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From pots to potters: reconstructing group and individual variability in pottery production. A case study of the LBK site Cząstków Polski XII, Comm. Czosnów

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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.
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Sprawozdania archeologiczne 75/2, 2023
pl iSSn 0081-3834
doi: 10.23858/Sa75.2023.2.3222
Chmielowska A. 2019. Regional Strategy: Settlement structure and economic possibilities of the Przeworsk Culture in the Niemcza-Strzelin Hills area.
Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 71,
This article is published in an open-access under the CC BY 4.0 license (https: //creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Joanna Pyzel1, Louise Gomart2
FROM POTS TO POTTERS:
RECONSTRUCTING GROUP AND INDIVIDUAL
VARIABILITY IN POTTERY PRODUCTION.
A CASE STUDY OF THE LBK SITE CZĄSTKÓW POLSKI XII,
CZOSNÓW COMMUNE
ABSTRACT
Pyzel J. and Gomart L. 2023. From pots to potters: reconstructing group and individual variability in pottery
production. A case study of the LBK site Cząstków Polski XII, Czosnów Commune. Sprawozdania Archeolo-
giczne 75/2, 115-135.
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 com-
munity of practice with multiple manufacturers. Pottery production at Cząstków Polski followed general LBK
potting standards but also shows some peculiarities indicating some degree of idiosyncrasy within this commu-
nity of practice.
Keywords: pottery production, pottery technology, vessel forming techniques, chaîne opératoire, LBK
Received: 07.01.2023; Revised: 20.02.2023; Accepted: 24.05.2023
1 Institute of Archaeology, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, Plac Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej 4A,
20-031 Lublin, Poland; joanna.pyzel@mail.umcs.pl; ORCID 0000-0001-5449-8244
2 CNRS (UMR 8215 Trajectoires) & Université Paris 1, 9 rue Malher, 75004 Paris, France; louise.gomart@cnrs.fr;
ORCID 0000-0003-0793-2292
116 Joanna Pyzel, Louise Gomart
INTRODUCTION
Techniques of production, especially of pottery production, have been regarded in
common archaeological practice as representing highly pragmatic, rational, and somehow
passive decisions determined by the availability and properties of raw material. This ap-
proach is visible in the processual archaeology, which stressed the dichotomy of style and
function, as well as in post-processual archaeologies which were mainly interested in read-
ing the symbolic meaning of the material culture (see Gosselain 2002, 10, further refe-
rences therein). Archaeology of the new millennium is inuenced by the materiality turn
stressing the affordance of things, their networks or entanglements with humans (e.g.,
Harris and Cipolla 2017), but even these directions focus much more on nished items and
their agency than on their production. However, this topic has been addressed by the ear-
ly French archaeology, always strongly connected with the French school of anthropology
of techniques. This school refers to M. Mauss’s seminal achievements (Mauss 1935; 1947),
where he noticed that even the most “natural” techniques depended on culture and could
be expressions of identities (Lemonnier 1986). This led to the development of studies on
operational sequences chaînes opératoires (see Burdukiewicz 2012, further references
therein). This concept, describing the series of operations involved in the transformation
of matter from the raw material to the nished product (Creswell 1976), is broadly applied
in research on aked stone artefacts (Tixier 1967) but also, increasingly, in pottery studies
(Roux 1994). This growing interest in pottery technology correlates with the third scien-
tic revolution in archaeology of recent decades, which brought the development and
spread of many new analytical methods, especially connected with the determination of
raw materials. The term chaîne opératoire can be found in many pottery publications not
only of the French school, although sometimes it is limited to the determination of fabric
groups. However, apart from the collection and processing of raw materials, the following
stages of pottery production, i.e., fashioning, nishing, surface treatments, decoration, r-
ing and post-ring treatments, are also determinant to grasp ancient pottery production
structures and can be reconstructed by archaeologists though an array of analytical me-
thods (Roux 2019). During each of these stages, a wide range of techniques have been
recognised by ethnographic research (e.g., Livingstone Smith 2001; Gosselain 2002; Gel-
bert 2003) and experimental research work, enabling the interpretation of the traces iden-
tied 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 deve-
loping social interpretations in archaeological context (Roux 2020), as those stages in-
volve techniques and methods acquired through long-term apprenticeship requiring close
contact between a tutor and an apprentice. Non discursive knowledge in the form of em-
bodied skills and routines connected to pottery fashioning is conservative and less prone
to supercial trends and changes than, for example, the raw material choices (Gelbert
2003) or the decoration of pots (Dietler and Herbich 1994). It is precisely the process of
117
From pots to potters: reconstructing group and individual variability
apprenticeship that ensures the continuity of technical traditions: forming techniques and
methods are transmitted from one generation to another within a given community of
practice (see Wenger 1999), whose social structure can correspond to, for example, an
ethno-linguistic group, a caste, a gender etc. (Roux 2011), although the rules of these cor-
relations are complex (Gosselain 2002). The determination of production techniques thus
enables archaeo-logists to identify and distinguish groups of producers in archaeological
context, to follow their spatial trajectories over time and can thus be regarded as a crucial
step of the chaîne opératoire; sometimes, indeed, the analysis focuses mainly on this stage,
as in the case of this paper.
