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Abstract
As an illustration of what can be learnt of a society from the variability of the objects it produced, the author presents a comprehensive analysis of the pottery produced in a single village in central India, Dangwara village in the fertile plateau of the Malwa region. Central to the analysis of such aspects as technology, function, design, symbolism and ideology is the contention that human categorisation processes mediate in the production of all artefacts, and that these artefacts accordingly constitute an essential and much-neglected 'silent' source of evidence. In demonstrating the insufficiency of many ethnographic accounts of symbolism, stress is laid on the need to consider both the social positioning of the interpreter and the context of the interpretation when looking at artefacts.-J.Sheail
... However, this perspective has also created a tendency to assume that where profound skill exists in prehistoric pottery manufacture it is only in the context of large scale specialist production. This is clearly a misnomer and evidence of skill variability is being increasingly noted within prehistoric assemblages, where there is no evidence of large scale specialisation (Gibson 2003 viii;Morris 2005;McNee 2006aMcNee , 2006bMcNee , 2007 Marshall, 1985;Miller 1985;Costin 1991;van der Leeuw 1993;Arnold 1994Arnold , 1999Gosselain 1998;Longacre 1999). Two exceptions to this are studies by Costin (1995) and Roux (1990). ...
... There have been a number of notable contributors whose work is well referenced within archaeological discussions of technological practise (c.f. Rye & Evans 1976;Miller 1985;Schiffer & Skibo 1987;Barley 1994Barley , 1997SiIlar 1996SiIlar , 1997 1969 to 1970 traditional apprenticeship strategies were found to be rigid and rule bound, described by Greenfield as a highly scaffolded learning; a system that works by closing "the gap between task requirements and the skill level of the learner" (Greenfield 1984: 118). In this learning system, often described as 'infonnallearning' (for example, Gosselain 1998), each stage of learning is carefully prescribed and controlled -rather belying the tenn 'infonnal' which is simply a dichotomy set up within western education/psychology studies meaning not fonnal as in tenns of western tautology (Seitz 2007). ...
... Recognising the social nature of technological choices (c.f. Mauss 1935& 1947in Schlanger 2006Ingold 1981Ingold , 1993aIngold , 1993bIngold , 1999Miller 1985;Barrett 1989;Rogoff 1990;Roux 1990;van der Leeuw 1993van der Leeuw , 1999Barley 1994Barley , 1997Dobres 1994;Gosselain 1998Gosselain , 1999Gosselain ,2000Gosselain ,2001Maynard, Greenfield & Childs 1999;Chapman 2000;Sillar & Tite 2000) is also an explicit endorsement of the social nature of technological processes through the socially constituted enactment of technique. As -64- Maynard, Greenfield and Childs (1999) note there appear to be culturally appropriated ways for people to use their bodies. ...
p>In this thesis a deep understanding of the principles of pottery manufacturing has been placed at the centre of the search for learning strategies in a prehistoric context. Learning strategies are argued to be culturally and socially specific. They, therefore, have an important role to play in understanding broader social mechanisms.
By developing a new methodology that encompasses a wide range of technological observations it has been possible to document technological signatures of production. Moreover, by combining this close observation of technological signatures of production with an equally profound understanding of the nature of the skill acquisition it has proven possible to assess degrees of skill related to specific vessel groups. Skill starts with the way in which discursive knowledge it turned into procedural knowledge through the repetitive enactment of a skill. This in turn leads to repeated processes of production and specific classes of pots that share the same socially constituted technological signatures.
Arising from this approach it has been possible to explore the very different roles that individual vessel groups play in articulating social dynamics. Moreover, it has been possible to identify the possibility of two arenas of skill, of a formal and less formal one, each related to particular institutional practices. A formal skill arena is argued to be linked to a highly prescribed learning strategy that safeguards the continuity of elite and specialist pottery vessels. This is turns protects the articulation of rank through the visual display of an elite category of material culture. Meanwhile, an informal arena of skill is argued to be linked to the expression of kinship relations. In this informal arena of skill a less structured regime results in a limited opportunity to gain the incremental acquisition of procedural knowledge. This results in a static and, therefore, lower investment of skill in this learning arena.</p
... В Европе определенное разочарование материальными исследованиями, рассматривавшими вещь лишь как категорию, а не вещь per se (ср. весьма показательное название известной работы Д. Миллера «Артефакты как категории» [Miller 1985]), произошло в середине 1980-х гг., в первую очередь в этноархеологии, а не в этнографии (см., например: [Miller, Tilley 1984;Miller 1985] и их критику Д. Хиксом: [Hicks 2010: 53]). ...
... В Европе определенное разочарование материальными исследованиями, рассматривавшими вещь лишь как категорию, а не вещь per se (ср. весьма показательное название известной работы Д. Миллера «Артефакты как категории» [Miller 1985]), произошло в середине 1980-х гг., в первую очередь в этноархеологии, а не в этнографии (см., например: [Miller, Tilley 1984;Miller 1985] и их критику Д. Хиксом: [Hicks 2010: 53]). ...
In ethnographic studies of material culture, things are described primarily as signs of social phenomena; but things themselves remain in the shadows. Even when it comes to museum research, a material object is considered either as an element of the classification series, or as an example of the manufacturing and living techniques in the local tradition, or as a representative of the cultural contexts from which it was removed. The very collection format of museum storage hides the uniqueness of a thing, because the collection is not able to accommodate its singular nature, since each thing is really a “universe of individuality”. The article examines possible ways for museum ethnography to go beyond its inherent anonymous and depersonalizing discourse. As an alternative to the latter, a “biographical” focus is proposed, which allows one to see subjectivity and individuality in things. The uniqueness of a thing is manifested not only in its biography, but also in its very materiality: material, shape, design, texture, color, weight, smell, etc. The close attention of the ethnographic museum to specific objects and the people to whom they belonged makes it possible to highlight those details and particulars, without which it is impossible to understand culture as a whole.
... Teniendo en cuenta estos aportes, consideramos aquí al estilo cerámico en sentido amplio, como constituido por una serie de dimensiones -variables morfológicas, tecnológicas y decorativas integradas-, que definen un modo de hacer (Miller 1985;Rouse 1960), contextualizado social e históricamente, y producto de la conjunción de decisiones individuales y condicionantes sociales. Se trata de aquello que posibilita reconocer a un objeto individual como parte de un conjunto, asociado a determinados espacio, tiempo y personas (Miller 1985). ...
... Teniendo en cuenta estos aportes, consideramos aquí al estilo cerámico en sentido amplio, como constituido por una serie de dimensiones -variables morfológicas, tecnológicas y decorativas integradas-, que definen un modo de hacer (Miller 1985;Rouse 1960), contextualizado social e históricamente, y producto de la conjunción de decisiones individuales y condicionantes sociales. Se trata de aquello que posibilita reconocer a un objeto individual como parte de un conjunto, asociado a determinados espacio, tiempo y personas (Miller 1985). Al respecto, Gell (1998) señala que los objetos con atributos estilísticos compartidos poseen como elemento común, además de determinada propiedad formal, un factor mayor relativo a su carácter de expresión de la cultura; es decir, los atributos estilísticos se asocian mediante un esquema de transferencia a los valores compartidos de una comunidad. ...
