Munsell notations and color names: Recommendations for archaeological practice

Abstract

Archaeologists have long used the Munsell Soil-Color Charts for describing the color of stratigraphic contexts and unglazed pottery. The range of colors in these charts has limited the wider application of the Munsell system in archaeology, and here I review the merits of four complementary color sets: the Munsell Color Charts for Plant Tissues, The New Munsell Student Color Set, the Munsell Bead Color Book, and the Geological Rock-Color Chart. Since the Munsell system does not include color names, I advocate for the adoption of Inter-Society Color Council-National Bureau of Standards (ISCC-NBS) names for colors not found in the Munsell Soil-Color Charts. Using a compromise between these nomenclatures, I collated a list of color names and prepared freely available name charts that can be inserted into the books’ bindings. The solutions outlined here will allow archaeologists to describe a fuller spectrum of colors, while maintaining a terminology that is intelligible to their peers and consistent with past publications.     

Trude Dothan (1922–2016): In Memoriam

Abstract

This paper sheds new light on the most common type of pottery associated with advanced phases of Early Bronze I (EB I) in the southern Jordan valley: the distinctive family or group known as Um Hammad Ware, or Proto-Urban D (PUD) Ware. To date, this kind of pottery was thought to be concentrated mostly around the site of Tell Um Hammad. This study presents new evidence suggesting that this ware was dispersed over a region considerably wider than previously understood, and that the centre of its manufacture was probably in the region of western Wadi Far'ah. This paper also explores the possibility that the origins of this family are to be found in the pottery traditions of the Golan region during the Chalcolithic period.     

山东香山汉墓出土陶质彩绘文物材质及制作工艺的初步研究

山东青州香山汉墓陪葬坑出土了数量巨大,种类齐全陶质彩绘文物,尤其是陶马和陶俑上的彩绘保存完好,色彩鲜艳,绘画工艺精湛,非常罕见。为了研究汉代彩绘及其制陶工艺等信息,本研究使用拉曼光谱(RS)、带能谱的扫描电镜(SEM-EDX)、偏光显微镜(PLM)、体式显微镜(OM)、X射线荧光光谱(XRF)、X射线衍射(XRD)、热膨胀仪等分析方法,对出土的陶质彩绘文物进行了分析研究。结果表明这批陶质彩绘文物制作工艺是就地取土,与水混合塑型,在900~1000℃烧制陶胎。其彩绘所使用的颜料均为矿物颜料,其中白色为方解石(CaCO3)、红色为赭石(Fe2O3)和朱砂(HgS)、黑色为炭黑(C)、紫色为人造汉紫(BaCuSi2O6),采用胶料调和颜料调涂刷绘制而成。这批文物的制作工艺属于典型的秦汉时期彩绘陶器的制作方法。研究成果可为相关文物的保护提供科学数据。     

Sponge Spicules in Pottery: New Data from Mali

Abstract

Until recently, the presence of sponge spicules in ancient ceramics has only been reported from South America. Current technological studies of Neolithic pottery from Sudan and Iron Age pottery from Mali provide evidence that sponge spicules are also a distinctive inclusion of some African ceramics. In this study, new data concerning the presence and quantitative variability of sponge spicules in West African Iron Age pottery from sites along the Niger River are discussed. Additionally, we discuss the potential archaeological insights offered by the study of sponge inclusions in pottery, and we consider methods for assessing whether or not these spicules were intentionally added as temper to vessels.     

Panamanian coarse handmade earthenware — a melting pot of African,American and European traditions?

Abstract

Panamanian coarse handmade earthenware is part of the wide-ranging phenomenon of handmade Colono wares common in Latin America and the Caribbean during the colonial and post-colonial periods. This article presents an overview of vessel forms and decoration and discusses the possible influence of different cultural traditions, based on archaeological research in Panama. Comparisons are made with indigenous pottery and with medieval ceramics from southern Spain and North Africa. The results may be seen as a case study highlighting the significance of handmade pottery in relation to processes of ethnic and social identity, cultural interaction and contact.     

Ceramic Petrology and the Study of Anglo-Saxon and Later Medieval Ceramics

Abstract

A SURVEY of archaeological ceramic thin sections held by institutions and individuals in the United Kingdom was undertaken in the early 1990s by the City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit and funded by English Heritage. Over 6,000 thin sections of Anglo-Saxon or medieval date (or reports on their analysis) were located. For the Middle to Late Anglo-Saxon and the post-Conquest Periods, these studies have confirmed that pottery production was carried out in a limited number of centres and that most pottery, including handmade coarsewares, was therefore produced for trade. The distances over which pottery was carried vary from period to period but were actually as high or higher in the Middle to Late Anglo-Saxon Period as in the 13th to 14h centuries. However, for the Early Anglo-Saxon Period (and the Middle Anglo-Saxon Period outside of eastern England) the evidence of ceramic petrology is equivocal and requires more study. These 6,000–odd thin sections represent a resource which could be used for various future studies, some of which are discussed here, and as an aid to their further use a database containing information on the sampled ceramics, their location and publications of their analyses will be published online through Internet Archaeology.     