Research on the production techniques of the pottery of the Linear Pottery culture
(LBK) has so far been conducted only for a dozen sites (less than a tenth of a percentage of
all LBK sites; Cámara Manzaneda et al. 2021, g. 1). The literature on the LBK from Poland
contains only general remarks that the vessels were produced by the coiling technique
(Kulczycka-Leciejewiczowa 1979, 83; Czekaj-Zastawny 2017, 44); different types of coil
joints were observed on some fresh breaks from Strzelce, Site 2 (Wiślański 1959) and a si-
milar but singular case of a good, visible example of a coil junction was noted for the mate-
rial from Strzelin, Site 16 (Wojciechowski and Cholewa 1995, 77), though both descriptions
were solely qualitative, not quantitative, and no systematic analysis was ever conducted.
Research on the production techniques does not belong to a standard procedure applied
for this culture in any of the regions of its vast territory. Most of this research was con-
ducted in francophone countries: France and Belgium. After the rst general papers in-
dicating the necessity of such an analysis (Constantin 1994) and preliminary small case
studies (Bosquet et al. 2005), more complex methods of quantitative analysis of macro-
traces were established (inspired by Livingstone Smith 2001, see: Gomart 2006; 2011;
2014; Gomart et al. 2017; Van Doosselaere et al. 2013; 2016), combined with radiography
(Van Doosselaere et al. 2016) and computer microtomography (e.g., Neumannová et al.
2017). Similar studies were also conducted for a few sites from Hungary (Gomart et al. 2020;
Kreiter et al. 2017, ongoing project: Marton et al. 2020), and the Czech Republic (Neu-
mannová et al. 2016; 2017; Thér et al. 2019), although in the latter case they had a pre-
liminary character and have not yet yielded quantitative results (e.g., Thér 2020).
Apart from these studies, selected LBK pottery from two sites from Moldova and
Ukraine were analysed according to the quite similar Russian tradition of technological
studies (e.g., Bobrinsky 1978). Coiling with the paddle and anvil technique was identied
as a dominating technique characteristic for the LBK pottery irrespective of the raw mate-
rial and vessel type (Kozhin and Palaguta 2016; Palaguta and Starkova 2021). This conclu-
sion corresponds to some extent to the above mentioned results obtained for other LBK
regions, where beating is registered but is not the only prevailing technique of shaping
among the assemblages. In the eastern part of the LBK oecumene, the slab technique, also
registered in the preceding Starčevo culture (Burke 2022), could be identied as well (Thér
et al. 2019; Gomart et al. 2020).
118 Joanna Pyzel, Louise Gomart
There has not been, and probably never will be, established one universal methodology
of pottery analysis according to the chaîne opératoire approach and the description of
traces of forming techniques.
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 pot-
tery assemblage from one, small site. Its goal is to test the variability of the pottery assem-
blage in order to apprehend the social structure of the Cząstków Polski XII community:
was this settlement inhabited by one single group of people sharing one technical tradition
or by different groups with distinct technical repertoires? The pottery is badly preserved
and highly fragmented, no single complete vessel prole could be identied, and well pre-
served vessels are regarded as best suited for preliminary denition of chaînes opératoires
(Gomart 2006; 2011). The additional goal is thus to test how much information can be
obtained from such fragmentary data. It is the rst such analysis of forming techniques of
the LBK pottery from Poland.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
LBK pottery from Cząstków Polski, site XII
The pottery assemblage under study comes from Cząstków Polski, Site XII. Czosnów
commune. The site is located in a peripheral and not well-known region of the Polish Low-
lands LBK oecumene: the Vistula Basin in Mazovia where a small cluster of a dozen LBK
sites was detected (Fig. 1: 1). They are located on the Weichselian terrace of the Vistula
River where small elevations of sandy formations existed close to wet depressions, pre-
sumably oxbow lakes in the Atlantic period, as well as large fertile silty areas which at-
tracted the rst farmers (Budziszewski and Pyzel 2022). The site Cząstków Polski XII was
excavated in 2008 to a small extent (850 sqm; Fig. 1: 2) by M. Czarnecki due to the con-
struction of a storage facility. He recorded altogether ve pits with a depth of 0.6-0.9 m.
