Archaeological Ceramics: A Review of Current Research

This publication originated during a session organized for the 15th European Archaeologist Conference, held in Riva del Garda (Trento - Italy) in September 2009, on the The chaîne opératoire approach to ceramics studies. It was focused on the concept of the chaîne opératoire as applied in contemporary ceramics studies. Particular attention was given to experimental and archaeometrical approaches that allow for a better understanding of the technological aspects of a culture. Contents: Introduction (Simona Scarcella); 1) Chaîne opératoire and ceramics: classifications and typology, archaeometry, experimental archaeology, and ethnoarchaeology (Charles Kolb); 2) Utilitarian and ritual pottery of the Gorokhovo culture: continuity and changes in an ancient society (S.Panteleeva); 3) Typological features of impressed ceramic within the stratigraphical sequence of the semicircular concentric ditches in the Neolithic village of Rendina (Potenza, Italy) (F. Occhiogrosso); 4) Characterising surviving residues from archaeological ceramics: a biomolecular approach (C. Spiteri, C. Heron, O. Craig); 5) Exploring the chaîne opératoire of ceramics through X-radiography (I. Berg); 6) The life-history of the potters wheel in the Ancient Near East (N. Laneri); 7) From raw materials to utilisation. Ceramics associated with the metallurgical activity at Valencina De La Concepción (Seville, Spain): technological choices and social implication (N. Inácio, F. Nocete, J.M. Nieto, M. R. Bayona, D. Abril); 8) Anthropological interpretation of ceramic assemblages: foundations and implementations of technological analysis (V. Roux); 9) Chaîne opératoire, technical gestures and pottery production at Southern Andes during the Late Period (c. AD 900 AD 1450) (Catamarca, Northwestern Argentina, Argentina) (G. De La Fuente); 10) An examination of emic possibilities: experimental archaeology and Cypriot ceramic typology (C. Jeffra); 11) From clay to sherd: understanding the manufacture, use and taphonomy of prehistoric ceramics by experiment (D. Millson); 12) Experimental reconstruction of the pottery firing process of Late Bronze Age pottery from North-Eastern Bohemia (R. Thér, M. Gregor); 13) Ritual chains (D. Gheorghiu); 14) Microtraditions and agency in domestic pottery production: an ethnoarchaeological perspective (M. Deal); 15) The swallow potters: seasonally migratory styles in the Andes (G. Ramon).