Pottery consumption

A 12th-13th-century A.D. ceramic assemblage from Alexander’s Hill at Sagalassos in southwestern Turkey provides new evidence for the typo-chronological study of Byzantine pottery. A functional analysis of the assemblage, along with textual and iconographic evidence, archaeozoological and palynological analyses, and chemical analysis of cooking-pot residues, contributes to the reconstruction of diet and cooking practices in Anatolia. While baked fish, vegetables, pulses, and bread are usually regarded as the staples of Byzantine peasant cuisine, diners at Sagalassos were enjoying beef stews before the Fourth Crusade, when the technique of stewing meat was allegedly introduced to the eastern Mediterranean from the West.

This article from the ‘Classics Review’ section of the journal ‘ethnoarchaeology’ provides the back story and update for “Ceramic Theory and Cultural Process” published in 1985 and reprinted many times since then. That book built on the seminal article that I wrote for ‘Current Anthropology’ ten years earlier, and my responses to my critics there that stimulated me to write the book (those articles are on this site). Besides several anecdotes about the book, one section of the article provides a brief ethnography of its publication at the Cambridge University Press.
    One of my greatest frustrations that stimulated writing of  the book was that my former focus on the cognitive anthropology (e. g. Arnold 1971) of ceramic production and my focus on what has come to be known as ‘technological choice’ among potters failed to provide much insight into understanding ceramic production outside of the ceramics in the communities that I studied. Those theoretical and conceptual perspectives, although helpful and useful, did not help me provide insight into another pottery making community except that ‘potters make choices’ about resources, vessel shapes, and design. I already knew that from my field work; it was very obvious to me. I had written several articles that incorporated potters’ choices that I called ‘decision trees’. (These articles will be added to this site in due time), and the frustration of the incomparability of my perspective from one pottery making community to another that led me to rethink my experiences with potters in Mexico, Peru and Guatemala, in order to discover new insights that were truly cross-cultural in scope. The results were generalizations, but not necessarily universals, in ’Ceramic Theory and Cultural Process’. Some of these generalizations challenged assumptions and generalizations that archaeologists used to interpret the past.  Finally, the article makes several updates to the ceramic resource model, and other feedback mechanisms in the book.

The paper examines the composition and chronology of MM III contexts at Ayia Triada and discusses, in particular, those that can help clarify the chronological sequence of the period.
Select pieces of the ceramic record are presented in an attempt to reach the following goals: first, to provide evidence for dating specific architectural events that are largely unknown; second, to enlarge the scanty record of publications for the MM III ceramic sequence at Ayia Triada; third, to present some stratified groups of material to support both the division of MM III in two sub-phases and the existence of both stages in the site; and finally, to explore aspects of ceramic production by comparing the Ayia Triada pottery groups with the current and more fully explored deposits from Phaistos and Kommos.
Finally, the ceramic overview together with the quantity and quality of depositional processes allows the examination of the role of Ayia Triada from a different perspective. Although our knowledge of other areas of craft productions (bronze, stone etc.) remains slight compared with the cases of Phaistos and Kommos, pottery shed slight on a more dynamic situation than previously suggested, for it includes both a Protopalatial form of production, still inspired by Phaistian models and artisans, and a new modes of manufacture, mostly represented by the dark-on-light vessels. In this sense, it would be more appropriate to see Ayia Triada as a ‘centre in transformation’, for it moved from being a Phaistian satellite to an independent site – albeit probably already under some form of Knossian supervision – emerging as the main administrative centre of south central Crete.

In the last decade the investigation of handmade pottery (“impasto”) in the Phoenician
sites of Western and Central Mediterranean received a noteworthy impulse. Despite the
frequently incomplete state of preservation of vessels, the analysis of this class of
materials is retained to be suitable for ascertaining the influence of local populations on
the dietary habits of Phoenician settlements.
Motya, a Phoenician colony in Western Sicily, offers an exceptional set of data, made up
by the finds from the necropolis and in the Tophet, to which further materials found in
recent investigations of “Rome Sapienza University” Expedition must be added. The aim
of this contribution is focusing on the analysis of the archaeological record of this site, in
order to insert Motya in the Sicilian panorama and in the wider context of Phoenician
colonies.

"Utilitarian Ceramic Production and Distribution in the Prehistoric Tonto Basin" synthesizes sand temper-based provenance evidence collected over 15 years from three widely spaced project areas. Ideas regarding pottery manufacture in households and communities during the A.D. 100 - 1350 span are presented.