Features 3, 4 and 5 formed a small cluster; Features 1 and 2, excavated only partially, were
located 10 and 20 m to the east. Four pits (Features 1, 2, 3 and 4) contained artefacts dated
only to the LBK: 547 pottery fragments (very few also from the cleaning of the trench,
without a precise assignment to a feature), 77 int and seven stone artefacts, small frag-
ments of daub and animal bones. The pottery assemblage is quite homogeneous, leading
to the hypothesis that is tested in this paper that all features are more or less contemporary
and represent an occupation of a single group of people. The temper and decoration date
the site to the early Music Note Phase (LBK IIA; Budziszewski and Pyzel 2022).
The material is highly fragmented: the average weight of a sherd was 15 g. Many sherds
were so eroded that they resembled pebbles; it was difcult to analyse ornament which
119
From pots to potters: reconstructing group and individual variability
was badly preserved. Based on retting and characteristic traits such as temper, colour,
wall thickness, decoration and surface treatment, some sherds could be assigned to vessels
and the total number could be reduced to 251 sherd families (Orton et al. 1993) represent-
ing both distinctive pots, but also small undiagnostic pieces. Most of them are body sherds,
only 32 rims and 18 bases could be identied. For 32 vessels the basic form could be esti-
mated: the majority (23 vessels) are globular pots typical for the LBK; others could be
classied as bowls, collared jars and miniature vessels. The complete prole could not be
reconstructed in any case.
The pottery can be divided into ne (63% of sherd families) and coarse ware (37%).
Most of the ne ware was produced using a pure clay, but in some cases ne organic and
sand temper was visible. For the coarse ware, organic temper was the most common, but
sand could be identied macroscopically as well.
44% of the ne and 25% of the coarse ware was decorated; the identication of orna-
ment was sometimes difcult due to the bad state of preservation of the material.
Traces of production on archaeological pottery
Traces indicating various production methods applied at different stages of pottery
production are difcult to identify (e.g., Gucsi 2022), as they are often erased by subse-
Fig. 1. 1 – Location of Cząstków Polski Site XII (marked with asterisk) within the LBK Vistula Basin
microregion (other LBK sites are marked with red dots). After Budziszewski and Pyzel 2022; 2 – Plan
of the excavated area
120 Joanna Pyzel, Louise Gomart
quent gestures and only a combination of various scales of observation and different ana-
lytical tools can yield valuable information on forming (e.g., Roux 2017). This approach
was also applied in our study, combining mainly macroscopic observations (with the na-
ked eye and a magnifying lamp with 5 dioptres magnication) of various traces: breakage
pattern and fractures, traces on the inner and outer surface as well as vessel sections: old
and fresh breaks, polished sections as well as thin sections. On a total of 70 sherds or sherd
families – 25 rims, 20 bases and 25 body fragments – various macrotraces could be ob-
served.
Breakage pattern and fractures
The breakage pattern of a vessel can indicate its forming technique, as a clay pot breaks
most easily on joints of various parts which were formed in different steps, such as the
base, body and collar or even separate coils or slabs. In the case of the assemblage from
Cząstków Polski, an average sherd family consisted of only 2.2 sherds, which means that
in most cases it was too fragmented to recognise any clear breakage pattern. Fractures
were also heavily eroded in most cases but for ten sherd families it was possible to identify
clear horizontal breakages (rounded fractures); in one case the break on the collar-body
joint was oblique to the exterior and a similar bevelled fracture joint was noted for one
lower base fragment.
Surface traces
Traces of continuous and discontinuous pressure indicate gestures connected with the
forming of a vessel. The bad state of preservation limited their detection but, in some
cases, it was possible to observe both types of pressure. Traces of continuous movements
were detected only twice, on the interior part of vessels, one on the lower part of the body
and one on the bottom. Discontinuous traces were registered on the outer surface of a mi-
niature vessel and in 13 cases on the inner surface of vessels: once on the lower part and
nine times under the rim. In ve cases such imprints were associated with traces of beating
on the external surface.
Traces of beating were visible on external surfaces as overlapping at circular areas
(Fig. 2: 4); in these places wall thickness was also lower than in their surroundings (e.g.,
Fig. 3: 2 – difference between the wall thickness of the rim and the part underneath). Such
traces were registered 11 times: ve in the upper part of a vessel, ve in the lower part and
one in an undened body part.
