Volume 1

Craft and science: International perspectives on archaeological ceramics

Edited by Marcos Martinón-TorresISBN: 978-9927-101-75-5 Download entire book:  PDF (13.5 MB)

Foreword (selection)
Ceramics are among the most abundant materials recovered in archaeological sites. Traditionally, they have served as the main staple for archaeologists to establish chronological sequences within sites and cultural affiliations between sites. They are also a primary source for a wealth of information about past economies, social structures and ritual behaviour. In addition, ceramics preserve in their bodies the traces of countless forms of experimentation, knowledge transmission, technical ingenuity and artistic sensitivity, transcending the boundaries between art, craft and science both in their original production, and in their current study.

As a sustained area of research, the study of ceramics has historically served as a prime arena for innovation, both through the pioneer application of instrumental analyses and as a core foundation and testing ground for influential archaeological theories. Inevitably, some research methods are well-established in some regions, whereas they are still emerging in others. Also the integration between science-based approaches and archaeological theory is uneven. However, emerging academic traditions, and those in less-resourced regions, should not be overshadowed by the more established paradigms. While it is impossible to keep up with all the work carried out on archaeological ceramics worldwide, it is essential that researchers continue to exchange and compare their methods, results and ideas, and that these are made available to a broader archaeological readership.
This book aims to facilitate this exchange and update of information on diverse approaches to archaeological ceramics across much of the world.


Chapters
Foreword -  PDF

1. Pots as signals: Explaining the enigma of long-distance ceramic exchange -  PDF
2. Lessons from the Elephant's Child: Questioning ancient ceramics -  PDF
3. Inferring provenance, manufacturing technique, and firing temperatures of the Monagrillo ware (3520–1300 cal BC), Panama’s first pottery -  PDF
4. The use of andesite temper in Inca and pre-Inca pottery from the region of Cuzco, Peru -  PDF
5. 50 left feet: The manufacture and meaning of effigy censers from Lamanai, Belize -  PDF
6. Molding the ‘collapse’: Technological analysis of the Terminal Classic molded-carved vases from Altun Ha, Belize -  PDF
7. Ceramic technology and the global world: First technological assessment of the Romita ware of colonial Mexico -  PDF
8. Pottery production in Santa Ponsa (Majorca, Spain) from the Late Bronze Age to the Late Iron Age (1100–50 BC): Ceramics, technology and society -  PDF
9. Archaeometric investigation of Punic lamps from Ibiza (Balearic Islands, Spain) -  PDF
10. Ceramic technology between the Final Bronze Age and the First Iron Age in NE Italy: The case of Oppeano (Verona) -  PDF
11. Hispanic terra sigillata productions documented on the Catalan coast: Some unexpected results and new issues -  PDF
12. The ways of the lustre: Looking for the Tunisian connection -  PDF
13. Capodimonte porcelain: A unique manufacture -  PDF
14. Late Neolithic pottery productions in Syria. Evidence from Tell Halula (Euphrates valley): A technological approach -  PDF
15. Assyrian palace ware definition and chaîne opératoire: Preliminary results from Nineveh, Nimrud, and Aššur -  PDF
16. Messages impressed in clay: Scientific study of Iron Age Judahite bullae from Jerusalem -  PDF
17. The geochemistry and distribution of Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic wares of the territory of ancient Sagalassos (SW Turkey):
A reconnaissance study -  PDF
18. The colour and golden shine of early silver Islamic lustre -  PDF
19. Experiments with double chamber sunken up-draught kilns -  PDF
20. Petro-mineralogical and geochemical characterisation of Middle Neolithic Bükk Culture fine ware from Garadna, NE Hungary -  PDF
21. Archaeometric investigation of Celtic graphitic pottery from two archaeological sites in Hungary -  PDF
22. Archaeometric investigation of Buda white ware (12th–14th century AD, North Hungary): Initial questions and first results -  PDF
23. The ceramic technology of the architectural glazed tiles of Huangwa Kiln, Liaoning Province, China -  PDF
24. Parallel developments in Chinese porcelain technology in the 13th - 14th centuries AD -  PDF
25. Luminescence dating of ceramic building materials: application to the study of early medieval churches in north-western France and south-eastern England -  PDF
26. Computerised documentation of painted decoration on pottery vessels using 3D scanning -  PDF
27. Insights into manufacturing techniques of archaeological pottery: Industrial X-ray computed tomography as a tool in the examination of cultural material -  PDF
28. Thermal shock resistance of tempered archaeological ceramics -  PDF
29. The second life of ceramics: a new home in a lime environment -  PDF