A typology was established for more than 5000 ceramic artifacts at Dolni Vestonice, Czechoslovakia. Conjectured methods of manufacture were confirmed by radiography. The compositions and mineralogy of the artifacts were identical to those of the local soil, loess. A firing temperature range of 500 degrees to 800 degrees C was measured and compared with those of hearths and kilns. The mechanism of sintering was impurity-initiated, liquid-phase sintering. Many fracture sections show evidence of thermal shock, although thermal expansion of the loess is low. The making, firing, and sometimes exploding of the figurines may have been the prime function of the ceramics at this site rather than being manufactured as permanent, portable objects.

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Archaeologists often use measurements of standardization in ceramics as evidence for specialized craft production. Analysis of fine-ware bowl kiln wasters from the urban center of Leilan, Syria (ca. 2300 B.C.) provides a rare opportunity to test the standardization hypothesis against the archaeological record of a single production event. Scanning-electron microscopy, xeroradiography, neutron activation, and metric analyses of the wasters show extreme uniformity in manufacturing technology, chemical composition, and vessel dimensions. However, when contrasted with sherds of the same bowl type from other contexts at Leilan, a higher degree of compositional and metric variability is observed. This "cumulative blurring" effect stems from the use of long-lived types from multiple workshops. Although "cumulative blurring" increases sample variability, it does not obscure the overall homogeneity of these ceramics. Our results suggest that standardization can be a reliable index of craft specialization only under conditions of close spatial and chronological control over the archaeological record.

Archaeologists often use measurements of standardization in ceramics as evidence for specialized craft production. Analysis of fine-ware bowl kiln wasters from the urban center of Leilan, Syria (ca. 2300 B.C.) provides a rare opportunity to test the standardization hypothesis against the archaeological record of a single production event. Scanning-electron microscopy, xeroradiography, neutron activation, and metric analyses of the wasters show extreme uniformity in manufacturing technology, chemical composition, and vessel dimensions. However, when contrasted with sherds of the same bowl type from other contexts at Leilan, a higher degree of compositional and metric variability is observed. This "cumulative blurring" effect stems from the use of long-lived types from multiple workshops. Although "cumulative blurring" increases sample variability, it does not obscure the overall homogeneity of these ceramics. Our results suggest that standardization can be a reliable index of craft specialization only under conditions of close spatial and chronological control over the archaeological record.

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Afin de saisir les techniques de fabrication et de production de la poterie utilisées entre 7000 et 3000 avant J.-C, dans le Zagros, région montagneuse du Sud-Ouest asiatique, et afin de spécifier les modes de changement technologique, il fut procédé à l'examen macroscopique de 40 000 fragments et à l'analvse des microstructures de 4 000 tessons. Pour mieux évaluer tant la rapidité des changements technologiques observés que le rôle de certains facteurs contraignants (propriété des argiles, disponibilité des matières premières) et pour mieux apprécier l'importance à accorder aux phénomènes de transmission culturelle, il fut nécessaire de déterminer la structure des argiles, des dégraissants, puis d'entreprendre des simulations et d'analvser les résultats de celles-ci. Trouver et développer certaines normes qui puissent être comparées avec les structures observées dans les poteries anciennes devint une nécessité. Ces normes purent être établies grâce à des simulations faisant appel à certains types de matériaux et de procédés technologiques, à l'observation de leurs effets sur la structure de la poterie, à l'examen de poteries grossières provenant de deux milieux actuels (Cucume en Turquie du Sud-Est et Mehrgarh au Pakistan) et également à celui de la structure de poteries fabriquées avec des techniques utilisées par des artisans et artistes contemporains. Les sites d'où provient la poterie étudiée sont 1) Hajji Firuz, Dalma et Pisdeli tépés dans le nord du Zagros, 2) Ganj Dareh, 3) Sarab, 4) Seh Gabi dans le Zagros central, 5) Choga Sefid, Tepe Sabz, Tepe Farukhabad dans la steppe longeant le Zagros méridional, 6) Tepe Yahya sur le plateau iranien. Pour déterminer l'extension géographique des techniques observées dans le Zagros, de la poterie provenant d'autres sites d'époque néolithique et chalcolithique du Proche-Orient fut examinée : Hassuna, Samarra, Jéricho, Halaf Chagar Bazar ainsi que celle de sites localisés aux franges de la zone de culture proche-orientale tels que Merimde et Mostegedda en Egvpte, Mersin en Turquie du Sud-Est et Mehrgarh près du Bolan Pass au Pakistan.

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