Wall thickness
Apart from the differences in wall thickness caused by beating, in one case roughness
of walls in the form of horizontal depressions and bulges could be observed on the inner
side (Fig. 2: 3).
Sections
Radial sections of pottery, combined with surface features, are one of the best sources
of information on the shaping techniques (e.g., Thér 2020), as the alignment and orienta-
tion of inclusions and voids depend on forces applied while performing certain gestures
121
From pots to potters: reconstructing group and individual variability
(Livingstone Smith 2001, Pl. V-26). In our study we used different types of radial sections:
old (Fig. 2: 3) and new breaks (Fig. 3: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6), freshly polished sections (Fig. 2: 1; 3: 7),
freshly polished sections of pottery hardened by adding a resin (Fig. 3: 3) and thin sections
of such hardened pottery. Old breaks were observed rst on the whole body of material;
however, they were not always informative due to the high state of erosion. In 26 cases
some observations were possible, and no other treatment was applied there mainly in or-
der not to damage small and diagnostic pieces. In other cases, the pottery was broken, and
such fresh breaks were the main source of information in 24 cases. Some sherds were also
selected for sections to verify observations made on breaks or to cut pieces which were too
thick to be broken with pincers. Thirteen sherds (nine with fresh, two with old breaks and
Fig. 2. Selected macrotraces on the LBK pottery from Cząstków Polski Site XII. 1 – polished radial section
of a miniature vessel, chaîne opératoire CzP4, 2 – vessel with undulations on the inner surface and the ra-
dial section, chaîne opératoire CzP1, 3 – Lower part of a vessel with a beating trace on the outer surface,
chaîne opératoire CzP3, 4 – Radial section and outer surface of a vessel with some traces of a hypothetical
slab technique. Photos Joanna Pyzel
122 Joanna Pyzel, Louise Gomart
Fig. 3. Radial sections of selected vessels from Cząstków Polski Site XII. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 – fresh breaks, 3 – po-
lished section of a resin-hardened sample, 7 – polished section without resin; 3, 4 chaîne opeìratoire
CzP1, 1 – chaîne opératoire CzP2, 2, 6 – chaîne opeìratoire CzP3, 5 – fragment of a base with coils in a C/O
configuration, 7 fragment of a base made of double coil spirals. Photos 1-2, 4-7 Joanna Pyzel, photo 3
Anna Rauba-Bukowska
123
From pots to potters: reconstructing group and individual variability
two too thick to break them) were selected for polished sections. Ten pieces were hardened
with a resin; on eight of them simple polished sections and on two thin sections were per-
formed. As the results of thin sections, microphotographs made in plane-polarised light
and crossed-polarised light could be analysed enabling an analysis of the microfabrics
(Courty and Roux 1995). In the case of one vessel, four methods could be used and com-
pared: an old and fresh break as well as a polished section with and without resin.
In general, fresh breaks turned out to be most informative as not only the alignment
and orientation of inclusions and voids, but also the roughness of the wall relief could be
observed, which indicated different building units (Fig. 3: 4, 5). All kind of sections which
made the wall surface at could only sometimes conrm the results obtained in this way
but were seldom precise enough to yield any new substantial information. Cutting of very
soft and silty material closed the voids in many cases, which made the observation difcult.
For fresh breaks, the dimensions (length and width) of well visible building units (coils)
were measured. This was possible for 29 bodies, nine rims and four bases.
Tangential sections were in most cases highly abraded and were not broken or cut in
order not to fragment the sherd family additionally to radial sections. Thus, no observa-
tion was possible for them.
RESULTS
A combination of various macrotraces could be detected in certain congurations.
C/O configuration
Not so strongly deformed coils were the best visible and thus the most common feature
in the assemblage from Cząstków Polski. They were registered on a total of 26 sherd fami-
lies in the form of various macrotraces. They could be traced in joints as at sectioned
fractures and even as roughness on the inner side of one vessel where the remains of coils
did not become totally smoothed while nishing (Fig. 2: 3). They could be quite well ob-
served in the old breaks in the form of small circular bulbs and depressions (Fig. 2: 3).
These relief undulations became even more clear in fresh breaks (Fig. 3: 4) in these
cases the radial arrangement of voids and temper was clearly visible. This was also the case
for polished sections with and without a resin (Fig. 3: 3). Some coils are more circular, and
they have a zig-zag or C arrangement (Fig. 3: 4), while others are slightly more rounded or
elongated in the form of a chain of Os (Fig. 3: 3). This C/O conguration (Bosquet et al.
