A new method for identifying sherd refits: A case study from the Neolithic of Northumbria, U.K.

Abstract

Here we present a flexible, quantitative methodology for refitting handmade ceramics. Rather than analyzing the physical joins between sherds, we assess the likelihood that non-adjoining sherds of similar appearance are from the same vessel. The customary disregard of non-adjoining sherds in refitting experiments prompts us to address this issue. Using the Neolithic ceramic assemblage from Thirlings (Northumberland, U.K.) as a case study, we test several scoring systems for assessing the probability of two sherds pertaining to the same vessel. The utility of this approach is supported by the comparison of a set of percentage scores statistically verified using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. We conclude with a discussion of the contribution of the new method to post-excavation ceramic analyses, and its applicability to other assemblages.

Matching sherds to vessels through ceramic petrography: an Early Neolithic Iberian case study

“…The use of ceramic thin section analysis to collate paired sherds has relied upon technological criteria such as the type, amount, size, roundness and sorting and homogeneity of inclusions, their distribution in the fabrics, core color, color of the fabric and the presence of voids and cracks. Ceramic petrography has independently tested a series of preliminary macroscopic associations based upon a systematic scoring template (Blanco-González and Chapman, 2014). The results show the reliability of the initial observations, but that only further archaeometric methods can confirm or reject them.…”

“…2 understanding of results achievable from sherd re-fitting, leading to an underappreciation of the broad informative potential of this practice (Blanco-González and Chapman, 2014). Indeed, secure ceramic matches constitute a rare, random and unrepresentative subset (Sullivan, 1989: 104) out of the array of associations actually recognizable between potsherds, necessitating the development of methods that can securely identify these associations.…”

“…thickness, decoration, surface treatment, core color and inclusions, etc. -between sets of sherds observed with a hand-lens, filling in a scoring template that has been presented elsewhere (Blanco-González and Chapman, 2014). This allowed the recording of a total of 72 such sherds-to-vessel associations, each one involving between 2 and 42 sherds: 148 cases constituted 'physical' or 'directly' adjoining sherds, including already glued pieces (e.g.…”

Revisiting the Chalcolithic site of El Ventorro (Madrid, Spain). Ceramic Re-fitting and Taphonomy

“…1; Beadsmore et al 2010, 126). In order to assess the likelihood of these sherd-to-vessel associations, a scoring template was used to express such relevant observations in terms of inter-sherd matching probability (Blanco-González & Chapman 2014).…”

“…The re-fitting operation (Table 6) has yielded 310 sherd-to-vessel associations comprising 730 potsherds, involving 2–11 sherds per refit; 39 of these cases are physically matching sherds, and the remainder are possible matches lacking a direct refit. According to our scoring template for non-adjoining sherds (Blanco-González & Chapman 2014), these cases feature medium–high probability re-fits (75–90%). Regarding the type of refit, 96% of these connections are intra-feature refits, linking sherds within the same depositional context – the vast majority within ‘Pithouse 013’ (Table 6, Fig.…”