Se presenta una primera sistematización de las características de la alfarería temprana del sitio Soria 2 (valle de Yocavil, Noroeste Argentino), centrando el análisis en ejemplares pertenecientes al denominado conjunto fino. Se apunta a la caracterización de una muestra del abundante material cerámico hallado en un contexto primario, para el cual se cuenta con un fechado de inicios de la Era Cristiana. El material es clasificado recurriendo a la categoría estilo, entendiendo a la misma como la integración de aspectos morfológicos, tecnológicos y decorativos, que convergen en los “modos de hacer” vigentes durante la ocupación del sitio. Se detallan las variables analíticas puestas en juego: forma, técnica de manufactura, pasta, cocción, tratamiento de la superficie y decoración. La conjunción de dichas variables es la base para proponer modalidades estilísticas. Adicionalmente, se refiere brevemente a las prácticas en las cuales las vasijas estuvieron involucradas, tomando en cuenta los contextos de hallazgo (doméstico y funerario). El análisis sugiere que algunos ejemplares de la muestra estudiada exhiben afinidades con espacios circundantes.
... En el acto de intervenir piezas cuyo proceso de elaboración era ampliamente conocido y practicado, quizás se estaba generando un estilo que se diferenciaba de otros modos de hacer reconocibles que circularon entre las aldeas y que se materializaron en muchas vasijas encontradas en la vivienda (Spano 2008): estos trazos que se muestran desprolijos a nuestros ojos, ejecutados sobre las vasijas ya cocidas y eventualmente "terminadas", transformaron pucos inicialmente lisos, sin imágenes, en soportes expresivos de percepciones que sólo podemos intuir. Según Miller (1985), en la elaboración de una vasija intervienen una serie de decisiones (como la elección del tipo de borde, o del perfil del cuerpo) que generan variabilidad y que son, en definitiva, las que crean un estilo reconocible; en este caso la decisión del momento en el cuál grabar y la elección de las imágenes a plasmar, produjeron una clase de objetos que existieron al menos en un espacio de residencia, pero que quizás circularon por toda la aldea. En un modo de vida en el cual las diferencias sociales respondían más a relaciones familiares, de edad o de género que a la base económica, tal vez las personas que vivían en Andalhuala materializaron en estos pucos una marca diferenciadora respecto de otras comunidades, diferenciación que no habría aspirado a buscar símbolos de desigualdad, sino de identidad comunitaria. ...
... La alfarería, como producción social, es una construcción, una parte de la creación de un entorno cultural en el que se expresan búsquedas e intereses prácticos, que al mismo tiempo interpretan y representan el mundo (Miller 1985). El análisis que se encuentra en curso acerca de las alfarerías finas de Soria 2 reveló la presencia de una serie de elementos que exhiben afinidades con distintos territorios circundantes, que incluyen a este conjunto cerámico en la estética del Formativo vallisto y de espacios cercanos (e. g. ...
... En la instancia de la producción se ejecutan una serie de acciones que tienden a diferenciar a las vasijas. Es decir, que las ontologías o las creencias culturales de un pueblo guían la producción, la forma y el uso de los artefactos (Déléage 2007, Miller 1985Susnik 1986). Al pensar en la cocción, en el caso de estudio de esta tesis, se deben considerar las diferencias entre las escudillas y botellas oxidantes, versus las reductoras. ...
El trabajo es una contribución al conocimiento de las expresiones artísticas
desarrolladas por las poblaciones que vivieron a inicios de la era cristiana en el valle de San Francisco, Jujuy, Argentina. Hasta la fecha, en la región, no se han hecho estudios que aborden en profundidad la cuestión de los diseños plasmados en la cerámica. A partir de los resultados obtenidos se busca no sólo conocer e identificar los principios que subyacen en los diseños de un Estilo cerámico considerado como “emblemático” para el NOA, sino también contribuir a la puesta en valor del arte prehispánico de las yungas jujeñas como parte del patrimonio cultural.
... During this phase, ceramic illustration began to focus more on those aspects of ceramic vessels which were considered to have functional significance. Ansari (1961), Webster (1964, Hardy-Smith (1974), Millet (1979), Orton (1980), Miller (1985, Dales andKenoyer (1986), andSinopoli (1991). The main objective or basic importance of ceramic illustrations during this period was to convey the details of ceramics with visual aids in a scientific manner rather than using an artistic approach. ...
... This active role of consumers appeared as a critique of the structuralist view, with agents influencing consumption behaviors (Appadurai 1986;Friedman 1994;McCracken 1990;Miller 1985;Mintz 1985;Rutz & Orlove 1989). Mullins argues for the archaeology of consumption to be a conceptual framework for how people socialize material goods, which recognizes the agency of consumers and how goods assume meanings. ...
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.
... En el segundo plano, de carácter asociativo inmediato, se identificó la presencia de agregados corporales (vestimenta, ornamentos) y de objetos directamente asociados a los cuerpos, como posibles indicadores de roles, actividades, tareas u ocupaciones. Se partió de un discurso que pone en correlación los cuerpos con ciertos objetos, desde la perspectiva de "artefactos como categorías" (Miller 1985), en tanto aportan un principio de objetivación, de clasificación o distinción (Scattolin 2006). ...
Based on formal and compositional analyses of the rock art sequence of the Real Grande 3 (rg3) rock
shelter, the authors propose that the site was used recurrently between ca. 5000 and 1500 Bp. Taking into
consideration of its location in an area of highland ravines (4000 masl), its proximity to a freshwater spring
and year-round watercourse, its relationship to nearby sites with different functions, and the absence of
occupations in the stratigraphic record, the rock art representations are interpreted in light of a series of Andean
ethnographic sources associated with pastoralist practices and ceremonies propitiating camelid fertility.
... It is said that the RKE provided by the wheel is given by the gods, and that combined with the potter's skills, it makes possible the production of pottery (Mahias, 2002, p. 149). As a result, the potter's wheel receives regular or occasional worship (Miller, 1985;Saraswati and Behura, 1964). Moreover, its divinization transforms the status of the technical process and the operator (Mahias, ibid). ...
The sign value of the first potter's wheels used in the southern Levant (second half of the 5th mill. BC) is explored through the production modalities of V-shaped bowls, the main category of vessels shaped on the wheel at that time. To this end, a morphometric approach is applied to V-shaped bowls from four sites through numerical methods available in a Pottery 3-D software used to extract shape parameters. The results obtained highlight a high variability in absolute dimensions and a low variability in profiles. This apparent contradiction is discussed in light of the variability of bowls made under three experimental conditions. The baseline data obtained suggests that the roughouts of the archaeological bowls were made by several hands, while the shaping of the bowls on the wheel was done by a single hand. This disjunction in the production process supports the hypothesis that the earliest rotary instruments found in the southern Levant were loaded with symbolic meaning that was then transferred to the vessels when they were shaped on the wheel.
