This paper presents an analytical study of Late Bronze and Iron Age ceramics and natural clay deposits from the archaeological site of Puig de Sa Morisca in southwest Mallorca, Spain. In our study, we combine petrographic, micropaleontological, mineralogical (X-ray powder diffraction) and textural (laser particle size) analyses of sherds and local clays that may have been used as raw material in ceramic production. This approach allowed us to compare the ceramics' formal characteristics with those observed in nearby plastic clays and assess raw clay procurement and paste preparation. The results indicate the use of local (<500 m distance) calcareous clays throughout the Late Bronze and Iron ages. This raw material was mixed with other coarser clays or crushed calcite, as well as other calcareous tempers, such as breccias or calcarenites, located close to the site. The results demonstrate that the same clay deposit was used to make ceramic vessels following different technological choices and recipes. Thus, local communities established a strong connection with the same raw materials through time that were located within the potters' preferential range of exploitation. C 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
This paper addresses the technological choices observed in Mallorca (Spain) for the production of hand‐made pottery during the Late Bronze and Iron Age. We have conducted a diachronic analysis of the ceramic assemblages recovered from two archaeological sites placed in the same territory by means of X‐ray fluorescence and optical microscopy by thin‐section analysis. The archaeometric characterization of the hand‐made vessels allows us to establish several compositional groups related to the use of different raw materials and certain paste recipes associated with the archaeological sites and periods considered. Thus, this study evidences different productive strategies in each site and across time in the same geographical area.
The morphological and typological study of pottery has traditionally been crucial for organizing excavation records. Hence, a substantial methodological development has encouraged more standardized descriptive and grouping protocols based on mathematical and statistical parameters. However, when compared with the significant growth of related methodology in the last decades, theoretical reflection on the role played by formal description of pottery and the drawing of typological classifications to study ancient societies has been pushed into the background. This chapter enlarges on some of the main approaches for the study of pottery form and, particularly, its typological classification. It also considers their innovative interpretative possibilities when integrated into the Anthropology of Techniques, as a fundamental part of the pottery châine opératoire and the technological traditions regarding potters.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.