2005) was registered more often on the coarse (19 vessels) than on the ne pottery (seven
vessels). These are mainly upper fragments with rims as well as indistinctive body parts
and lower pieces with bases. In all cases the coil arrangement does not change between
vessel parts, and it is uniform for bodies and rims as well as bodies and bases. All identied
vessels of this group belong to the globular vessel type.
124 Joanna Pyzel, Louise Gomart
Most of the C/O shaped coils forming vessel bodies have a similar size: the height lies
between 7 and 13 mm for the coarse and 7 and 10 mm for the ne pottery and the width
between 6 and 13 mm for the coarse and 5 and 8 mm for the ne pottery with an average
size of 10 × 9 mm for the coarse and 8 × 6 mm for the ne pottery (Fig. 4). The size of coils
forming rims and bases is similar.
Traces of discontinuous pressure inside were registered in seven cases: ve upper parts
under the rim and two body fragments.
S configuration
On other sherd families, a different type of conguration was visible in sections. For
old breaks it looks like an elongated semi-circular bulb. In the case of fresh breaks, the
orientation of voids and temper follows that pattern as well, forming a wavy, S-shaped line
in a radial section (Fig. 3: 1). This S conguration (Bosquet et al. 2005) was registered
only on bodies of ne pottery vessels. In the case of four vessels, it co-occurs with bases
where traces of not so strongly transformed coils (C/O conguration) could be identied.
In ten cases, beating traces could be observed on the upper and lower parts of vessels
(Fig. 2: 4; 3: 2, 6) in the form of circular at areas of c. 1.5 cm diameter, repeating at different
density. For one lower body part such traces occur every 3 cm. For this and four upper
body fragments, traces of discontinuous pressure were registered on the inner surface op-
Fig. 4. Height-width relationship of coils forming vessel bodies from Cząstków Polski Site XII
125
From pots to potters: reconstructing group and individual variability
posite to the beating traces. Beating traces were also visible as a attening of the vessel
wall: the thickness is slightly lower than that of the other parts (Fig. 3: 2, 6). In general, the
wall thickness of sherds showing an S conguration in the radial plan without beating
traces on the surface is between 3 and 7 mm with a mean of 5 mm, while for sherds with
beating traces it is slightly lower: between 2 and 6 mm with a mean of 4 mm. In the case of
one body sherd, which had clear beating traces on the outer surface and a thickness of only
2 mm, no traces of coil junctions could be observed, while voids are elongated and oriented
parallel to the radial prole. In other cases when beating was registered, the vessels body
was characterized by S-shaped coils, while the vessel rim/neck showed a combination of
2-3 small non deformed coils (Fig. 3: 2). This type of conguration was observed for glob-
ular vessels and collared jars where O-shaped coils formed the neck and S-shaped coils the
body. In the case of ve sherd families, a combination of a lower body part with visible S
conguration with beating traces and bases with C/O conguration could be identied.
S-shaped coils have a similar size irrespective of the presence or absence of beating
traces. Coils without beating are 9-17 mm high and 4-7 mm wide with an average of 13 × 5 mm;
for sherds with beating traces these values are 8-16 mm and 3-6 mm with an average of
11 × 4 mm. Slightly higher values for coils without beating traces may be inuenced by
fragments of lower body parts, where coils are extremely elongated: sherds with and with-
out beating form a clear cluster on the right side of the diagram (Fig. 4). O-shaped coils
forming the rim are smaller: 4-7 mm high and 4-7 mm wide, with a mean of 4 × 5 mm.
S-shaped coils without beating traces could be registered for 18 sherd families and with
beating for 11 sherd families altogether.
Other configurations
Apart from these coiling procedures registered for all vessel parts, there were also some
small fragments where the classication is equivocal. There were three small rim frag-
ments representing the ne ware only with O-shaped coils visible in the radial sections. It
is not clear if they represent the C/O group of vessels or just fragments of S-shaped proles
with beating where the lower part was not preserved. The same applies to six bases where
a single row of singular coils in C/O conguration is visible (Fig. 3: 5), especially for ve of
them representing the ne ware. There were also two very thick and heavily eroded coarse
ware bases that had to be cut because it was not possible to break them. Unfortunately, the
polished section perturbed the voids so the observation was difcult, but traces of two layers
of coils can be suggested here due to some circulating arrangements of organic temper
whose sizes are regular and correspond to typical coil size at the site (Fig. 3: 7). The body
part, however, is too disturbed to conclude the form of coils in the walls. The shape of
fracture, which can indicate a coil joint, is in one case oblique and in the other at.