... En el segundo plano, de carácter asociativo inmediato, se identificó la presencia de agregados corporales (vestimenta, ornamentos) y de objetos directamente asociados a los cuerpos, como posibles indicadores de roles, actividades, tareas u ocupaciones. Se partió de un discurso que pone en correlación los cuerpos con ciertos objetos, desde la perspectiva de "artefactos como categorías" (Miller 1985), en tanto aportan un principio de objetivación, de clasificación o distinción (Scattolin 2006). ...
Basándose en el análisis formal y compositivo de la secuencia de arte rupestre del alero Real Grande 3 (rg3), se propone una recurrencia de uso del sitio entre los 5000-1500 años ap. Tomando en cuenta su emplazamiento en el sector de quebradas de altura (4000 msnm), su cercanía a una vertiente y curso permanente de agua, su relación con sitios próximos de distinta funcionalidad y la ausencia de ocupaciones en estratigrafía, la temática de las representaciones se interpreta a la luz de un conjunto de fuentes etnográficas andinas, relacionadas con prácticas pastoriles y ceremonias propiciatorias de fertilidad ganadera.
... It is important to clarify from the outset that the following shape and fabric typologies, as with all classificatory systems, are artificial constructs designed to aid interpretation of complex material patterning (after Adams and Adams 1991;Miller 1985). They are not intended to accurately reflect an emic Bronze Age, or indeed 'Sealand' , classification of their own ceramic assemblage, or to determine the presence of any 'true type ' (e.g. ...
The First Sealand period in Babylonia has long been obscure, despite the major changes that occurred in the area at that time. The defining characteristics of its ceramics are almost unknown, making identification of its sites through surface survey almost impossible. However, recent excavations at Tell Khaiber near Ur have uncovered a large fortified building of the period, with a dated administrative archive. The pottery from it represents the first substantial strati ed corpus of Sealand period ceramics, providing a solid chronological sequence for the middle centuries of the 2nd millennium in southern Iraq. Using the latest methods and approaches, this volume not only establishes a typology and relative chronology, but also addresses the chaîne opératoire underpinning Sealand period pottery, from clay collection through to vessel use and discard.
... A repeated pattern of morphological attributes of an artefact type could be considered non-random and therefore more likely to reflect intentional decisions made by the potter {cf. Clarke 1968, 71,137;Hodson 1982, 22-3;Miller 1985 The formal attribute which is common to all amphorae in this study is the carinated-shoulder. This carination is caused by a flattening of the vessel wall from the rim until it joins the main body wall, at which point a well-defined angle is formed. ...
This book takes a multi-disciplinary view of amphorae with a distinct carinated-shoulder feature which are found especially in archeological contexts in the Near East dating to the Achaemenid period. It uses mainly petrographic analysis to determine where they were made; the diferent formal types that were made, what their distribution was at sites along the coast of Lebanon, Israel and Gaza; and the implications of its production and distribution on our understanding of Phoenician commerce.
... Rare, high-cost, exotic objects are often defined as luxury items due to their relative inaccessibility (Miller 1985;Colburn 2008: 112). Were lapis and carnelian as abundant and available as pottery, the materials would litter the ground at archaeological sites. ...
Exchange between the Aegean and Mesopotamia during the Early Bronze Age is well documented; so is contemporary exchange between Mesopotamia and the Indus. Precious stone, shells, metals, and other raw materials illustrate these early connections, and slightly later textual sources reinforce these relationships. Early imagery and its development, translation, and adaptation further support ideas of mid-to-late fourth millennium BC far-reaching exchange. By examining the types and movement of ape and monkey iconography from the Early Bronze Age Indus, through Mesopotamia, and to the Aegean, one may associate simian iconography with a class of exotic, elite imports to the Aegean, particularly Crete. In contrast to previous scholarship, this discussion acknowledges the Aegean’s close relationship with Egypt while allowing for iconographic and perhaps ideological adoptions and translations via both closer-range exchange with Mesopotamia and the Near East and indirect long-distance exchange with regions as far east as the Indus River Valley.
... TYPOLOGY AS A TOPIC Variations within material culture are meaningful on different levels. Of particular importance, the physicality of objects means that they transcend the life of individuals and provide the material environment for the reproduction of society (Miller 1985). Mate-riall categories, also, "represent an order that is imposed upon the world through the creation of material objects. ...
The active and discursive nature of material culture is the subject of this paper. It will, however, be approached from the point of view of typology and in particular the debate about the 'Swedish Typology’ (Gräslund 1974). Typology is probably the archaeological method or theory through which the discipline has most explicitly stated its view on the nature of the archaeological object. Inspired by the idea of naturalised epistemology as the basis for understanding how knowledge is constructed within the sciences (as discussed by Thomas 1996: 194), it is here argued that what we do, as archaeologists, is of importance rather than the theorising about our actions. Through a discussion of typology as expressed in archaeological practice, this paper will propose that the relationship between the object and typology is much simpler and more complex than our habitual use of the concept tends to suggest. It is proposed that the creation of typologies reveals the quite decisive influence which the object has upon the archaeological constructions. Typologies, moreover, are intimately connected to prehistoric production strategies. It is the relationship between these two dimensions of typologies, that we must understand in order to fully realise their potentials and understand their roles in archaeological practice.
... Recordings of material cultural traditions are often arbitrary with little consideration for the inherent material or psychological constraints during material culture manufacture. Neolithic ceramic artefacts sometimes incorporated a 'revolution of symbols', in that there was a relationship between symbols in material culture and social codes and ideologies (Cauvin 2000: 237;Orrelle and Gopher 2000: 303; see also Miller 1985). ...
... Instead of opposing one to the otherritual vs play, adult vs children -we suggest embracing a continuum of social practices that relate to and reinforce each other. Any advocate for either interpretation should consider the alternative because the same material culture can be ritualized or deritualized (Miller 1985), and change meaning according to social and cultural contexts (Berggren and Nilsson Stutz 2010). ...
In this paper, we explore the social context of rock art creation through the lens of one woman’s childhood experiences in, what is now, Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory of Australia. We reflect upon oral history interviews conducted over the last three years with Warrdjak Senior Traditional Owner Josie Gumbuwa Maralngurra and her childhood spent walking country with family. As a witness to vast numbers of rock paintings being created, and sometimes an active participant in that process, Josie’s memories provide rare insights into the social and cultural context of rock art practices during the late 1950s and early 1960s. We argue that Josie’s personal experiences provide solid evidence for both the educational role that rock art continued to play across the region during the 20th century and its role as a tool for helping to ensure intergenerational connection to country.