On the basis of recent archaeological evidence unearthed in the course of systematic excavations by the Sagalassos Archaeological Research Project (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) in southwestern Turkey, this paper attempts to pull together different strings of ceramic data in order to bridge the era between late antiquity and the Middle Ages (mid seventh century to ninth century AD). Our aim is to present samples of the ceramic assemblages excavated at the site of ancient Sagalassos from layers that are most probably dated to the late seventh and eighth centuries. An attempt has been made to examine rigorously the stratigraphy and its contents that are admittedly completely different to the known ceramic forms of the late Roman/early Byzantine (fourth century to mid seventh century) and middle Byzantine (early tenth century to mid 13th century) periods at Sagalassos. Five different pottery types are presented, both kitchenwares and tablewares. The fact that all the ware types presented here are local products should not be seen necessarily as a result of a general decline in trade, rural and/or urban life, but rather as a local response to a generally changing economic system and an emerging local pottery tradition based on household-organised production. The shift from the Roman mass-produced and customised wares (that started to disappear from the market) to non-specialised local/regional production (that started to satisfy basic household needs) need not have been a sudden one. Our ultimate aim is to contribute to recent attempts to throw more light on the archaeologically ‘hidden’ material culture of the socalled ‘Dark Ages’.

"A Petrographic Approach to Sand-Tempered Pottery Provenance Studies: Examples from Two Hohokam Local Systems" summarizes methods developed by the authors to model sand temper resource compositions in Arizona's Tucson and Tonto basins and major findings regarding the concentration of production and spatial distribution of sand-tempered Hohokam pottery in those basins. The petrofacies approach to provenance determination and ethnographic/ethnoarchaeological data used to evaluate annual prehistoric ceramic ceramic production rates should prove useful in reconstructing pottery manufacturing and distributions systems elsewhere.

This ASLU volume examines the built environment and aspects of domestic material culture of the Late Byzantine/Frankish, Ottoman and Early Modern Cyclades in the Aegean (13th – 20th centuries). On the basis of primary archaeological data gathered by the Cyclades Research Project, this monograph’s aims are the reconstruction of everyday domestic life in towns and villages, the identification of socio-cultural identities that shaped or were reflected on pre-Modern material remains, and the history of island landscapes through the study of certain aspects of material culture. Aspects of ‘material culture’ analysed in this study include settlement layout (fortified settlements and undefended nucleated villages), domestic buildings (housing of urban character, peasant housing and farmsteads), ceramics (locally produced and imported glazed tableware), internal fittings (built structures and mobile fittings) and island-costumes (male and female dress codes).

The article presents the preliminary observations deriving
from the study of immured vessels in churches of the Prefecture
of Rethymnon (Crete). Mention is made of the
areas where this practice finds its largest diffusion, of the
main forms of distribution of the vessels on the façades of
churches, of the different categories of glazed wares used
as bacini.

Excerpt from article: The southern Levant and the Black Sea area are two regions that exhibit this broad, but thin, spread of Campana A ware. By considering the distribution of Campana A and its appearance in well-defined use contexts in these two regions together, we hope to elucidate the economic and social background behind this intriguing pattern of distribution.

This paper defines the notion of standardization, presents the methodological approach to analysis, points to the problems and limitation arising in examination of materials from archaeological excavations, and presents the results of the analysis of coefficients of variation of metric parameters of the Late Neolithic vessels recovered at the sites of Vinča and Motel Slatina.

A região de Aveiro possui grandes reservas de argila de muito boa qualidade. A existência desta matéria-prima levou a que a produção cerâmica desde cedo tomasse parte das actividades produtivas das comunidades locais, facto que se encontra atestado através da recorrente referência, documental e oral, ao “Bairro das Olarias” e dos frequentes achados de cerâmicas modernas exumadas em níveis arqueológicos preservados e identificadas em contextos secundários. Entre estas, ganha notabilidade a denominada cerâmica do açúcar constituída pelas Formas de Pão de Açúcar. Um pouco por todo o centro histórico da cidade de Aveiro é comum presenciar a reutilização destes recipientes como elemento constitutivo dos paramentos dos edifícios mais antigos.
Porém, recentes trabalhos arqueológicos desenvolvidos na orla do antigo Bairro das Olarias, permitiram identificar fragmentos deste tipo de cerâmica em estratigrafia arqueológica selada e datada do séc. XVI. A análise destes depósitos colabora para o estabelecimento de um quadro cronológico do seu período de produção e fundamentação da sua origem local ou regional.

