship between Texcoco Fabric-Marked Pottery, Tlateles, and Chinampa Agriculture

AbstractIn his surface survey of the Valley of Mexico, Tolstoy found large quantities of a distinctive type of pottery concentrated in the southwestern portion of Lake Texcoco (Tolstoy 1958: 53). This pottery, called Texcoco Fabric-marked, was almost always found on low mounds, tlateles, lying either within or very near the old lake bed.Tolstoy offers no explanation for the correlation between the tlateles and the fabric-marked pottery other than that they seem in some way “to be traditionally connected with the Aztec practice of extracting salt.”Evidence is presented in this paper that shows Tolstoy's explanation of the use of Texcoco Fabric-marked pottery is not a very satisfactory one, and an alternative hypothesis—that this fabric-marked pottery was used in food production—is proposed.

The kidney in lead poisoning.

Kidney damage due to lead is still an interesting problem of industrial toxicology. In spite of abundant literature data, much still remains to be explained. There are controversial opinions, not only on the type of renal lesions due to lead, but also on whether lead affects the kidney at all. In this paper our clinical observations on the effect of lead upon the kidney in 53 patients suffering from lead poisoning are presented. In 44 patients (40 men and four women) lead poisoning was due to occupation, and in nine (five men and four women) to the use of lead-glazed pottery. The length of exposure varied from two months to 35 years. In all cases the diagnosis of lead poisoning was made clinically and confirmed by laboratory tests. Permanent changes in the form of chronic nephropathy were observed in only two patients. These were the two cases in which exposure to lead was the longest and most intense. Twenty-three patients showed functional renal lesions tending to normalize. In addition to the cases of organic nephropathy, blood pressure was persistently raised in one further patient; in two patients a raised blood pressure was observed only in the acute stage of poisoning. On the basis of these findings we consider that lead intoxication can cause renal lesions. These lesions are for the most part functional and temporary. In cases of long and severe exposure and repeated lead intoxication, organic renal lesions seem possible. The disturbances of renal function observed in this study may be ascribed to disordered intrarenal circulation, due to the spastic effect of lead on intrarenal blood vessels, and to a direct toxic or indirect hypoxic effect of lead on the tubules. When investigating renal function, we have observed that the timing of individual tests is of paramount importance. Some lesions are subject to changes in the natural course of lead poisoning, and unless this is borne in mind, apparently contradictory results may be obtained.

Pottery in the Northwest

In 1932 Verne F. Ray reported ethnographic data on the use of unfired pottery among the Sanpoil of the Plateau and discussed archaeological and ethnographic occurrences of both unfired and fired pottery in and adjacent to that area. He was disposed to look upon Sarci pottery as the most likely source for the Sanpoil trait.

The Pre-Pottery Faulkner Site of Southern Illinois

As an introduction to the problem of pre-pottery culture in Illinois, it seems best to review briefly discoveries made previous to the excavation at the Faulkner site. The first such manifestation was reported by Langford at the Fisher site. The burials in the gravel deposits, lower level, were noted by him to have been without pottery and of a physical type different than that in pottery-bearing sites. In 1931 it was mentioned that Kelly had unearthed fire basins of considerable geological antiquity at Plum Island. Simpson and Shoenbeck have excavated similar fire basins in a shell mound in Woodford County. Both finds are considered to be earlier than the use of pottery. The Folsom points found in Illinois are also thought to be of considerable age. In a surface survey of the Carbondale area, Moreau Maxwell located sites which produced large flint knives, bannerstones, straight-stemmed points, quantities of flint chips, but no pottery.

Research Items

Early Copper EXPERIMENTS in smelting copper from ores have been carried out by H. H. Coghlan with the view of throwing light on the supposed accidental discovery of copper smelting by primitive man (Man, July 1939). Primitive conditions were simulated so far as possible, to show whether copper could be produced in a ‘hole in the ground’ or camp fire. The green carbonate malachite was selected as the most probable material from which the earliest smelted copper was produced. A cone of charcoal was built up in a hole in the ground about three feet in diameter, and surrounded by a ring of stones. The ore was well embedded in the centre of the cone. A bright red heat was obtained, which could not have been increased without a forced draught. The fire was kept at full heat for some hours, and then allowed to die down slowly. The malachite had only been reduced to black oxide of copper, and no metallic copper was produced. Failure is attributed to excess of air, and later experiments proved that low temperature was not the cause of failure. The theory of accidental discovery precludes the use of bellows to produce a forced draught, as this is a method which belongs to a sophisticated copper-smelting technique. An alternative theory is put forward that accidental discovery may have resulted from the employment of a pottery kiln, especially in view of the fact that the use of pottery preceded the discovery of copper. A test was made in a simple kiln, such as that which had been in use at Erosd in the Alt Valley, where the baking chamber was simply a dome of brick or burnt clay. The kiln following this model was covered with charcoal, and the fire kept at a good red heat for some hours. Metallic copper was produced, at first as sponge copper, and afterwards with a closer packing, as a compact and close-grained bead. The malachite may have been introduced into the primitive pottery kiln by accident or in the form of a paint or slip, or made up as a glaze.

TREATMENT OF ULCERATIVE COLITIS WITH ALUMINUM HYDROXIDE AND KAOLIN

One of the oldest remedies brought down to Present-day medicine is kaolin (aluminum silicate). It is one of the chief products of the erosion of igneous rock and therefore is a common constituent of many soils and is classified as a silicious earth. Rich deposits of high grade kaolin are found in parts of the United States and also in the Orient, where it is mined chiefly for use in pottery and was used very effectively in the treatment of Asiatic cholera many centuries ago. Both Walker 1 and Braafladt 2 were impressed by the great usefulness of this product in the treatment of the 1919 epidemic of cholera in China. In giving it both by mouth and by rectum it proved to be one of their most useful aids in bringing about a great decrease in mortality. Walker in discussing the rationale of kaolin concluded that its action was

VI.—The Use of Samian Pottery in dating the early Roman occupation of the north of Britain

It is well known that early in the reign of Hadrian a wall was built across Britain from the Solway to near the mouth of the Tyne, and that about twenty years later, under Antoninus Pius, another wall was built still further north, from the Clyde to the Forth. Forty years before the wall of Hadrian, Agricola, in the early years of the reign of Domitian, penetrated even further than the line of the Antonine wall. It is with the period from the first advance of Agricola until the coming of Hadrian that the following paper deals.

On the Relative Age of the Remains of Man in Yorkshire

It is proposed to give some account of the evidences of the presence of man in Yorkshire, and so far as possible to collate those evidences and ascertain their relative sequence. There was a people who inhabited the Yorkshire Wolds, erected defences against neighbouring or more distant foes on their summits, and buried their dead in rude graves dug in the surface of the ground, after burial they erected above them mounds of earth and stones, named tumuli, and which occur in considerable numbers scattered over the East Riding. A branch of the same tribe, or by whatever term we may choose to designate those people, occupied rude structures built on the trunks of trees, laid horizontally one above the other, in the lakes and meres of Holderness, very similar to the lake dwellings found in Ireland and Scotland. The latter appear to have been a peaceably disposed people, given to agricultural pursuits, protecting themselves from the chill east winds which swept over the North Sea, as best they could, with the skins of the animals they killed for food; tolerably safe from the attacks of the wild animals, which ranged in the neighbouring woods, when in their habitations over the water; and retreating to entrenched strongholds on the approach of human but more dangerous foes. The men of this age were acquainted with the use of pottery, which they shaped into rude vessels by hand, without the use of a potter’s wheel, and decorated by making incisions either with ...