... When the material culture becomes a symbol of group identity, it expresses the group's ethnicity, that is, its identity and self-definition (Emberling 1997, 306). Sometimes this is expressed through simple objects and patterns of the group's everyday behavior (Miller 1985;Lucy 2007, 102-103). An example of burial patterns that identify ethnic identity can be seen in the cremation customs of some Mayans, compared to Mayan groups in other areas that do not burn their dead (Weiss-Krejci 2006). ...
Two distinct archaeological phenomena appeared between the middle of the second century BCE and the middle of the first century: the Hasmonean folded wheel-made lamp and the standing pit burial cave. Following an examination of their dating, distribution, and social significance we suggest that this material culture was characteristic of the Jews in Judaea during this time and that it reflects the creation of an ethnic identity. The fact that the Hasmonean folded wheel-made lamp and the standing pit burial cave were typical of Jews in Judea indicates that they were ethnic features of Jewish society. By these means the Jews emphasized their dissimilarity from the rest of the population. The archaic appearance of the lamps and the burial caves, which replicates the cultural characteristics of the Kingdom of Judah during the monarchic/first Temple period, indicates that Jewish society in the Hasmonean period sought to legitimize its existence through the use of its former culture and memory.
... This can however be proceeded with either processualists' perspective of middle range theory (Binford, 1983) or with post-processualists' issue of context that aims at 'exploring the symbolic dimensions of material culture' (David & Kramer, 2001:54) towards understanding 'meaning' (e.g. Conkey, 1989;Cunningham, 2003;Hodder, 1986;Miller, 1985). ...
Symbolic manifestation of ideas stored and exposed through physical devices (such as material object) is a unique manifestation of man’s cognitive fluidity. Application of explicit archaeological models to the study of material culture - that provides insights into its embodied entities of culturally embedded social practices, forms an advocacy of post-processualists of 1980s who go forward to show how the material culture carries meaning that constitute a wider fields of signification as vehicles of symbolic expression (Hodder 1982a). According to them material culture is an active, ‘meaningfully constituted’ manifestation of behaviour which has ‘symbolic value’ and ‘function’. Materiality, being a social construct based on materials, has its root in practical sensory experiences, and the physicality of artefact in the form of erected monument is hence materialized, projecting meaning and message to the viewers. With this theoretical backdrop, the present discussion aims at the exposition of the nature and extent as well as array on how large stones are exploited, materialized and used as external symbolic storage by the indigenous Naga people (particularly Mao, Maram and Paomei) of Manipur among whom erection of megaliths is still a continuing cultural tradition. Erection and management of such large stone monuments, towards their realm of materiality, have varied typological variants which are attached duly with myriad functions: as landmarks, commemorative pillars, tombstones, or related with the enhancement of one’s social status. The system of materializing stone blocks into monuments is none other than the transformation of ideas and values, and propagation of meaning of a system into a physical reality as a symbolic object – sharing and participating with the viewers. Erection of single standing stone in connection with the enhancement of status of a person in the society forms one of the most significant examples of Naga megalithism. Here, means and forms of materialization are related with the investment of resources and transportation of wealth into prestige, power and status. And competition for prestige and power takes the form of communal feasting, the feast of merit. Thus the three components – wealth, feasting and social status - are complementary and reciprocal by themselves. Materiality hence owed to the symbolic components that these artefacts have, within the socio-cultural milieu of the people. It may be conceded that these monuments may be discern as the external symbolic storage closely associated with the notion of meaning in terms of the strategic activities on the dynamics of wealth, power and status.
... conocer las sociedades pasadas, no sólo a través del producto final sino a también a partir del estudio de la tecnología en todos los ámbitos posibles: sociales, económicos, simbólicos, etc. En los últimos años destacan trabajos, sobre todo en Antropología de la Tecnología (i.e. Gosselain, 2002;Lemonnier, 1993;Miller, 1985;Livinstone, 2007), que ofrecen una interpretación social de la organización de la producción material, cualquier objeto fabricado por el ser humano, considerando todas las tareas implicadas en ese proceso, desde la recogida de la materia prima hasta el uso final de un objeto en su contexto, sumando, además, la interconexión de diversas cadenas operativas diferentes posteriores o simultáneas. ...
... km. Some of the important sites excavated after Harappa and Mohenjodaro are Chanhudaro (Mackay: 1943), Rupnagar (Sharma: 1956;1982), Lothal (Rao: 1979;1985), Kalibangan (Thapar: 1973;1975), Surkotada (Joshi: 1990), Kot Diji (Khan: 1965), Dholavira (Bisht: 1991), Rakhigarhi (Nath: 1997-98), Banawali (Bisht: 1987), Bhirrana (Rao: 2004-05), to name a few. These excavations along with a host of others have helped in understanding the origin of Harappan culture, its rise and later slow decline. ...
The Harappan Civilization is one among the four Bronze Age Civilizations of third millennium BCE that flourished for nearly 700 years (c. 2600-1900 BCE) in the river valleys of Indus-Ghagger-Hakra in modern India and Pakistan. The overall site count is well over 2500 now belonging to all the three phases, viz., early Harappan, Harappan and late / post-urban Harappan. The Harappan Civilization is characterized by well-planned out cities, always with a fortification, often with more than two divisions individually fortified, standardized ceramic tradition, weighing system, seals and sealing and a wide variety of craft activities. The knowledge of copper, gold, silver, lead and bronze was widespread and the Harappans exploited more than two-dozen raw material. The beginnings of stone bead manufacturing in Indian sub-continent can be traced to Upper Palaeolithic and Microlithic traditions in South Asia, say some 35000 years ago. It is from the Neolithic Period from Mehrgarh (from 7 th millennium BCE) we get evidence of exploitation of various exotic raw materials from distant regions and perforations made using another hard stone. The technology slowly developed during the succeeding Chalcolithic Period before reaching its zenith during the Harappan Civilization. The Harappans gained access to several raw material sources spread around the Indus valley and its tributaries and it has been estimated that they exploited to around 40 minerals for manufacturing jewels and ornaments. The Harappans also developed ornaments of exotic nature from agate-carnelian such as long-barrel cylindrical beads and etched / bleached / decorated carnelian beads, which were exported all the way to Mesopotamia during third millennium BCE. The Harappans also invented a superior drilling technology by using a slightly harder material known as 'ernestite' for making perforations of these agate-carnelian beads. In particular, the Gujarat region dominated in usage of ernestite as drill bits, which indicates its source in this region, which is yet to be identified.
... This may indicate a change in dietary habits or other social practices. As far as the scale of production is concerned, the degree of standardisation between groups of pottery and within individual groups is often used as an indicative criterion (see Sinopoli 1993;Roux 2003;Costin 2000;Miller 1985;Chakraborty 2018). However, the Mahurjhari assemblage is quite small and the shapes are not preserved well enough to enable us to draw a conclusion in this regard. ...
