Pottery Styles Research Articles

The ‘moving frontier’ and the transition to food production in Kenya

Since at least the 1960s, models of the transition to food production in East Africa have tended to be driven by various hypotheses derived from historical linguistics concerning the spread of various language families across the continent through the process of population migration. In more recent years, archaeologists, historians and historical linguists have offered various refinements to the initial models. This has certainly encouraged more nuanced reading of the different sources of evidence. However, such accounts rarely consider in any detail the possible variable rates of adoption or the different social conditions under which this occurred. Consequently, despite awareness of the likely complexity of the processes and the growing range of critiques, this critical transition in the history of East Africa is still widely thought of as having universally entailed the co-appearance and/or adoption of particular ‘packages’, namely cereal cultivation, iron smelting and proto-Bantu languages in the case of early farming communities, and domestic livestock and proto-Cushitic or Southern Nilotic languages in the case of early herders. In the former case, this transition is also often thought to be signalled in the archaeological record by a single diagnostic marker—the presence of Urewe and other Early Iron Age pottery styles. Building on the pioneering work of John Alexander in the application of ‘frontier theory’ to account for variable rates and mechanisms for the transition to agriculture, this paper offers a summary of the current state of knowledge regarding the transition to food production in parts of western and central Kenya.

Tracing Ancient 'Nomads': Isotopic Research on the Origins of Vertical 'Transhumance' in the Zagros Region

Introduction Sheep/goat pastoralism is a constant and dominant feature of traditional societies in the Middle East, both sedentary and nomadic. The present paper addresses the development of pastoralism in the latter context. Several studies by anthropologists document systems of herd management and territorial organisation among nomadic groups in Iran (e.g., Barth 1961; Irons 1972; Amanolahi-Baharvand 1975; Digard 1981; Black-Michaud 1986; Papoli Yazdi 1991). Further studies providing a theoretical base for reflection on the subject and discussing the variability inherent in this way of life are those of de Planhol (1965), Sunderland (1968), Dyson-Hudson (1972), Salzman (1972); Dyson-Hudson and Dyson-Hudson (1980), Khazanov (1984) and Galatay & Johnson (1990). All of those point to the difficulty of defining and classifying nomadism and pastoralism. For the sake of clarity I shall define pastoral nomadism as the association of man and herd in a pattern of cyclic mobility that is linked to the search for food for the herd, in the form of pastures in view to securing in its turn a constant and/or conservable human source of food, especially a protein, and in addition other by-products, such as wool. This way of life emerged in a geographical and ecological framework marked by the conjunction of two interrelated factors: seasonal aridity and humidity of varying degrees, associated with the territorial use of highlands and lowlands. A major consequence of this system was the elaboration of appropriate strategies of territorial management which implicitly led to the intricate formation of technical adaptations and social relationships. Since the most important capital of nomads is herds, specific herding strategies are required to ensure productivity in different environmental and social contexts. With the impetus given by Braidwood and his project on the origins of agriculture in the Fertile Crescent (Hole and Flannery 1967; Hole et al. 1969; Mortensen 1972; Lees and Bates 1974; Gilbert 1975; Wright et al. 1975; Zagarell 1975, see also for an overview Young 1987 and Sumner 1994), archaeologists have been interested in documenting the pastoral mode of ecological adaptation in the Zagros. Henry Wright and Kent Flannery were amongst those who, on the basis of regional excavations in southern Iran (Dehloran valley), characterised seasonal campsites as a pattern of settlement (Wright et al. 1975; Hole 1980 and 1987b). But as Hole (1987a: 24) himself underlines: 'Unfortunately despite the fact that most highland regions were probably occupied by transhumant people, there is little to say about interaction, except to mention the possibility, for there are few sites or data to shed light over any presumed relations.' Zagarell (1975) investigated this issue of interactions in the Bakhtiari region in 1974 and suggested the possibility of interaction between herding societies (pastoral nomads) and cultivators (sedentary societies) at the end of the Neolithic. Questioning the origins of specialised transhumant pastoralism in the Zagros highlands, Heurickson (1985) proposed the Chalcolithic period as a starting point, based on the spatial distribution of sites according to the topography and other environmental factors, regional demographic analysis, and characterisation of the type of settlement by structural analysis of all types of archaeological remains (pottery styles, etc.). Differences of opinion among archaeologists over the chronology of this event in the Zagros region and difficulties in identifying the phenomenon have stimulated the present research? This study aims first, to develop the appropriate methodological tools to deal with the problem of cyclic movement and then to contribute in documenting the question in the Zagros region which is critical for prehistoric studies. The project is a pilot research programme on the origins of vertical transhumance in the Middle East through stable isotope analyses ([sup. …