One miniature ne vessel (a 2.8 cm high deep bowl) was also cut, and the polished sec-
tion revealed elongated voids oriented along the radial section and running uninterrupted
126 Joanna Pyzel, Louise Gomart
through the whole prole (Fig. 2: 1), which is unique for the analysed assemblage. A trace
of discontinuous pressure could be registered on its outer surface.
Another unique case is represented by a rim fragment of a strongly eroded coarse glo-
bular vessel. Its outer surface is very irregular but so damaged that it is not possible to in-
terpret the irregularities. On the inner surface, lines of tensions are visible as well as folia-
tion of the surface (Fig. 2: 2). This is also visible in the polished section – the sherd was
also cut because this method seemed gentler than breaking such a sensitive piece. In the
section some oblique oriented voids are visible as well (Fig. 2: 2), which is unique for the
assemblage.
DISCUSSION
Reconstruction of forming techniques
Most of the vessels from Cząstków Polski were made with the coiling technique.
Different forming methods can be reconstructed from the identied macrotraces. The
C/O conguration visible in sections in the form of rhythmic undulations, radial arrange-
ment of voids and temper, bumpy walls with differences in thickness as well as at or
rounded fractions indicate vessel building by placing coils on top of each other without
strong transformation. In this procedure, coils were joined through pinching (Livingstone
Smith 2001, 122; Roux 2019, 161) and traces of discontinuous pressure are indeed quite
common on sherd families of the C/O group despite their bad preservation.
The S conguration echoes a variant of the same method (Livingstone Smith 2001,
121). Subcircular, elongated orientation of voids and temper and similar rhythmic undula-
tions in radial sections represent coils placed along an alternating external/internal bevel
and subsequently thinned and stretched (Roux 2019, 163).
The miniature vessel was formed from one piece of clay (Fig. 2: 1). The alignment and
orientation of voids and temper running parallel to the vessel’s walls (without any discon-
tinuities that could indicate coil joints) refer to the vertical compression of a single clay
mass caused by drawing and pinching (Roux 2019, 170). Traces of discontinuous pressure
are an additional argument for pinching.
Another unique piece (Fig. 2: 2) is difcult to interpret due to its bad state of preserva-
tion, which erased many traces. That is why conclusions must be treated with caution. The
section is unclear: diagonal orientation of some voids can indicate coil joints, but as they
are quite irregular, they can also represent slab joints (e.g., Vandiver 1987, Pl. V: 4). A clear
foliation of the inner surface is visible in the section, which can indicate an overlapping of
clay pieces (e.g., Vandiver 1987, Pl. I: 1). The laminar ssuring is also visible on the inner
side of the sherd. The interpretation of these traces is equivocal, but they can indeed indi-
cate the sequential slab technique (Vandiver 1987; Roux 2019, 167).
127
From pots to potters: reconstructing group and individual variability
Apart from these fashioning techniques, nishing in the form of beating/paddling
could be identied on some sherd families. Traces in the form of alternating attened and
curved external surfaces are a strong indication of beating (Roux 2019, 177). The elongated
and, in some cases even vertical conguration in radial sections, is an additional charac-
teristic trait caused by a compression of clay (Livingstone Smith 2001, 121). On the inner
surface, traces of discontinuous pressure suggest the use of a counter-paddle during beat-
ing (Roux 2019, 178).
Definition of chaînes opératoires
On the basis of the results of the technological analysis of the assemblage from Cząstków
Polski we are able to distinguish the following chaînes opératoires:
CzP1. simple coiling with pinching
The vessel bases were formed using a singular spiralled coil. The coils forming the body
were then added on top of each other until the vessel’s rim. Coils of similar diameter were
used for all vessel parts. They were not strongly transformed during forming nor nishing.
This chaîne opératoire includes both ne (seven sherd families) and coarse pottery (nine-
teen sherd families; Table 1).
CzP2. coiling with pinching and subsequent thinning and stretching
The vessel bases were formed using a single spiralled coil. The coils forming the body
were placed on top of each other with an alternate overlapping: every other coil is stretched
once on the inner surface of the previous coil, and again on the outer surface of the previous
coil. The coils became thinned and stretched during forming and nishing of the vessel. It
is not clear how the vessel’s neck was built here. This chaîne opératoire was applied only
for the ne pottery (eighteen sherd families; Table 1).