This article presents the results of the analysis of the pottery from the recently excavated site at Mahurjhari in central India. In doing so, it also proposes a new way of looking at archaeological ceramics in South Asia. Here, archaeological ceramics are traditionally defined on the basis of their visual appearance (their colour and texture), which results in a great deal of ambiguity, limits intra- and inter-regional comparison, and impedes a more material culture-based approach to their study. Indeed, there is no established pottery typology for the region in which this site is located, and despite the fact that ceramics invariably account for the majority of excavated assemblages they frequently remain unreported. Addressing this, we suggest that recording and analysing archaeological ceramics on the basis of how they were made (essentially, implementing a chaîne opératoire approach) might be a useful way to proceed. Given that such approaches are new in this area, we explain what this entails, and then present the results of the analysis of this pottery assemblage using these methods—defining classes of pottery on the basis of traces left by the ways they were made. With a typology thus defined on the basis on the practice of pottery manufacture, we then seriate the assemblage with reference to recent AMS dates obtained from the site and suggest a chronological sequence for the pots from this site. These results are then framed within a wider discussion of the potential value of the application of new ways of looking at archaehttps://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue52/9/images/index.jpgological ceramics in South Asia.
... Consideramos al estilo como constituido por variables morfológicas, tecnológicas y de diseño integradas, que definen un modo de hacer, contextualizado social e históricamente y producto de la conjunción de decisiones individuales y condicionantes sociales; se trataría de aquello que posibilita reconocer a un objeto como parte de un conjunto, vinculado a determinado espacio, tiempo y personas (Hodder, 1990;Miller, 1985;Rouse, 1960). ...
... Resaltábamos en este caso, la unidad estética entre urna y puco-tapa, debida a la particular simetría que se genera al considerar ambas piezas conjuntamente en su posición original, indicio de que existió en la comunidad que enterró a sus muertos una elección cuidada de los modos de hacer (sensu Hodder 1990) referidos al ritual mortuorio: se seleccionó una estética particular, enmarcada en la manera en la cual el grupo social percibió al mundo infantil. Sea como fuere, la generalización del empleo funerario de determinadas vasijas que por sus atributos pudieron ser reconocibles en el pasado como parte de un conjunto alfarero asociado a determinada comunidad (Miller 1985) -en este caso, el estilo Shiquimil -, sugiere que debió existir un lazo entre motivos plasmados y función. La reducida muestra no nos deja avanzar en esta línea; la sistematización de la búsqueda y del estudio de contextos funerarios, incluyendo no sólo el análisis estilístico de la cerámica, sino también su asociación con el análisis bioarqueológico de los restos humanos, permitirá establecer si estas observaciones constituyen una tendencia extendida en la práctica funeraria Shiquimil, o si se trata de una excepción. ...
En el valle de Santa María (Catamarca) la escasez de restos humanos recuperados en contextos primarios ha sido un factor que afectó el estudio de las poblaciones que lo habitaron en el período de Desarrollos Regionales o Tardío-900-1480 AD (Tarragó 1999)-. Para el área vecina del valle Calchaquí, Baldini y Baffi (2003) señalan como hecho negativo la falta de publicación de descripciones de excavaciones recientes de cementerios o entierros. En este sentido, creemos necesario comunicar el hallazgo fortuito de dos inhumaciones, acaecido en el ámbito de la ciudad de Santa María y alrededores.
... Rather than historical continuities, Alaskan Eskimo and Kalahari San mobile hunter-foragers came to inform interpretations of Palaeolithic lifeways despite living in different environments and on different continents (Binford 1978;1981;Lee and Devore 1968). Postprocessual archaeology emerged from a series of East African (Hodder 1982a(Hodder , 1982b and East Indian (Miller 1985) ethnoarchaeological projects dedicated to developing interpretive baselines for a structuralist archaeology. While in some cases European archaeologists felt free to sublimate meaning directly from ancient materialities (e.g. ...
In recent years, ethnoarchaeology and the use of ethnographic analogy have come under increasing criticism. Analogy seems necessary because, as post-industrial academics, archaeologists worry that they do not possess the knowledge necessary to interpret archaeological materials directly and thus must consult with coeval ‘premodern’ peoples to develop interpretive baselines. In this paper, we draw attention to a form of scholarly enquiry – 19th-century Bible customs books – that faced a similar challenge and used methodologies that parallel archaeology's use of ethnoarchaeological data. These were books written by missionaries who lived in Palestine for extended periods of time and studied Palestinian life to make sense of obscure elements of the biblical text, believing that life there had remained fundamentally unchanged for the past three thousand years. Using the Bible customs books as a kind of ‘cautionary tale’ typical of ethnoarchaeology, we argue that a consideration of this literature brings into focus some of the challenges faced by archaeologists’ use of analogy. Specifically, Bible customs books expose significant issues in how relations are conceptualized between archaeologists, others and ancients, and show how a strict empirical focus in ethnographic research can insulate key assumptions from critical scrutiny.
... As a consequence, kinship connections within the Hindu community typically involve large marriage networks at a regional level but with no concentration of ties within a given village, and sparse and weak family relationships across villages (Rowe 1960). The absence of regular visits between families, which contrasts with the frequent encounters at family events within the Muslim community, testifies of distended relationships between wife-givers and wife-takers, with no reciprocal relationships and perhaps the desire in some cases for no interference from in-laws (Miller 1985). ...
The recent literature on “complex contagions” challenges Granovetter’s classic hypothesis on the strength of weak ties and argues that, when the actors’ choice requires reinforcement from several sources, it is the structure of strong ties that really matters to sustain rapid and wide diffusion. The paper contributes to this debate by reporting on a small-N study that relies on a unique combination of ethnographic data, social network analysis, and computational models. In particular, we investigate two rural populations of Indian and Kenyan potters who have to decide whether to adopt new, objectively more efficient and economically more attractive, technical/stylistic options. Qualitative field data show that religious sub-communities within the Indian and Kenyan populations exhibit markedly different diffusion rates and speed over the last thirty years. To account for these differences, we first analyze empirically observed kinship networks and advice networks, and, then, we recreate the actual aggregate diffusion curves through a series of empirically calibrated agent-based simulations. Combining the two methods, we show that, while single exposure through heterophilious weak ties were sufficient to initiate the diffusion process, large bridges made of strong ties can in fact lead to faster or slower diffusion depending on the type of signals circulating in the network. We conclude that, even in presence of “complex contagions,” dense local ties cannot be regarded as a sufficient condition for faster diffusion.
This thesis uses the framework of chaîne opératoire to analyse and describe the production of ceramic sherds from two Neolithic sites in Southwest Norway: 57 sherds (including refits) from Kotedalen and 19 (16 when refitted) from Porsvika. By examining this pottery through chaîne opératoire – an approach not previously applied to ceramics from Southwest Norway – this study sheds light on dynamic production processes. It addresses questions related to technological choices, stylistic elements, and learning networks in the Neolithic period in Western Norway.