Mississippian Connections with Mill Creek and Cambria

This paper reviews the evidence for Mill Creek-Cambria interaction in the western Prairie Peninsula with various regional Mississippian polities. Limited evidence in the form of Cambria trade pottery has been reported from at least five Mill Creek sites. Of interest is the extensive presence of Mississippian-inspired pottery and decorative styles at both the Cambria site and many Mill Creek, Initial variant Middle Missouri sites, which suggests that all are examples of regional Stirling horizon activity. Models for Mill Creek-Mississippian contact during the Stirling horizon are reviewed with emphasis on possible roles of Cambria and Mill Creek with regard to Upper Mississippi Valley Mississippian sites. The conclusion reached is that some Initial Middle Missouri tradition-Mississippian contacts such as Mill Creek were substantial and directed by Cahokia elite, while others were developed regionally with specific Mississippian centers, such as Cambria with the Red Wing locality.

The development of dairying in Europe: potential evidence from food residues on ceramics

Providing evidence of dairying is crucial to the understanding of the development and intensification of Neolithic farming practices in Europe, beyond the early stages of domestication. Until recently, research in this field had been limited to traditional archaeological methods, such as the study of pottery styles, faunal remains and specialised material artefacts. Although suggestive, these methods are unable to provide direct evidence of dairying. Advances in biomolecular methods now allow the identification of remnants of dairy products on ceramic vessels and the application of these methods to Neolithic ceramic assemblages across Europe is underway. There is no doubt that these new methods offer much scope for investigating hypotheses such as the ‘secondary products revolution’, but there are limitations. The cost of analyses prohibits indiscriminate sampling and differential survival is likely to prevent direct comparison of samples from different sites. Only by incorporating these techniques within the wider frameworks of archaeological research may theories be properly tested. Approaches to achieve this goal are discussed.

A possible Neolithic settlement at Kinbeachie, Black Isle, Highland

Account of the discovery and excavation of a site comprising a scatter of pits or post-holes, including a rectangular arrangement of post-holes interpreted as a timber building. Pottery, worked stone and carbonized crop plants were recovered and the site is interpreted as a relatively short-lived agricultural settlement. Radiocarbon dating suggests an occupation date of between 3,500 and 2,920 cal BC. The report discusses the wider issues of the dating of Scottish Late Neolithic Impressed Ware and its relationship to other styles of pottery, the use of flint in Neolithic Scotland and the nature of settlement in the Neolithic.

The Source Provenance of Bronze Age and Roman pottery from Cyprus

Archaeological interpretations of ancient economies have been strengthened by chemical analyses of ceramics, which provide the clearest evidence for economic activity, and comprise both the objects of exchange and its means. Pottery is often manufactured from local materials, but its compositional diversity typically prevents significant patterns of resource utilization from being identified. Centrally located and positioned on traditional shipping routes, Cyprus maintained ties with and supplied a variety of distinctive ceramic products to the major commercial centres in the eastern Mediterranean throughout Antiquity. We analysed two Cypriot .ne wares and a variety of utilitarian pottery, as well as samples of extant Cypriot clays to determine source provenance. These chemical analyses provide an objective indication of the origins of ancient (Bronze Age and Roman) ceramics manufactured on Cyprus. The distribution of the probable clay sources and the links between pottery style and the material environment also afford a perspective on the spatial organization of large‐scale pottery production on the island. Compositional analysis provides the means to assemble geographies of pottery production and to unravel the interregional system of exchange that operated in Antiquity, but the ability to accomplish these tasks is predicated on systematic analyses of ceramic products and raw materials that are found far beyond the bounds of individual archaeological sites.