CzP3. coiling with beating (paddle and anvil technique)
Vessels were formed following the same gestures as for the CzP2. The rims were formed
from two or three smaller coils of clay placed on top of each other and slightly elongated
through pinching but not as thinned and stretched as those of the body. The body was then
shaped using the beating technique, especially in the upper and lower part. This chaîne
opératoire was applied only for the ne pottery (eleven sherd families; Table 1).
CzP4. drawing from one piece of clay
Miniature vessels were formed from one piece of clay which was pulled and stretched
out by drawing and pinching. Only one ne vessel representing this procedure could be
identied in the assemblage.
Other chaînes opératoires
Additionally, a chaîne opératoire connected with the sequential slab technique can be
assumed on one vessel, as described in Kreiter et al. (2017). The presence of vessel bases
made of double coil spirals indicate also that other chaînes opératoires were used as well;
however, they cannot be fully reconstructed due to the high fragmentation of the assemblage.
128 Joanna Pyzel, Louise Gomart
Feature 1 Feature 3 Feature 4 Layer Total
CzP1 CzP2 CzP3 CzP1 CzP2 CzP3 CzP1 CzP2 CzP3 CzP1 CzP2 CzP3 CzP1 CzP2 CzP3
rim&body 1F, 1C 0F, 0C 2F, 0C 3F, 7C 0F, 0C 3F, 0C 1F, 1C 0F, 0C 0F, 0C 0F, 0C 0F, 0C 0F, 0C 5F, 9C 0F, 0C 5F, 0C
body&base 0F,1C 2F, 0C 3F, 0C 1F, 0C 2F, 0C 1F, 0C 0F, 0C 0F, 0C 0F, 0C 0F, 0C 0F, 0C 1F, 0C 1F, 1C 4F, 0C 5F, 0C
body 0F, 4C 3F, 0C 1F, 0C 1F, 5C 11F, 0C 0F, 0C 0F, 0C 0F, 0C 0F, 0C 0F, 0C 0F, 0C 0F, 0C 1F, 9C 14F, 0C 1F, 0C
total 1F, 6C 5F, 0C 6F, 0C 5F,
12C 13F, 0C 4F, 0C 1F, 1C 0F, 0C 0F, 0C 0F, 0C 0F, 0C 1F, 0C 7F, 19C 18F, 0C 11F, 0C
Table 1. Distribution of most common chaînes opératoires identified for the LBK pottery assemblage from Cząstków Polski Site XII.
F – fine pottery, C – coarse pottery
129
From pots to potters: reconstructing group and individual variability
The traces observed in sections indicate that they could have been combined with bodies
shaped using both the simple coiling technique with pinching (as the CzP1) and the coiling
with thinning and stretching (as the CzP2).
Variability within chaînes opératoires:
tracking “potters’ hands”
Chaînes opératoires CzP1-3 are the most common in the analysed assemblage (Table 1).
They could be identied in the two features that are the richest in pottery: Pits 1 and 3,
located c. 10 m from each other. In both features some very characteristic vessels were
found. Lower fragments of four small ne pots made using CzP3 have strong traces of
beating above the base which caused a slight deformation of the prole (Figs 2: 3; 3: 6).
The base-body junction was always built in the same way and, in all cases, coils of similar
size were used: for two of these vessels, the lowest ones were measured, and these are ex-
tremely elongated (16 × 5 mm and 16 × 6 mm; Fig. 4); for two other vessels, the upper coils
are smaller, but also similar (10 × 4 mm and 8 × 4 mm; Fig. 4). Almost identical coil sizes
could also be observed for the vessels made using CzP1, which also share very similar
traits: a slightly alternating alignment of sub-circular coils (C conguration: 10 × 9 mm
and 10 × 10 mm as well as 12/10 mm and two 12/11 mm; Fig. 4) or overlapping alignment
of circular coils (O conguration: 9 × 9 mm and 10 × 9 mm; Fig. 4). Although these are
different vessels, such similarities in technical gestures and coil sizes are so striking that
these vessel groups seem to have been built by one person for each group respectively.
Such motor habits connected with rolling coils seem indeed very individual (Manem 2008;
Gomart 2011; 2014). Pottery manufactured by these hypothetical manufacturers was
spread in both Features 1 and 3, which is a strong additional indication for their contem-
poraneity. The small number of chaînes opératoires at Cząstków Polski Site XII, as well
the low variability within them, is an argument that the site represents a LBK settlement
inhabited by one group of people sharing the same technical tradition (e.g., Roux 2019, 6),
and including different manufacturers. This is not at all obvious as interpretations of the
Vistula Basin microregion as only temporary stops on the “motorway” connecting the loess
uplands with the Polish lowlands have been discussed for many years (e.g., Kulczycka-Le-
ciejewiczowa 1968; Budziszewski and Pyzel 2022, further references therein). On larger
LBK settlements, such as Cuiry-lès-Chaudardes in Picardy (France), a higher number of
co-existing technical traditions could be identied (Gomart 2014).