In north-western Europe it has long been realised that potsherds should not be used exclusively as a dating tool but also as a means for examining aspects of socio-economic organisation, trade and exchange, dining and drinking habits. In contrast to methodological advances in Europe, medieval and post-medieval archaeology in Greece is still in its dawn. Remains of the post-Roman periods have just begun to be decently excavated and scientifically recorded. On the basis of older and recently published excavations in urban centres (Athens, Corinth and Thessaloniki) and surface surveys in the Greek countryside and other areas in the eastern Mediterranean, this paper offers an overall review of pottery forms and styles found in Greece. Case studies are also used from the late medieval and post-medieval Aegean islands of the Cyclades, examining some first results of the CY.RE.P. (Cyclades Research Project) survey research. Medieval pottery research in Greece is discussed in an attempt to examine socio-economic and cultural aspects of post-Roman ceramics in Greece in terms of trade and contacts between East and West, economic and social formation, cultural and/or symbolic meanings and domestic life.

Embora o "castelo branco" seja um símbolo identitário da cidade albicastrense, a maioria dos habitantes da capital da Beira Baixa, pouco ou nada sabe sobre a História de um monumento que marca de forma incontornável o passado e a paisagem da região.
Ao longo do século XX tiveram lugar diversos achados fortuitos, mas foi só nos anos 80 decorreram os primeiros trabalhos arqueológicos sistemáticos, na primeira intervenção do género organizada na cidade.  Foi também uma das primeiras em Portugal que teve como objetivo o estudo de contextos medievais e modernos, numa época em que esse tipo de investigação ainda não tinha começado a surgir na maior parte das cidades do país.
Volvidos quase 30 anos do fim dos trabalhos, a exposição agora organizada pretende dar a conhecer alguns dos achados mais significativos encontrados naquele local, tendo em conta a sua funcionalidade e os espaços quotidianos onde se inseriam.

Although the “white castle” is an identity symbol of the city where it was build, its history is totally unknown to most of the city’s residents.
During the 20th century there were some fortuitous findings, but it was only in the 1980’s that the archaeological excavations started in a systematical form. It was the first intervention of that kind in the city and one of first in Portugal to study medieval and modern contexts, when it had not happened yet in other Portuguese sites.
Almost thirty years after the end of the excavations, this exhibition wants to show some of the objects that were found, demonstrating their use and placing them in the everyday spaces where they belong.

Aunque el "castillo blanco" es un símbolo identitario de la ciudad albicastrense, la mayoría de los vecinos de la capital de la Beira Baixa poco o nada sabe acerca de la Historia de un monumento que marca de forma inevitable el pasado y el paisaje de la región.
A lo largo del siglo XX hubo una serie de hallazgos fortuitos, pero fue sólo en la década de 80 cuando tuvieron lugar los primeros trabajos arqueológicos sistemáticos, en lo que fue la primera intervención de esa clase organizada en la ciudad. Fueran también de los primeros trabajos arqueológicos en Portugal en tener como objectivo el estudio de contextos medievales y modernos, en una época en la que este tipo de investigación todavía no había empezado a surgir en la mayoría de las ciudades del país.
Casi treinta años después del final de las excavaciones, la exposición ahora organizada pretende dar a conocer algunos de los hallazgos más significativos realizados en ese lugar, teniendo en cuenta su funcionalidad y los espacios cotidianos en que se integraban.

The book consists of the papers presented at the 13th European Archaeological Association congress, in the session “Ten centuries of Byzantine trade”, which was organized in the frames of the congress, and research articles covered a number of principal issues on the history and archaeology of the Byzantine Empire from the 5th to the 15th century AD.

Confronto tra le quntità relative ai Bacini e le ceramiche da scavo di importazione mediterranea a Pisa tra fine X e fine XIII secolo con considerazioni sul volume e il carettere delle importazioni, sull'aree attestate e sul rapporto con i prodotti locali pisani.

Si presenta una sintesi sul complesso rapporto tra ceramiche rivestite (e non) e ricostruzione socio-economica della società pisana medievale tra XI e XV secolo, tramite il confronto dei dati degli scavi eseguiti nel centro storico di Pisa negli ultimi 15/20 anni. Si fa riferimento a dati editi e inediti (o solo parzialmente editi), riallacciandosi alla lunga tradizione di studi in materia e considerando sia siti dalla spiccata vocazione artigianale che altri più agiati (case-torri).

