The Standardization Hypothesis and Ceramic Mass Production: Technological, Compositional, and Metric Indexes of Craft Specialization at Tell Leilan, Syria

Abstract

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.

Evidencias de estandarización en la manufactura de cuencos de La Aguada Orilla Norte (Argentina)

“…Uno de los índices más utilizados para establecer la estandarización consiste en la búsqueda de homogeneidad en las medidas de un conjunto de piezas (Blackman et al 1993;Eerkens y Bettinger 2001;Roux 2003).…”

“…Los estudios etnográficos y etnoarqueológicos (Blackman et al 1993;Longacre 1999;Roux 2003) referidos a estandarización indican que sobre la variabilidad influyen tanto la tasa de producción como las concepciones émicas de estandarización. Los resultados obtenidos en dichos estudios indican que cuando el CV en las medidas de las vasijas varía entre 6% y 9% las mismas pueden pertenecer a una escala de producción pequeña.…”

“…Por otra parte, la estandarización se ha relacionado con el ciclo de vida de cada tipo de artefacto y se considera que, entre otros factores, puede reflejar destreza de los productores, conductas de aprendizaje y replicación, número de productores y preferencias de los consumidores (Rottlander 1966;Longacre et al 1988;Arnold 1991;Rice 1991;Blackman et al 1993;Costin y Hagstrum 1995;Longacre 1999, entre otros).…”

Oceanic Explorations (TA26) : Lapita and Western Pacific Settlement

“…This might be due to the inclusion of vessels that were made by potting communities separated by a century or more, and the production of different-sized pots reflecting functional variation and/or social divisions (Blackman et al 1993). …”

Quantification of Orientation of Pore Patterns in X-ray Images of Deformed Clay

“…medical checkups, non-destructive material analysis, mineral or metallurgical content analysis, X-ray imaging techniques have been demonstrated to provide valuable qualitative data on the internal structure of most of the living creatures and materials. The use of X-ray imaging to assess variability in ceramic fabrication is common in archaeological studies aimed at examining ancient pottery technologies [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. These studies are based on empirical observations that the various deformation rates applied to clay for forming vessels according to different techniques, induce specific structural patterns that may be detected visually on X-radiographs.…”