Voices in Clay: Pueblo Pottery from the Edna M. Kelly Collection

Voices in Clay: Pueblo Pottery from Edna M. Kelly Collection. By Bruce Bernstein and J. J. Brody. (Oxford, OH: Miami University Art Museum, 2001. Pp. 115, foreword, acknowledgments, introduction, illustrations, map, photographs, bibliography. $49.95 cloth, $24.95 paper) The ancestors of today's Pueblo people began to make pottery about 2000 ago, and by 600 C.E. they had begun to paint designs on their serving and storage vessels. Over time, as climatic fluctuations triggered massive resettlements, these people from Colorado plateau of northern Southwest spread out, establishing Hopi Pueblos of Arizona, Zuni and Acoma Pueblos of Western New Mexico, and Pueblos of middle Rio Grande valley. Developing mutually unintelligible languages and different cultures, Pueblo people also created distinctive styles of painted pottery that became emblematic of their regions and villages. The Voices in clay exhibition of 116 works of Pueblo ceramics from Edna M. Kelly collection at Miami University Art Museum ran from August, 2001 to January, 2002. This catalog of exhibition is not only descriptive record of superb Pueblo pottery collection, but, even more significantly, it is dialogue among three outstanding contemporary Pueblo and three curators. While scholars J. J. Brody, Tony Chavarria, and Bruce Bernstein contribute historical and cultural context, bring another dimension to pots, which are considered to be offspring of potters who created them as well as beings with lives and minds of their own (p. 9). Through participation of an all-male panel of and curators in what is traditionally woman's art form, this remarkable catalog brings out an overlooked aspect of Pueblo culture: adaptation and constant change. Especially in contrast to more dramatic changes in Navajo culture, Pueblo culture is usually perceived by outsiders to be continuation of a way of life that goes back hundreds of years (p. 10). Tony Chavarria of Santa Clara Pueblo identifies this to adapt . . . to anything, to outside influences . . . in their environment, internal or external as the real strength [of Pueblo people] (p. 10). Curator Bruce Bernstein observes that this choice of male participants gave session decidedly Outside Pueblo world' flavor (p. 9), but it also emphasizes truth of Tony Chavarria's words about Pueblo ability to change and adapt in response to outside influences. …

Environmental change and archaeology: lake evolution and human occupation in the Eastern Sahara during the Holocene

The West Nubian Palaeolake is the most large-scale hydrographic evidence in the Eastern Sahara of the early to mid-Holocene wet phase that affected northern Africa. It is the result of a significant increase in local rainfall due to the northward shift of the tropical rainfall belt. A series of fieldwork-based differential GPS (DGPS) measurements along several profiles across the West Nubian Palaeolake basin provides the first precise topographic data from this up to a 5330 km 2 large palaeolake feature. In combination with sedimentological, geochemical, and archaeological results, an almost complete picture of significant palaeoclimatic changes and human occupation during the early to mid-Holocene for this region is presented. Different stages of palaeolake evolution ranging from non-existence of the lake through stable freshwater conditions to its extinction were identified in the period from 9400 to 3800 14C yr BP. These lake stages coincide with phases of intensive human inhabitation between ca. 6300 and 3500 14C yr BP, and include at least four settlement phases distinguishable by style of pottery. These are known from adjacent areas of the palaeolake region, emphasizing strong prehistoric cultural connections in the Eastern Sahara. During the highstands of the palaeolake in the early to mid-Holocene, the Dotted Wavy-Line pottery relates to the Early Khartoum type culture with its supra-regional distribution from the Nile Valley to the Chad, and possibly with slightly different forms even to the Atlantic coast. Later in the Holocene, Western Nubia with its large palaeolakes and migration paths along palaeowadis, such as Wadi Howar, acted as an important natural and cultural link between the Nile Valley and the Chad Basin until the region was deserted during the fourth millennium BP.

Pottery Styles during the Early Jomon Period: Geochemical Perspectives on the Moroiso and Ukishima Pottery Styles

Energy‐dispersive X‐ray fluorescence (EDXRF) was used to determine the minor and trace element chemistry of 92 Early Jomon pottery sherds. The sherds came from four contemporary sites in the Kanto region and belong to either the Moroiso or Ukishima style of pottery. Principal components analysis (PCA) and discriminant analysis indicate that there are four major groups in the data set, which correspond to site location. Furthermore, for sites having both Moroiso and Ukishima pottery, the statistical tests indicate that both styles of pottery were made from the same or geochemically similar raw materials. This suggests that both styles were probably made at the same site, and indicates that if the different pottery styles are reflecting ethnic identity, then intermarriage between ethnic groups is occurring. Alternatively, the pottery styles could be reflecting some sort of social interaction between groups.