After the first Topical Congress (Montpellier-
Lattes, France, 19th-21st November 2014), the
second will be hold in spring 2015 at the
International Museum of Ceramics in Faenza
(Ravenna, Italy) and will be titled «In&Around.
Pottery&Community».
Material culture is an expression of a will, but at
the same time it influences choices. Objects,
their shape, their decoration are not neutral
element in social dynamics, on the contrary,
they interact in human behaviors, both in the
moment of acquisition and in the period of use.
The meanings of things is never univocal, but
always strictly context depending: same
artifacts in different contexts, may play deeply
different roles. If that is true for a single person, it is
more substantial talking about communities.
Topic
The conference topic is the interaction between
pottery and communities, that is to say the
analysis of the meaning of these artifacts within
h u m a n g r o u p s , f o r i n s t a n c e r e l i g i o u s
communities, families, crews, whole cities or
specific social classes. Tableware, cooking pots
and ceramic containers are not the only
protagonists of our debate: we are interested in
every ceramic artifact related with communities
or spaces, such as fl o o r s o r a r c h i t e c t u r a l
decorations. Focuses are the using contexts and
the consumers."

Situé dans les montagnes du centre sud de la Corse (Alta Rocca), à près de 1000 m d’altitude, et fouillé depuis 2008, le vaste gisement de Cuciurpula (Serra-di-Scopamène/Sorbollano, Corse-du-Sud) est l’un des habitats du Premier Âge du fer les mieux conservés et les mieux connus de l’île. Implantées sur les versants méridionaux d’un relief caractéristique, les habitations organisées en terrasse se distribuent selon un plan très lâche mais présentent une nette homogénéité morphologique, architecturale et probablement chrono-culturelle. La fouille de la structure domestique Cuciurpula 1 a permis d’appréhender de façon heuristique les caractères de l’organisation interne des habitations du VIIe siècle avant J.-C. sur le site et, au-delà, dans toute la zone méridionale de la Corse, en mettant à jour un équipement immobilier et mobilier complexe et original. Cette contribution vise essentiellement à présenter la découverte, dans la tranchée de fondation cette habitation, d’un vase polypode zoomorphe que nous chercherons de replacer dans son contexte chronologique, culturel et symbolique.

This paper analyze the variables which simultaneously influence vessel distribution and consumption patterns in Northeast of Ghana: infrastructure of mobility (roads, means of transport), scale of production and qualities of pots, labour organization, territoriality and settlement. Nevertheless, social and familiar relationships, and also different social perceptions established between the various ethnic groups, are active agents that determine the distribution areas, networks and trade systems as well as the choices of consumers.

This chapter discusses the prehistoric Native American pottery recovered from the Fort Lowell-Adkins Steel locus of the Hardy Site, AZ BB:9:40 (ASM). A total of 6,783 sherds, representing no fewer than 750 vessels, were recovered from the locus. Ceramic types belonging to the Tucson Basin Hohokam red-on-brown, red, polychrome, and plain, Middle Gila Hohokam red-on-buff, and Mimbres Mogollon black-on-white ware series are reported upon. The decorated ceramics recovered from the Fort Lowell-Adkins Steel locus suggest that this portion of the Hardy Site was occupied from the beginning of the Middle Rincon phase up to sometime early in the Tanque Verde phase.
Four research issues are addressed. First, feature and context dating. Second, ceramic production and distribution as reflected in temper provenance and related data. Third, subsistence practices as reflected in vessel function data. Fourth, refinement of the current Tucson Basin ceramic typology.

The present volume is the second systematic
publication of archaeological material from the
excavations conducted by the Groningen Institute of
Archaeology on the Timpone della Motta in the years
1991-2004. This volume addresses the Iron Age
impasto pottery from the site through the establishment
of a typology of the impasto ware. The impasto pottery
is compared with other Iron Age pottery productions in
the Sibaritide in order to differentiate typological and
technological features as well as variations in the
cultural reception of the different pottery classes.

Questo volume costituisce la seconda pubblicazione
sistematica inerente i materiali archeologici rinvenuti
nel corso degli scavi, condotti dal Groningen Institute
of Archaeology, sul Timpone della Motta negli anni
compresi fra il 1991 e il 2004. In questo lavoro si
presenta lo studio della ceramica d’impasto dell’età
del Ferro: mediante la realizzazione di una tipologia e
la comparazione con altre produzioni ceramiche coeve
della Sibaritide, si è cercato di indagare gli aspetti
tipologici e tecnologici, così come le variazioni legate
alla ricezione di modelli culturali di diverse classi
ceramiche.

La céramique glaçurée des XIe-XVIIe siècles mise au jour dans les années ’70 par la 1e Éphorie des Antiquités Byzantines lors des fouilles de sauvetage à Acronauplie, forteresse dominante sur Nauplie à l’est du Péloponnèse, offre d’indications importantes sur la vie sociale et économique du site et ses contacts avec plusieurs régions de la Méditerranée. À la prépondérance des productions issues des centres de l’Empire Byzantin au cours des XIe-XIIe siècles se succèdent, du XIIIe et jusqu’au XVIIe siècle, diverses productions provenant surtout du bassin occidental de la Méditerranée.