Molecular evidence of changing foodways across the Mississippian transition at the George Reeves site (11S650)

ABSTRACT

The George Reeves site (11S650) is a multicomponent village on the bluffs in the central American Bottom, Illinois. The site was occupied from the Late Woodland Rosewood phase through the Mississippian Lohmann phase. Pottery use and dietary variation between the Late Woodland and Emergent Mississippian occupations at the site were explored through stylistic analysis, pottery residue analysis, and compound-specific carbon isotopic analysis of pottery residues. Although more samples should be analyzed, diet and pottery use at George Reeves seems to have been varied, with maize present by cal AD 900–1000, but comprising a relatively small portion of lipid residues in pottery. Residue analysis indicates a C₄ presence in 5 of 16 sampled pots from the early Emergent Mississippian deriving from either maize or from meat from animals consuming maize. Pottery residues were mixed, showing C₃ and C₄ plants as well as meat and fish or shellfish. One residue showed a high incidence of C₄ contribution, most likely from Portulaca oleracea (common purslane), as well as large amounts of fish or shellfish and another C₃ plant. Residue from a ceramic pipestem indicates that maize may have been smoked, probably in the form of maize silk mixed with other nontobacco plants.     

AMPHIBIAN AND REPTILIAN IMAGERY IN CADDO ART

Abstract

Although Caddo pottery is most recognized for its nonrepresentative decorative patterns, artists also incorporated zoomorphic figural components into their designs. Amphibian and reptilian depictions occur not only on pottery vessels but also on pipes, figurines, and pendants. Five modes of depiction occurred in the Caddo archaeological area, spanning the period from ca. A.D. 1100 to 1700. These depictions represent local expressions of the Beneath World creatures that were recognized by people across the Eastern Woodlands. These expressions embodied the power of the Beneath World and played a role in mediating with that power in regards to agriculture, travel, death, and political processes. The Caddo people integrated these zoomorphic representations into their distinctive tradition of pottery design, creating a unique cultural expression of a broader cosmological theme that was present throughout the Mississippian tradition.     

Ceramics Technology at Late Classic K’axob,Belize

Abstract

Excavation of a Late Classic Maya platform at K’axob, Belize, has revealed a suite of pit features and associated artifacts that are strongly suggestive of pottery production. Interpretation of the features as remnants of pit kilns used to fire pottery is bolstered by comparanda from the Andean region. Archaeometric and experimental replication studies also support the interpretation of this locale as one of pottery fabrication. Findings discussed include features identified as kilns, raw material suitable for temper, lumps of fired clay, ground stone, and expedient clay-working tools made of recycled pottery sherds. This research contributes to knowledge of the organization of Maya pottery production by providing the most comprehensive information presented to date on the technology of ancient Maya pottery fabrication and firing.     

Report on the pottery from Tell Sufan in Nablus,Palestine

ABSTRACT

This research report aims to give detailed information on the pottery from the 1999 and 2013-16 excavation campaigns taking place at the Tell Sufan site in Nablus, Palestine. These were conducted by the Department of Antiquities at An-Najah National University (ANU) in Nablus. It is of note that this ancient pottery has never previously been the subject of research nor has any literature been published on it. Our methodology consists in: analysing the pottery by identifying it, typifying it, and giving it a function; providing chronological information on the site; comparison of the pottery with that from other sites in Palestine, using archaeological information from the site; and contextualising our findings with other historical and archaeological studies. Examination of the functional use of the pottery allows us to demonstrate human activity at the Tell Sufan site, giving information on the most prosperous phases of occupation in regard to economic aspects, through the late Bronze Age, Iron Age and Byzantine-Early Islamic periods.     

Introduction: recent approaches to pottery and society in the Southeast

ABSTRACT

This article discusses the themes of this special edition of Southeastern Archaeology on modern pottery studies and summarizes the articles included in this edition. Southeastern archaeologists increasingly are applying new theoretical constructs and techniques to ceramic studies. These new techniques, in conjunction with traditional typological analysis, allow archaeologists to approach the study of past peoples from a broader perspective.     

Fort Ancient-Mississippian Interaction and Shell-Tempered Pottery at SunWatch Village,Ohio

Abstract

The use of mussel shell for tempering pottery vessels by Fort Ancient societies is poorly understood. Suggestions have included both diffusion from neighboring Mississippian social groups and local developments, although no studies have investigated whether shell-tempered pottery is non-local or associated with Mississippian features and artifact types within Fort Ancient sites. This study begins to remedy this deficiency by examining the social and temporal contexts and petrographic composition of shell-tempered pottery at the Sun Watch site, a Fort Ancient village located in sw Ohio that was occupied during the height of neighboring Mississippian developments (ca.A.D. 1150–1450). Our findings indicate that shell tempered pottery was not produced locally and is linked with a village leader and Mississippian-inspired architecture.     

