A Brief Introduction to: Ceramics in Archaeology

Dr Orlene McIlfatrick

Ceramics In Archaeology• Brief History of Pottery Studies

• Pottery as Archaeological Evidence

• Methods of Pottery Analysis• Problems in Pottery Analysis• Conclusions

Brief History of Pottery Studies

The Art Historical Phase• 1464AD Ebenhorfer

described prehistoric pots found at Stockerau, Germany, as being man-made. (sklenar,1983:16)

• 1587 Petrus Albinus excavated prehistoric vessels in Missen, subsequently published “The first proper excavation report in prehistoric archaeology” (Sklenar, 1983:38)

• 17 &18th Cent. Focus on beautiful display pieces for wealthy collectors. classical or oriental items

• Antiquarians continued to collect for the sake of art into the mid 19th Cent.

typology of Romano-British Mortaria

Typological Phase• Mid 19th Cent –mid 20th

Cent.• Start of the real interest

in pottery as an artefact• This was due to an

increase in the number of excavations, particularly Roman, yielding loads of pottery.

• Needed a good way to group and process all the sherds

• 1860 Roach Smith publishes ‘Smith’s embryonic samian form and figure type-series’

• 1880’s typological studies become really popular, General Pitt-Rivers uses the method for other artefact groups in Egypt.

• 1899 Flinders Petrie, also working in Egypt, uses grouped grave-goods and the method of seriation to produce a chronology for graves at Diospolis Parva

The The Contextual PhaseContextual Phase• 1956 Shepard publishes

her work of synthesis on ceramic studies, this will be the handbook for much of the future of the discipline.

• The potential for pottery was beginning to be recognised

• New techniques developed along with better methodology

• C14, neutron activation, thin sectioning, residue analysis.

• Better recording and standardized illustration methods

Pottery as Evidence

Dating Evidence• Largely a relative dating method, often relying on associated datable finds

• Most dating will be done using an existing typology (chronological order of progression of styles/types of pot) or

• Carbon 14 dates obtained from burned on food residues

Trade and Distribution• People use pots as trade goods

• Pots as containers for traded commodities

• Fabric analysis can tell source of clay therefore source of pot

• Pots can therefore be used to trace trade ‘spheres of influence’

Distribution of Romano-British Farnham wares >

Function and Function and StatusStatus• The most ambiguous of the ‘big 3’.

• Residue analysis to determine contents

• Function can be determined using contextual, associated material or through scientific analysis.

• Re-use does occur with pottery vessels

• Status by fabric type, course =low status, fine =high.

• Wheel thrown wares often considered more high status than hand built wares

• Decoration often a mark of a more ‘expensive’ pot

• Can be misleading, e.g. samian wares.

Technology and ManufactureTechnology and Manufacture

• Determined method of production i.e. wheel/hand built:

>Circular ‘wash bands’ and tracked bases indicate wheel thrown wares,Strap/coil joins indicate hand building.

• Potters wheel usually indicates higher level of technology

• E.g Roman era = first industrial scale production of pottery in Britain.

• Firing methods can be identified from the colours in/on the clay, and marks on pottery surface.

Pottery Analysis

Pottery Analysis Methods

• Typological Analysis:Uses form and evolution of

vessel style to date pottery.

• Fabric Analysis:Uses differences in

geological makeup to discover source region of clay, thus

also of pot.• Residue Analysis:

Uses any burned or un-burned organic material in vessel for either dating or dietary evaluation

Typological analysisTypological analysis

• Is sometimes of limited use due to relative nature of most initial chronologies

• Is more useful when used alongside other evidence

• Unlikely you will ever have to construct a typology from scratch, but you may have to use one.

• Uses diagnostic sherds (rims, bases, decoration)

• Mainly used to date pottery. A master chronological sequence (typology) is pieced together for a region/locality

• Generally typologies are illustrated pro-forma

• Against this, sherds can be compared for reference.

• Allows changes in styles, fabrics and technology to be identified

I

Three Common Three Common Techniques for Fabric Techniques for Fabric

Analysis Analysis • Thin Section

Analysis: Very thin slice taken, allowing light to pass through for microscopic analysis of the geological makeup.

• Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA): Laboratory technique using pulverized sample. Used for determining elemental makeup of the fabric.

• XRF/PXRF x-ray fluorescence analysis (standard and portable) non-destructive analysis for determining elemental makeup of the fabric.

Photograph of a thin section slide

Residue Analysis• Scrapings taken for

analysis must have as few ceramic traces as possible

• Reuse of pot can lead lo very extensive residues

• Iron age cooking pots were

sealed using boiling milk.

• Used mainly for two purposes: dating using C14, and dietary analysis.

• Carbon for dating must be from an interior source – no fossil C.

• Food: fatty acids and glycerols absorbed into the porous pottery

• Each fatty acid and oil is different, can be traced to source, meat, fish, cereal or milk

Problems in Pottery Problems in Pottery AnalysisAnalysis• Existing typologies

can be flawed, gives skewed results

• It can be very time consuming, especially the cataloguing!

• The monotony can lead to inaccurate labelling etc during preliminary processing.

• Pottery must be used in context with other finds

• Avoid the old ‘pots always = people’ assumption

Beaker pot, Wales

Conclusions• Pottery is a very useful artefact group

• It can address questions of chronology, technology, socio-politics, gender, trade, movement of people and ideas etc but

• Beware of using it in isolation• Choose appropriate analysis technique/s