The results reveal both similarities and differences in ceramic production between the sites. Both utilised local materials, but in Kotedalen, plant tempering, feldspar, and gold mica were also used, suggesting experimental or innovative practices. The N-technique was a shared forming method, though, in Kotedalen, an additional pinching technique was identified, which was not observed in Porsvika. Decoration practices varied, with Kotedalen displaying a wider range of techniques compared to the selective cord-stamped decorations found in Porsvika. These variations may reflect individual preferences, traditions, or external influences.
A chronological analysis suggests a shift in practices during the settlement of Kotedalen from Phase 14 to 15, marked by changes in joining techniques and more intricate decorations. These transitions align with broader regional dynamics, suggesting that the settlements in Kotedalen and Porsvika were part of a dynamic Neolithic network. While shaped by environmental and resource constraints, technological choices demonstrate the potters’ ability to balance functional and stylistic considerations.
The study identifies a shared learning network, with visible similarities in tempering and forming techniques reflecting knowledge transfer and interaction among potters. Pitted and cord decoration in Kotedalen indicates active participation within a broader Scandinavian ceramic tradition. The findings support the interpretation of the ceramics as local variants of Funnel Beaker pottery, linked to a broader Scandinavian context where technical styles and decorative choices expressed shared identities and social norms.
This paper explores how technology can be used to discern socio-cultural variations and how technological analyses can contribute to a better understanding of the origins and aftermaths of fundamental socio-political changes in prehistoric societies. To study pottery technology, we carried out petrographic analysis on ceramics from six Late Neolithic (ca. 5000–4500 BCE) and Early Copper Age (ca. 4500–4000 BCE) sites located within a single microregion in the K¨or¨os Basin on the Great Hungarian Plain. The communities representing two Late Neolithic cultural units (i.e., the Tisza and the Herp´aly) applied distinct ceramic decorations and sustained a strongly enforced socio-cultural boundary. By the Early Copper Age, dramatic changes unfolded, including the abandonment of Neolithic centers, a departure from Late Neolithic symbolic systems, and the emergence of an overall homogeneity in material culture. The petrographic analysis, however, revealed a high degree of similarity in ceramic manufacturing between the Tisza and Herp´aly that persisted into the Copper Age. To understand these patterns, we apply the concepts of communities and constellation of practice, alongside technological investment theory. We argue that a potting constellation of practice explains the similarities between Tisza and Herp´aly manufacturing practices. In addition, the ceramic technological continuity into the Copper Age, despite major socio-political turbulence, illustrates that potters continued to interact with the landscape, technology, and each other in similar ways, even as other, social aspects of the craft changed. The persistence of technological traditions suggests that internal developments rather than external factors were responsible for the profound sociocultural transformations that occurred during the transition from the Neolithic to the Copper Age on the Great Hungarian Plain.
This study examines how the painting technique was introduced into the pottery assemblages of Egypt and Nubia in the prehistoric period. For this purpose, I compare the introduction process of the painting technique in Egypt from the fifth to the first half of the fourth millennium BCE and that in Upper Mesopotamia between ca. 6200-5900 cal BC to establish if they had a similar introduction process or not. If they were different, I tried to clarify how exactly the case of Egypt was different from that of Upper Mesopotamia. This study suggests the possibility that white cross-lined ware (C-ware), and probably also black incised ware (N-ware), were the kinds of ware vessels invented locally in Upper Egypt in the process of introducing the inlay decoration technique using white pigment from the Nubian pottery traits (e.g., caliciform beakers) and introducing the painting decoration technique from the southern Levant, though the painting was made mostly with a reddish pigment in the southern Levant instead of white. The pigment color used for the painting decoration on pottery surfaces in Upper Egypt might have been changed from white (i.e., C-ware) to reddish (i.e., D-ware) even for the purpose of finding more efficient (i.e., less labou -intensive) decoration techniques.
This is a new history of Greece in the seventh and sixth centuries BC written for the twenty-first century. It brings together archaeological data from over 100 years of 'Big Dig' excavation in Greece, employing experimental data analysis techniques from the digital humanities to identify new patterns about Archaic Greece. By modelling trade routes, political alliances, and the formation of personal- and state-networks, the book sheds new light on how exactly the early communities of the Aegean basin were plugged into one another. Returning to the long-debated question of 'what is a polis?', this study also challenges Classical Archaeology more generally: that the discipline has at its fingertips significant datasets that can contribute to substantive historical debate -and that what can be done for the next generation of scholarship is to re-engage with old material in a new way.
The article aims at questioning the Egyptological communal opinion that “in ancient Egypt, there was no artist in the proper sense of the word”, as stated in the Lexikon der Ägyptologie (III, 833). It starts with a brief historiography of this assumption before addressing the issue of the definition of art and artist, in general, and more specifically from an ancient Egyptian point of view. After a broad statistical overview of the numerous Egyptological data which allow us to trace members of the trades recognized as artistic by ancient Egyptians themselves, it analyses how one may study their social profile and perception in Antiquity, before concluding on the necessity to re-integrate the concept of artist in the discourse of Egyptology
The collective volume "ΜΥΡΡΙΝΗ" ("myrtle"; μυρρίνη or μυρσίνη in ancient Greek, μυρτιά in modern Greek) honours Aikaterini Papaefthymiou-Papanthimou, Professor Emerita of Prehistoric Archaeology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, whose long and distinguished career encompassed groundbreaking excavations, wide-ranging research, and inspiring teaching and mentoring. Twenty-six contributions by colleagues and former students pay tribute to the honoree's scholarship and legacy. The studies cover a broad chronological and geographical spectrum, from the Neolithic to the Iron Age in Macedonia, Thessaly, the Peloponnese, Crete, and Anatolia. Topics range from settlement and funerary archaeology to subsistence, technology and craft, dress and bodily adornment, iconography, symbolism, figurine studies, and gender issues.
Ο συλλογικός τόμος "ΜΥΡΡΙΝΗ" τιμά την Αικατερίνη Παπαευθυμίου-Παπανθίμου, Ομότιμη Καθηγήτρια Προϊστορικής Αρχαιολογίας στο Αριστοτέλειο Πανεπιστήμιο Θεσσαλονίκης, της οποίας η μακρά ακαδημαϊκή πορεία περιλαμβάνει πρωτοποριακές ανασκαφές, πλούσιο ερευνητικό και εξαιρετικό διδακτικό έργο. Μαθητές και συνάδελφοι της προσφέρουμε, ως αντίδωρο, κλάδο ευώδους και αειθαλούς μυρτιάς. Οι εικοσιέξι μελέτες του τόμου καλύπτουν ευρύ γεωγραφικό και χρονολογικό φάσμα, από τη Νεολιθική έως την Εποχή του Σιδήρου σε Μακεδονία, Θεσσαλία, Πελοπόννησο, Κρήτη και Ανατολία, και πραγματεύονται θέματα που ανακλούν τα ποικίλα ερευνητικά ενδιαφέροντα της τιμώμενης: διαβίωση, τεχνολογία, οικιστική οργάνωση, ταφική αρχιτεκτονική και έθιμα, ένδυση, κόσμηση και καλλωπισμό, εικονογραφία, συμβολισμό, ειδωλοπλαστική και θέματα φύλου.