Stylistic change as a self-organized critical phenomenon: An archaeological study in complexity

Archaeologists can learn from models of evolution as a self-organized critical phenomenon. Self-organized critical systems are large, interactive systems that organize into a critical state where minor events can trigger chain reactions. Such systems demonstrate power-law distributions in the size of changes, or “avalanches,” that occur. The theory of self-organized criticality is important in that it implies that the evolution of complex systems may be driven more by interactions between agents than by external events or natural selection. Stylistic changes may be examples of avalanches of interconnected events. Evidence for self-organized criticality is shown for stylistic evolution in historical pottery styles from New York State and is used to evaluate the nature of a prehistoric pottery typology from the Southwest.

La importación de cerámica en el siglo XIX y la conformación de un gusto por lo europeo en Argentina

This paper make an analysis of the differents ways of the artistic pottery style in the X!Xth century, in Argentina. The main ways to follow coming from France, Italy (Napoles), and Spain. Inside Spain the styles from Cataluna and Valencia (Castellon) conforming the new argentinian pottery models.

Corrugated Pottery, Technological Style, and Population Movement in the Mimbres Region of the American Southwest

An understanding of small-scale population movements is essential to recent research on migration. Consideration of the technological style (processes of manufacture) of pottery, in conjunction with petrographic sourcing analyses, provides means of identifying and interpreting population movements at various scales. Diverse styles characterizes Postclassic Mimbres (A.D. 1150-early 1200s) regional reorganization in southwest New Mexico. One new style, indented corrugated pottery, is similar to northern types. Postclassic assemblages include both roughly and finely made examples, both locally produced. The finely executed vessels were made by migrants from the north and possibly by local potters who learned the northern techniques. The roughly made vessels were produced by local potters who copied the technique. The rough and fine vessels are found in the same contexts, suggesting no spatial or temporal differentiation. Thus in-migration to the eastern Mimbres area involved individuals or small groups who joined a preexisting network, possibly through intermarriage.

Measuring the flow of time: the works of James A. Ford, 1935-1941

A Dan Josselyn Memorial Publication This collection of Ford's works focuses on the development of ceramic chronology a key tool in Americanist archaeology. When James Ford began archaeological fieldwork in 1927, scholars divided time simply into prehistory and history. Though certainly influenced by his colleagues, Ford devoted his life to establishing a chronology for prehistory based on ceramic types, and today he deserves credit for bringing chronological order to the vast archaeological record of the Mississippi Valley. This book collects Ford's seminal writings showing the importance of pottery styles in dating sites, population movements, and cultures. These works defined the development of ceramic chronology that culminated in the major volume Archaeological Survey in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley, 1940-1947, which Ford wrote with Philip Phillips and James B. Griffin. In addition to Ford's early writings, the collection includes articles written with Griffin and Gordon Willey, as well as other key papers by Henry Collins and Fred Kniffen. Editors Michael O'Brien and Lee Lyman have written an introduction that sets the stage for each chapter and provides a cohesive framework from which to examine Ford's ideas. A foreword by Willey, himself a participant in this chronology development, looks back on the origin of that method. Measuring the Flow of Time traces the development of culture history in American archaeology by providing a single reference for all of Ford's writing on chronology. It chronicles the formation of one of the most important tools for understanding the prehistory of North America and shows its lasting relevance.

Late Minoan IB marine ware, the marine environment of the Aegean, and the Bronze Age eruption of the Thera volcano

Abstract Late Minoan IB fine ware pottery includes a number of decorative styles. The most spectacular of these is characterized by motifs, hitherto only rarely deployed by Cretan vase painters, drawn from the marine world. Late Minoan IB marine ware turns up in ritual contexts, which include human sacrifice. The pottery style is likely to reflect, then, not simply a vagary of secular fashion, but a circumstance or circumstances requiring far-reaching religious attention. It is proposed that Late Minoan IB marine ware and the cult activities in which it was deployed were a response to negative effects of the Late Bronze Age Thera eruption on the marine environment of the Aegean.

