Open AccessBook
Decoding Prehistoric Ceramics
Ben A. Nelson
- 01 Jun 1985
192
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the "raw materials" considered by ceramic archaeologists-those investigators interested in (some say obsessed by)-a unique category of material culture. And they discuss the reasons for this fascination with pottery and ceramics.
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Abstract: Clays, nonplastics, pigments, glazes, fuels, pottery artifacts, ceramic vessels, and potsherds compose the "raw materials" considered by ceramic archaeologists-those investigators interested in (some say obsessed by)-a unique category of material culture. Pottery (low-fired clay containers and other artifacts) and ceramics (high-fired, usually vitrified, utensils, and art objects), collectively ceramic materials, are engaging to a wide variety of lay persons and scholars, the latter ranging from potter-artisans, art historians, and ethnographers to materials scientists and archaeometricians. The reasons for this fascination with
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Citations
Stylistic variation in evolutionary perspective: inferences from decorative diversity and interassemblage distance in Illinois Woodland ceramic assemblages
TL;DR: In this paper, simples modeles mathematiques permettent the deduction d'attentes de dynamiques de ces mecanismes evolutaires en tant qu'induits dans l'enregistrement archeologique a travers la diversite des assemblages and the distance des assemblas intermediaires.
465
Standardization, Labor Investment, Skill, and the Organization of Ceramic Production in Late Prehispanic Highland Peru
TL;DR: This article analyzed Prehispanic ceramic technology in the central sierra of Peru to identify the ways ceramic production was organized to provision consumers with utilitarian and luxury pottery. But their analysis focused on pottery recovered in the Yanamarca Valley, where utilitarian Wanka-style cookwares and storage jars were produced by independent household-based artisans, while imperial Inka-style jars were created by locally recruited corvee labor working for the state.
323
Household possessions and wealth in agrarian states: Implications for archaeology
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors deal with the problem of measuring household wealth from domestic artifactual remains, using anthropological, sociological, and historical analyses demonstrating a strong association between household possessions and wealth.
240
Stones and Shafts Redux: The Metric Discrimination of Chipped-Stone Dart and Arrow Points
TL;DR: This study extends Thomas's approach by increasing the dart sample and the rate of successful classification, and concludes that Shoulder width is the most important discriminating variable.
220
References
•Book
Ceramics for the archaeologist
Anna O. Shepard
- 01 Jan 1956
TL;DR: In this article, the chemical and physical characteristics of prewheel potters are described and analyzed in terms of their properties and properties, and methods of analysis and description of pre-wheel pottery are evaluated.
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