Este libro constituye una primera recopilación de técnicas arqueométricas elementales, moleculares, de datación y de prospección, además de casos de estudio originales en los cuales la utilización de estos análisis contribuyó con resultados enriquecedores y significativos a la interpretación arqueológica de variadas dimensiones materiales y culturales de sociedades pasadas de América y de Europa. Esperamos que por ser el primer libro, en español, de síntesis de estas características, se genere un gran interés entre estudiantes, profesionales e investigadores, en sus variados procesos de formación e investigación, para que en el futuro incorporen estas herramientas y miradas arqueométricas a sus trabajos y a la resolución de sus problemas de estudio. Los 30 capítulos están estructurados en 3 partes: I) Técnicas, protocolos y aplicaciones; II) Materiales y casos de estudio; y finalmente, III) Técnicas de prospección en Arqueología. Los autores son destacados investigadores arqueólogos, físicos, químicos, biólogos y geógrafos de Argentina, Brasil, Chile, Estados Unidos, Francia, México y Perú.
While pottery is the most abundant form of material culture found at Mesopotamian archaeological sites, references to pottery vessels in cuneiform texts are comparatively infrequent. Beyond one-to-one identification of common vessel names with archaeological pot types, rarely have these two sources of evidence been integrated to expand our understanding of Mesopotamian peoples' perceptions of, and engagements with, their material world. This article develops an innovative methodology that is based on analysis of second-millennium BCE texts in combination with excavated ceramics from the Sealand-period site of Tell Khaiber in southern Iraq (ca. 1600–1475 BCE). It begins by investigating the broader repertoire of pottery nomenclature to sketch out the primary use-contexts of Mesopotamian vessels, before conducting a contextual analysis of vessel names in the Tell Khaiber archive and in the Sealand-period tablets in the Schøyen Collection. Vessel use-contexts are mapped across the excavated areas of Tell Khaiber's Fortified Building to understand whether the vessel uses suggested by the texts are borne out in context. This process provides fresh insights into the material basis of the little-understood Sealand period, while also recognizing the complex ways in which names and vessels operated contingently in the social reproduction of an ancient craft tradition.1
This article presents the results of the analysis of archaeological ceramics collected during landscape surveys in the Vidarbha of Maharashtra, India; and offers the first attempt at a regional pottery typology for this area. Here, as in many other parts of South Asia, the pottery from archaeological sites have been subject to considerable scrutiny. Yet, so far approaches to their study have focussed on mainly their surface colour and feel. This has resulted in overly simplistic typologies that do not (and cannot) accommodate the full range of variation that exists within a ceramic assemblage, and so limit their value as archaeological evidence. Addressing this, we apply a chaîne opératoire -based approach to the analysis of a ceramic assemblage that we have been developing in this region. This results in a much more complex and detailed pottery typology than has so far been achieved. Throughout this study we also identify points of comparison with familiar parallels published elsewhere. In doing so, the resulting typology, while by no means the final word on the matter, provides a valuable and flexible resource that others working in this region and neighbouring areas can use for their own analyses and research. Moreover, in shifting the bases of categorisation and classification to the ways that pottery was made, we are able to incorporate far more of the variation that exists in the material itself. Indeed, the amount of variation can be somewhat bewildering in comparison to the standard (limiting) typological categories that populate earlier reports, and forces us to question those frameworks. Yet, we argue that it is precisely this sort of uncertainty that has to be embraced if the study of archaeological ceramics for the region of the ancient Vidarbha is going to continue to develop as a meaningful area of archaeological enquiry.
امروزه، پژوهش در زمینه ظهور، گسترش و زوال فناوری¬ها و همچنین، نوآوری¬های مربوط به آنها یکی از مباحث جدی در باستان¬شناسی پیش از تاریخ تبدیل شده است. در بررسی فناوری¬ها و نوآوری¬های دوران پیش از تاریخ، باستان¬شناسان عوامل و پیش¬شرط¬های اقتصادی، اجتماعی، فنی و اداراکی را دخیل می¬دانند. پژوهش حاضر با بهره¬گیری از این راهبردها و با استفاده از روش کتابخانه¬ای و اسنادی تلاش نموده است بر پایه مبانی نظری مطرح¬شده توسط اندیشمندان معروف در این زمینه به درک و تحلیل این دو مؤلفه (تکنولوژی و نوآوری) در جوامع پیش از تاریخ فلات مرکزی ایران در بازه زمانی هزاره پنجم ق.م. بپردازد. هدف اصلی این پایان¬نامه، بررسی نقش تکنولوژی و نوآوری¬ها در تغییر حالت جوامع این منطقه از اجتماعات کوچک ساده به اجتماعات بزرگتر و دارای شاخص¬های سلسله¬مراتبی و طبقاتی است. برای دست¬یابی به این هدف، پرسش¬ها و فرضیاتی در باره سطح رشد تکنولوژی، الگوهای استقرار محوطه¬ها، سطح مبادلات و برهم¬کنش¬های فرهنگی جوامع مورد مطالعه مطرح گردیده و سرانجام، سطح پیچیدگی¬های اقتصادی و اجتماعی و ارتباط آن با پچیده¬تر شدن تکنولوژی و نوآوری¬های آن تحلیل گردیده است.
ظرفیت¬ها و مزیت¬های نسبی فلات مرکزی ایران در زمینه فناوری¬های کهن نظیر سفالگری و فلزکاری و همچنین، نوآوری¬های مربوطه بدانها باستان¬شناسان را از ابتدای قرن بیستم میلادی بر آن داشته است تا ضمن پژوهش و کاوش در محوطه¬های پیش از تاریخی این منطقه در صدد درک و تحلیل بهتر حوادث و رخدادهای گذشته باشند. مطالعات نشان داده که این منطقه در دوران پیش از تاریخ حلقه اتصالی بین مرکز، غرب و جنوب¬غرب آسیا بوده است. این منطقه از لحاظ پیشرفت¬های فنی در تکنولوژی و ظهور نوآوری¬ها به ما این امکان را می¬دهد که ساختار جوامع را از لحاظ اجتماعی و اقتصادی به خوبی بررسی و تحلیل کنیم. در این پژوهش سعی شده است تا پیشرفت¬های تکنولوژیکی این جوامع از طریق باستان¬شناسی پیچیدگی مورد مطالعه قرار گیرد.