From Pottery to Politics: An Ethnoarchaeological Study of Political Factionalism, Ethnicity, and Domestic Pottery Style in the Ecuadorian Amazon

A long-standing assumption in archaeological theory is that pottery in the domestic context represents a form of “passive style” that does not enter into symbolic communication in the political domain. This paper presents ethnoarchaeological data to establish a link between women's active political behavior and pottery style in the domestic context in a small-scale, segmental society in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Analysis of individual variables of style shows that Achuar and Quichua women signify their political alliances in the painted decoration of their domestic pottery more strongly than they signify so-called “passive” processes of learning associated with early enculturation and ethnicity. Furthermore, analysis of women's judgments of pottery as Achuar or Quichua indicates that they decode cues to political alliances in the pottery of other women, including cues to political differences within and between groups. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed in terms of the principles underlying women's stylistic behavior as part of the political processes involved in the construction and maintenance of social identity and social boundaries.

Book Reviews: The Archaeology of Wealth: Consumer Behavior in English America, Social Dynamics of Pottery Style in the Early Puebloan Southwest, of Caves and Shell Mounds

Book Reviews: The Archaeology of Wealth: Consumer Behavior in English America, Social Dynamics of Pottery Style in the Early Puebloan Southwest, of Caves and Shell Mounds

A portable PIXE system for the in situ characterisation of black and red pigments in neolithic, copper age and bronze age pottery

The results of the determination of the chromophoric elements in black and red pigments in ancient neolithic, copper age and bronze age pottery are presented. The measurements were carried out by using a recently developed portable PIXE system and were performed at the Archaeological Museum of Licata (Sicily). The results confirm the presence of Manganese in black pigments of Castelluccio style pottery and indicate, for the first time, a strong presence of manganese in copper age pottery of the Serraferlicchio style, and in neolithic pottery of the Serra d'Alto style.

Pottery and People: A Dynamic Interaction

This volume emphasizes the complex interactions between ceramic containers and people in past and present contexts.Pottery, once it appears in the archaeological record, is one of the most routinely recovered artifacts. It is made frequently, broken often, and comes in endless varieties according to economic and social requirements. Moreover, even in shreds ceramics can last almost forever, providing important clues about past human behavior.The contributors to this volume, all leaders in ceramic research, probe the relationship between humans and ceramics. Here they offer new discoveries obtained through traditional lines of inquiry, demonstrate methodological breakthroughs, and expose innovative new areas for research. Among the topics covered in this volume are the age at which children begin learning pottery making; the origins of pottery in the Southwest U.S., Mesoamerica, and Greece; vessel production and standardization; vessel size and food consumption patterns; the relationship between pottery style and meaning; and the role pottery and other material culture plays in communication.Pottery and People provides a cross-section of the state of the art, emphasizing the complete interactions between ceramic containers and people in past and present contexts. This is a milestone volume useful to anyone interested in the connections between pots and people.

The Ronaldsway Pottery of the Isle of Man: a Study of Production, Decoration, and Use

The Late Neolithic pottery of the Isle of Man falls into two types: Ronaldsway and Grooved Ware. This paper focuses on the former style which is markedly different from other contemporaneous pottery styles in use in Britain and Ireland. The discussion draws upon the biographical history of Ronaldsway vessels from the choice of raw materials to the deposition of the finished pots. At each stage in this biographical history the approach adopted by Manx potters and pottery users is compared with that employed in surrounding parts of the British Isles.

The history of method and theory in the study of prehistoric puebloan pottery style in the American Southwest

The history of Americanist archaeology can be profitably approached through an examination of ceramic design studies in the puebloan region of the American Southwest. An intellectual tradition is represented throughout these studies, grounded in the assumption that ceramic design variation can be reflected, among other things, in prehistoric social groupings. Within this tradition, a number of differences in method, theory, and application can be distinguished, including (1) the classificatory systems employed, (2) the spatial and temporal scales at which ceramic design variation was studied, and (3) the potential functional role of stylistic attributes on pottery. The debates, both intellectual and social, surrounding the development of method and theory in the New Archaeology are clarified by this historical review, as are the transitions to Culture History and from the New Archaeology in the American Southwest.