以青州为例看山东的可移动彩绘陶质、石质文物

近十几年来,青州陆续有龙兴寺佛教造像和香山汉墓彩绘陶俑出土。这些文物有一个共同特点,即彩绘保存较好,且数量很大。通过对山东其他地区出土的同类彩绘文物的色彩、纹饰等的统计,让我们对山东的彩绘陶质和石质文物的艺术特色有一个综合认识。陶质彩绘文物自大汶口文化时期出现,经历了由实用器到明器的转变,到两汉时期发展到高峰,中国雕塑的最大特色之一塑、绘结合成熟了,对其后的雕塑艺术产生了很大影响。隋唐以后,彩绘陶质明器渐渐走向衰落。目前彩绘石质文物在山东最早见于汉代画像石,在北朝时期的佛教造像上得到极大发展。继承了汉代陶俑塑、绘结合的雕塑形式,将外来的宗教艺术中国化了,其细腻的刻画,对形体比例的准且把握,使中国的雕塑艺术达到了一个高峰。     

BYZANTINE AND UMAYYAD PERIOD POTTERY AT BARSINIA (2006 SEASON OF EXCAVATION)

Abstract

Until recent pottery studies of the ancient Classical and Early Islamic rural sites in northern Jordan were of less interest to archaeologists. This article focuses on the Byzantine and Umayyad period pottery that has been discovered during the first season of excavation at Barsinia in the north-western part of Jordan. Fifty-two indicative pottery sherds were sorted according to their date and function into two main groups: the early Byzantine pottery (fourth–sixth centuries) and the Late Byzantine–Umayyad pottery (sixth–eighth centuries). Since Barsinia is one of the small rural archaeological sites, and such sites were rarely mentioned in ancient literary sources, the study of material remains at such locations is essential for elucidating regional development and trade. It also sheds more light on the relation between the site and the surroundings through the comparative study of the pottery objects.     

The Antiquities Market

Abstract

The computer has not been widely used for the study and analysis of Greek and Roman pottery. Recently at Stobi in Yugoslavian Macedonia a considerable quantity of pottery has been coded according to a system devised specifically for the rather complex situation presented by the wide-reaching market for ceramics in the Greek and Roman periods. The system and coding procedures, as well as the preliminary results of the analysis, are published here in the hope that they will serve as an aid to others working with similar material.     

Using hearths for temper: petrographic analysis of Middle Woodland charcoal-tempered pottery in Northeast Florida

Charcoal-tempered pottery is uncommon in North America, but was produced with notable frequency in Northeast Florida from ca. AD 300–600. Thirty-six thin sections of pottery were analyzed by petrographic analysis and compared to 10 clay samples in order to characterize the paste of charcoal-tempered wares in terms of charcoal and mineralogical composition and abundance, assess the number of clay sources used to make the pottery, identify the species of wood represented in charcoal inclusions, and infer techniques of ceramic production. This analysis identified four temper categories, three texture groups, and three distinct clay resources used to make charcoal-tempered pottery, all of which were likely local to Northeast Florida. Identified wood taxa include pine (Pinus sp.), cedar (cf. Juniperus sp.), cypress (cf. Taxodium sp.), and sassafras (Sassafras albidum), with pine suspected to be the most common. These genera of charred wood, which exhibit minimal shrinkage in the samples, along with the prevalence of bone and grog inclusions, indicate that hearth contents were processed as temper, sometimes in combination with quartz sand. Potential reasons for the use of hearth contents as temper are considered.     

Spectrographic Analyses of Mycenaean Pottery from Ialysos on Rhodes: Results and Implications

Abstract

The changing relations between the important Mycenaean site of Ialysos on Rhodes and the Argolid (in the Greek Peloponnese) during the LH III period (the 15th-12th centuries B.C.) have been studied through the pottery found in the tombs of the cemetery from Ialysos. The results of spectrographic analyses of well characterised and dated pots from Ialysos have made possible a clear distinction between locally produced Rhodian pottery and imports that were primarily from the Argolid. During the LH IIIA2 period the large majority of the cemetery pottery at Ialysos was imported from the Argolid. The same situation pertains in the IIIB period, but there are examples of imported pottery from centres other than the Argolid, such as Crete. In the 12th century B.C. (IIIC), however, the position was completely reversed, and the fine Mycenaean pottery was almost exclusively made on Rhodes.     

Excavations at Potovens,near Wakefield

Abstract

The excavation of pottery and clay pipe kilns at Potovens has indicated the essentially local character of the wares produced and the limited nature of their market. From the late 15th century until the third quarter of the 18th-century potteries were being worked on the margins of the common land north of Wakefield, and documentary evidence provides the names of the potters and details of their activities.     

Wedgwood’s Glazes: A Poetic Sequence Derived from Glaze Chemistry with Contextual Essay

Abstract

The Wedgwoodian heritage of Stoke-on-Trent’s pottery industry is examined from the perspective of an ‘outsider’ and through the double-lens of glaze chemistry and poetics. These glazes, in their acrobatic language and hieroglyphic formulae, formulate a new perception of Stoke. New expressions and perspectives are described that emerge free of a mythologized past and interrupt the narrative of this creative heritage. The poems are as much about demythologized approaches to heritage as they are about identification with a foreign place; a re-psychogeography.