بازه زمانی هزاره پنجم ق.م. یعنی دوره انتقالی مس و سنگ دوره آغاز پیچیدگی¬های اقتصادی و اجتماعی در منطقه فلات مرکزی محسوب می¬گردد. مطالعات نشان داده که در این دوره در تکنولوژی¬هایی چون سفال، فلز و ابزارهای سنگی رشد و توسعه چشمگیری رخ داد؛ سطح فنی و سازمان تولید نسبت به قبل رشد قابل توجهی یافت؛ استقرارها و جمعیت افزایش پیدا کرد؛ بخش¬های تولیدی از قسمت¬های مسکونی جدا شد؛ روابط منطقه¬ای و فرامنطقه¬ای شکل گرفت و جوامع رفته¬رفته رو به سوی سلسله¬مراتبی شدن نهادند. در پژوهش حاضر به این نتیجه دست یافتیم که جوامع مرکز فلات ایران در بازه زمانی موصوف وضعیت گذر از برابری به نابرابری اجتماعی را تجربه نموده¬اند؛ بدون شک، این پیچیدگی اقتصادی و اجتماعی برایند پیشرفت¬های تکنولوژیکی و نوآوری¬ها و ظهور متخصصان و نخبه¬گانی بود که این فرایند را کنترل می¬کردند.
Today, research on the emergence, development, and decline of technologies, as well as innovations related to them, has become one of the important discussions on prehistoric archeology. Archaeologists, in the investigation of prehistoric technologies and innovations, involve some preconditions such as economic, social, technical, and perceptual. By utilizing these preconditions and documentary investigation, based on the newest books and articles, this research endeavor to percipience and analysis of Iran`s central plateau technologies and innovations during the fifth millennia BC. The main goal of this thesis is to research technologies and innovations roles, in these regional communities, as a reason for the switch from simple small ones to larger ones with indexes of hierarchical. To achieve this goal, questions and assumptions about the level of technology development, settlement patterns, cultural exchanges, and interactions have been discussed, and eventually, the level of economic and social complexity and its relation to more complex technology and innovations were analyzed. Capacity and comparative advantages of the central plateau of Iran in the context of ancient technologies such as pottery and metallurgy and its innovations have led archaeologists, besides excavation and investigation, to try to percipience and analysis of prehistoric occurrence from begging of the 20th centuries. Studies have indicated that this region during prehistoric was a link between Central, West, and South-West Asia. In terms of technical development of technologies and the emergence of innovations, this region lets us percipience and analysis this communities's structure from viewpoint of social and economic. In this study, we tried to study the technological advances of these communities through the theories of social and economic complexity.
The period of the fifth millennium BC or transitional Chalcolithic period is considered as the beginning of these complexities in the Iran central plateau region. Studies have indicated that in this era, technologies such as pottery, metal, and stone tools occurred to be considerable growth; Technical level and product organization had significant growth compared to previous period; sites and population had growth; manufacturing parts had apart from residential parts, and regional and Trans-regional had formed and communities gradually toward to established hierarchy. In the present study, we achieve the conclusion that the communities of Iran center plateau in the transition period had experienced the situation of transition from social equality to inequality. Indubitable, this economic and social complexity was a result of technological developments and the emergence of innovations, and the appearance of specialists and elites that controlled this process.
The archaeological record of funerary practices of the southern Calchaquí valleys, Northwest Argentina, offers fruitful ground to explore past significances embedded in the material forms of burial traditions. The recurrence of cemeteries and tombs located in sandy soils forwards plausible interpretations with regards to the notion of ‘death’ and the metaphors of ‘heat’ and ‘dryness’, a conceptual link that has been highlighted by ethnohistorical and ethnographic records of the Andes. Such accounts are used here with the purpose of generating interpretative hypotheses. This article argues that the sensorial qualities of particular landscapes and materials were one of the resources used to define the space of the dead during the Formative Period (ca. 1500 BC–1000 AD) in the southern Calchaquí valleys.
In this paper the pottery production in Noricum is examined based on the data about pottery regions in this area created during the author’s PhD work. Using different attributes of the vessels, the paper aims to explain intraregional equality and variability within different communities of potters. This approach is suggested by the occurrence of morphologically and stylistically equal vessels in different regions, which show distinct differences regarding the technology used to create them. The processes of knowledge transfer which can be traced through the spatial analysis of certain pottery attributes are
compared with ethno archaeological data to gain new insights into the manufacturing process and its social embedment.
Iron I sites in the northwestern Negev were identified as Philistine on the basis of the references to Philistines in this region in the book of Genesis, its proximity to Gaza, and the occurrence of Philistine pottery. Triggered by emerging discrepancies between the finds at these sites and the presumed Philistine attributes (e.g. the rarity of pork, hearths), this article aims to reevaluate the finds in the periphery of Philistia, mainly in the northwestern Negev, but also in the Shephelah and the Yarkon basin. A systematic examination of the data reveals a clear pattern in which the population of peripheral sites gradually adopted certain Philistine attributes (Philistine pottery and cooking jugs, which were avoided during the first phase of Philistine settlement), but continued to systematically avoid others (Aegean-type hearths and significant amounts of pork), and maintained clear and sharp boundaries with the Philistine centers. A thorough examination of the data suggests that most of the inhabitants in the periphery of Philistia were the descendants of the local Canaanite population of the Late Bronze Age, who were in the process of renegotiating their identity with the emerging ethnicities of the Philistines in the urban centers of the southern coastal plain and the Israelites farther west. While not forming a unified group, and probably being politically dominated by Philistia, the inhabitants of the settlements in the periphery of Philistia did not adopt a Philistine identity, maintained clear boundaries with the Philistines, and should not be treated as Philistines.
Chapter 1 is an introduction to the book whose aim is to provide a cutting-edge theoretical and methodological framework, as well as a practical guide, for archaeologists, students, and researchers to study ceramic assemblages and their diachronic and synchronic variability. As opposed to the conventional typological approach, the proposed framework is based on a technological approach. Founding works in the domain of ceramic technology emphasize the anthropological dimension of techniques and the relevant features to identify them. However, up until now, no methodology for classifying archaeological assemblages in a systematic order has been developed to enable their sociological interpretation. The implementation of this methodology, based on the concept of chaîne opératoire, is at the heart of this book and governs the organization of the different chapters of this book. Their sequencing is ruled by the didactic need not only to explain how to study archaeological series but also why the study methods presented here are essential for approaching ambitious interpretations in a well-founded way.
After the mastery of the technological interpretation of sherds or vessels comes the classification stage of ceramic assemblages. The principles of ceramic assemblage technical classification are outlined in Chap. 4. These principles advocate a classification of all the sherds in a given assemblage according to technical processes and finished products successively. This is contrary to usual practices. The aim is to highlight traditions, that is to say, ways of doing a given functional range of containers. Once this classification is established, the challenge is to evaluate whether the variability of the chaînes opératoires is functional or sociological and whether sociological variability is simple or complex. The study of the function of vessels relies on shapes and physico-chemistry. The study of sociological variability leads to an analysis of the sociological landscape and the function of the sites at a macro-regional level.
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