Fig 2 - uploaded by Valentine Roux
Content may be subject to copyright.
-Logicist diagram (Gardin, 1980) illustrating the use of a sociological regularity to interpret the diffusion of the potter's tournette in the Akkar plain. The sociological regularity is transferred to the archaeological data given the analogy of social network properties (local redundancy of withingroup strong ties).

-Logicist diagram (Gardin, 1980) illustrating the use of a sociological regularity to interpret the diffusion of the potter's tournette in the Akkar plain. The sociological regularity is transferred to the archaeological data given the analogy of social network properties (local redundancy of withingroup strong ties).

Source publication
Article
Full-text available
In this paper, I first argue that technological analysis of archaeological assemblages in terms of chaînes opératoires is a privileged qualitative approach to reconstruct technological networks, namely networks of socially linked object-makers. This is a first step before explaining dynamic phenomena such as diffusion of techniques or emergence of...

Contexts in source publication

Context 1
... technique and the related instrument, the Mesopotamian tournette: the high rate of diffusion was favored by the strong kinship ties linking the potters living in the Akkar plain. It can be further specified, by reference to the sociological regularity, that the potter's behavior who initiated the wheel coiling technique had been consistent ( fig. ...
Context 2
... technique and the related instrument, the Mesopotamian tournette: the high rate of diffusion was favored by the strong kinship ties linking the potters living in the Akkar plain. It can be further specified, by reference to the sociological regularity, that the potter's behavior who initiated the wheel coiling technique had been consistent ( fig. ...

Similar publications

Article
Full-text available
This paper aims to reconstruct the vicissitudes that have followed the study of one of the most interesting Roman archaeological sites in Catalonia: the rural sanctuary of Can Modolell. The site was excavated between 1974 and 1984 by the Archaeological Section of the Mataró Museum (SAMM) and has been the subject of some isolated interventions in la...