Comparison with other sites
Forming and fashioning techniques and methods reconstructed at Cząstków Polski are
all known for the European Neolithic and the LBK. However, their combination in certain
chaînes opératoires has some degree of idiosyncrasy.
130 Joanna Pyzel, Louise Gomart
Coiling with pinching without strong coil deformation was registered in the Hungarian
(Kreiter et al. 2017), Bohemian (Neumannová et al. 2017; here as an S conguration), as
well as French and Belgian LBK (Gomart 2014). However, nowhere can a direct analogy to
the CzP1 be found. In Hungary, bases were made of superimposed coiled spirals (Method 2:
Kreiter et al. 2017; which may correspond to one of the hypothetical chaînes opératoires
of Cząstków Polski). In the western LBK, bases are rounded, and rims were made of smaller
coils (e.g., CCF2: Gomart 2014, 79). CzP2 has similarities in France (e.g., CCF8: Gomart
2014, 79), but the bases are again different. CzP3 resembles the Method 1 from Hungary
(Kreiter at al. 2017), but no traces of shaping the bases against a support could be detected
at Cząstków Polski. The rims were also made in a different way, which looks like the prac-
tices known from France and Belgium (e.g., CCF10 and FHC10: Gomart 2014, 79, 174).
However, this method was not restricted to ne pottery there as is the case at Cząstków
Polski. Also, in Ukraine and Moldova, the paddle and anvil technique was used on all types
of vessels. This technique prevailed there, even if examples of not so strongly transformed
coils (similar to CzP1) were also registered (Palaguta and Starkova 2021).
The sequential slab technique was suggested for Hungary (Method 3: Kreiter et al.
2017), which makes our hypothesis on its occurrence at Cząstków Polski more probable.
The denition of slabs is not unequivocal among pottery specialists (e.g., Vandiver 1987;
Commenge 2009; Thér et al. 2019; Gucsi 2022): early Neolithic slabs in the Balkans and
the Carpathian basin seem to correspond to attened short coils (Kreiter et al. 2017), dif-
ferent from the small patches of clay described by P. Vandiver in the Levant (1987), or
from the possibly larger slabs of clay documented by C. Commenge in Macedonia (2009).
The identied chaînes opératoires, with notably different coiling procedures, beating
and sequential slab building, characterizes LBK pottery assemblages in different quanti-
ties from the emergence of the culture in Transdanubia to its nal expansion in central
Western Europe (Gomart et al. 2020). In that sense, the assemblage from Cząstków Polski
fully integrates the LBK common ceramic tradition. At the individual scale, the limited
size of the pottery assemblage allowed for the identication of specic “hands” within this
common LBK tradition and to differentiate several individuals in charge of the production.
CONCLUSIONS
A variety of forming techniques could be identied for the pottery assemblage from
Cząstków Polski and four chaînes opératoires could be reconstructed. This technical re-
pertoire echoes the intrinsic variability of LBK pottery assemblages as described in other
LBK contexts (Gomart et al. 2020). Our results demonstrate that even quite poor, highly
fragmented, and badly preserved material can be used to study pottery production. We
could not reconstruct the exact number and proportions of chaînes opératoires, but we
could recognise some unique traits that distinguish the social group (community of prac-
tice) from Cząstków Polski and even certain producers within it. Thus, even if the LBK
131
From pots to potters: reconstructing group and individual variability
manufacturers followed quite consistent general potting rules, some variability can be ob-
served between (and even within) sites and regions. Our results demonstrate the very high
potential of research on pottery production techniques: when so much information can be
gained from such a site, we could obtain tremendous knowledge on various social groups
and their interactions when analysing systematically better preserved settlements, micro-
regions and whole regions. This offers valuable avenues for future research, and we hope
that analysis of production techniques will become a standard in pottery studies.
Acknowledgements
This collaborative research resulted from the NCN MINIATURA 4 Project 2020/04/
X/HS3/00201 “Linear pottery beyond typology: multi-proxy studies of Early Neolithic ce-
ramics”. Thin sections of pottery were performed as part of petrographic analysis con-
ducted by A. Rauba-Bukowska and nanced by the Faculty of History, University of
Gdańsk. We would like to thank M. Krystek and D.K. Płaza for providing us free use of the
facilities of the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography in Łódź for polished sections.
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