Citations

... The term technological style has been advocated from the 1970s of the last century (Smith, 1970 credited with coining the term, see also Childs, 1991;d'Ercole et al., 2017;Green, 2016;Hansen, 2000;Hegmon, 1998;Hurst, 2009;Lechtman, 1984;Lechtman & Merrill, 1977;Moore, 2010;Patel, 2017;Thornton & Lamberg-Karlovsky, 2004;Tschauner, 2006). As there are usually several ways to perform a task, and since the transfer of technological knowledge in pre-industrial societies depends on social structures (e.g., communities of practice), the technologies have been advocated as a product of the social frameworks (Bordes, 1969;Childs, 1991;Close, 2000;Dobres, 1999;Harush & Grosman, 2021;Harush et al., 2019;Lechtman, 1984;Roux, 2020;Valletta et al., 2021;Warnier, 2007;Wendrich, 2012;Wright, 2002). ...
Article
Full-text available
Traditionally, rock engravings were studied through their visual characteristics. They have been analyzed with comparative and interpretative methodologies of iconography and iconology. However, there has been a recent shift towards identifying production processes, allowing reconstruction of operational characteristics through various methods. Nevertheless, the studies of the technological aspects typically focus on the operational and the mechanical, often omitting the visuality of the outcome. In the current paper, we are using ArchCUT3-D software for computational analysis of 3-D data acquired from various rock engravings located in Timna Park, southern Israel. We show how micro-morphological evidence, extracted from the engraved lines, can decode technical trends and variabilities in a technique’s particular implementation. Then, we conduct a focused examination of one group of engraved figures in order to establish a link between execution techniques and visual considerations. Based on our results and the following discussion, we suggest the term Techné to indicate the choice of technique that goes beyond the instrumental or purely operative perspectives. We highlight the intentional choice, which designs the visual rhetoric of the engraved marks and suggests cultural concepts that contrived the procedural processes.
... During each of these stages, a wide range of techniques have been recognised by ethnographic research (e.g., Gosselain 2002;Gelbert 2003) and experimental research work, enabling the interpretation of the traces identified on the archaeological material in terms of technical gestures (e.g., Martineau 2000;Roux 2019). Reconstructing the stages of pottery fashioning or forming is crucial for developing social interpretations in archaeological context (Roux 2020), as those stages involve techniques and methods acquired through long-term apprenticeship requiring close contact between a tutor and an apprentice. Non discursive knowledge in the form of embodied skills and routines connected to pottery fashioning is conservative and less prone to superficial trends and changes than, for example, the raw material choices (Gelbert 2003) or the decoration of pots (Dietler and Herbich 1994). ...
... Studies of pottery forming techniques are mainly conducted as comparative analyses, as technological and spatial variability can reveal different social networks of prehistoric communities (Roux 2020). The research presented in this paper focuses on a single pottery assemblage from one, small site. ...
Article
Full-text available
This article presents the results of the analysis of the manufacturing macrotraces on the LBK pottery from Cząstków Polski, Site XII, Czosnów commune. It is a small, highly fragmented, and eroded assemblage and the usefulness of such material for the study of pottery production was tested. Different lines of evidence could be combined and led to the recognition of various vessel forming methods and to the reconstruction of distinct chaînes opératoires and even individual traits within them, indicating the occupation of the site by one community of practice with multiple manufacturers. Pottery production at Cząstków Polski followed general LBKpotting standards but also shows some peculiarities indicating some degree of idiosyncrasy within this community of practice.
... As there are usually several ways to perform a task, and since the transfer of technological knowledge in pre-industrial societies depends on social structures (e.g. communities of practice), the technologies have been advocated as a product of the social frameworks (Bordes, 1969;Childs, 1991;Close, 2000;Dobres, 1999;Harush & Grosman, 2021;Harush et al., 2019;Lechtman, 1984;Roux, 2020;Valletta et al., 2021;Warnier, 2007;Wendrich, 2012;Wright, 2002). Accordingly, we suggest that by discovering the engraving techniques and the particularities of their implementation, considering the micromorphological characteristics of the engraved surface, we can gain insights into the sociocultural background of the engraver/s. ...
Preprint
Full-text available
Traditionally, rock-engravings were studied through their visual characteristics. They have been analyzed with comparative and interpretative methodologies of iconography and iconology. However, there has been a recent shift towards identifying production processes, allowing reconstruction of operational characteristics through various methods. Nevertheless, the studies of the technological aspects focus on the operational and the mechanical, omitting the visuality of the outcome. No unified methodologies have been offered to both technological and visual perspectives. In the current paper we are using ArchCUT3-D software for computational analysis of 3-D data acquired from various rock-engravings located in Timna Park, southern Israel. We show how micro-morphological evidence, extracted from the engraved lines, can decode technical trends and variabilities in a technique’s particular implementation. Then, we conduct a focused examination of one group of engraved figures in order to establish a link between execution techniques and visual considerations. Based on our results and the following discussion, we suggest the term Techné to indicate the choice of technique that go beyond the instrumental or purely operative perspectives. We highlight the intentional choice, which design the visual rhetoric of the engraved marks and suggest cultural concepts that contrived the procedural processes.
... On the other hand, surface treatments and decoration are more variable, and can indicate differences in consumer communities. These treatments are more likely to alter due to direct or indirect interactions, changing socio-cultural or geological environments, and consumer demand (Gosselain 1992;Roux 2020). Ceramic traditions allow us to understand the craft organization at the various sites, and to elucidate the difference between the rural, urban, and intermediate sites in terms of production and consumption. ...
Thesis
The thesis presents a stylistic and technological study on Western Asian ceramics dating from 1000–1500 CE. The production and consumption of ceramics is used as a proxy to explore how social practices at the local level were formulated within the broader framework of Islam. The Islamic world has been studied as a relatively cohesive whole, due to the perceived connectivity of religion. This top-down approach favors elites (economic or political), larger cities, and precious materials (silk, porcelain, metals, etc.). This bias is mirrored in archaeological research which tends to focus on large palaces/castles/mosques, capital and large cities, and prestige goods. This dissertation focuses on the full repertoire of ceramic assemblages, not just glazed wares, to emphasize the potters’ choices in creating the ceramics, as well as the consumers’ choices in acquiring and using the ceramics. Both choices (production and consumption) are influenced by a myriad of factors, including vessels’ function, environment, and socio-cultural contexts. For this dissertation, I have three main questions: (1) What is the range of ceramic technology and style across Western Asia in the Middle Islamic period? How can the study of ceramic technology elucidate the ceramic traditions existing at these sites/regions? What is the structure of ceramic craft organization in these areas? (2) How can the ceramic traditions in combination with social dimensions of ceramic production be used to connect sites, regions, and interregional areas? How does the consumption of ceramics indicate links between these areas? (3) What can the study of ceramic traditions in the Middle Islamic period tell us about the connections between rural areas and larger urban areas? This dissertation focuses on 12 ceramic assemblages from various sites across Western Asia, all dating from 1000 – 1500 CE. These ceramics are recovered from both survey and excavation of sites of different natures, including eight rural sites (Erbil Plain Archaeological Survey (seven sites), Firuzabad), three intermediate types of sites (Nippur, Hasanlu, Chal Tarkhan), and a capital city (Rayy). The majority of the assemblages are from rural sites, but a few are from non-rural sites to lend a comparative edge and help define what is and is not rural. The ceramics are analyzed using a combination of macroscopic observation, thin-section petrography, portable X-Ray fluorescence (pXRF), and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR). These analyses are specifically selected to establish the potential provenience of the ceramics, reconstruct technical choices and social practices, and characterize production and consumption traditions. This area has been discussed as a homogenous whole (from 600 CE to present) under the assumption that the spread of Islam brought all areas under the larger cultural mainframe. However, this dissertation shows that there is heterogeneity in both ceramic consumption and production. The established overarching links do not seem to be influenced by the spread of Islam as the ceramic traditions identified (forms, fabrics, functions) also are present before the rise of Islam in these areas. This bottom-up approach marks significant contributions to Islamic Archaeology by shedding light on the diversity of dynamics that existed in local areas and among local populations and how these local dynamics play in the interconnected societies of Western Asia during the Middle Islamic period.
Chapter
Full-text available
Animal remains represent some of the most common finds at archaeological sites. Together with plant remains they constitute the most direct evidence for subsistence, as well as economic and social organisation in the past. As it is the case with the recovery of all archaeological materials discussed in this guide, the choices made in the field concerning sampling, recovery, documentation, recording and storage of animal remains heavily affect the quantity and quality of data extracted from them through study and analysis. This chapter serves as a basic practical guide for field archaeologists excavating such remains, focusing specifically on the island of Cyprus. The particularities of the island, including climate and environment and their effects on animal bone preservation are taken into consideration. Rather than being a comprehensive text on zooarchaeology in general, this guide focuses on methods used in the field for the recovery of bones, as well as their post-excavation treatment, analysis, and storage in order to facilitate and enhance their study by specialists.