Prehistoric Pottery
of the Ancient Near East
Olivier Nieuwenhuyse
Brno April 2011
3 – Pottery
What do you do with it?
Pots in context
Function?
Technology?
Symbolism?
Date?
What can archaeologists do with sherds?
Foodways? Deposition?
The archaeologist excavates them – and then what??
Lots of sherds
Lots of sherds
Lots of sherds
Lots of sherds
Lots of sherds
Lots of sherds
The archaeologist collects them – and then what?
A pottery specialist!
All sherds? Careful sampling
bulk
processing
all sherds
and/or
sampling
ceramic
technology
residue
bitumen
etc.
fabric
firing
etc.
Interpretation
raw materials
Fieldwork Laboratory
ExcavationsGeomorphology
Statistical
bulk
processing
thin
sections
chemical
analysis
contextual information
pottery data
Setting up your own professional sherd yard
Tell Chagar Bazar
Sherds are fun: a comfortable place in the shade
Tell Sabi Abyad
This is where the action is: sherd migration (“sherd flow”)
2: washing
1: new sherds
3: drying
4: sorting
7: storage
5: counting
6: coding
8: back to earth
Sherdyardogram
No expensive high-tech equipment needed
First step: quantification – how much pottery?
Sorted sherds
How many sherds? Make your own counting sheet
Shape of fragment
Type of pottery
Similar system, different site: Tell Chagar Bazar
To weigh or not to weigh...
Weights: a different measure of quantity
Number of excavated sherds counted
25
3803
22
3994
535
6423
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
L20 L21 M20 M21 N20 N21
Weight of excavated sherds counted (kg)
14,72
104,47
13,46
215,76
37,01
82,19
0
50
100
150
200
250
L20 L21 M20 M21 N20 N21
How much pottery?
Weight: information on 1) fragmentation, 2) size, 3) strength
10,9
15,9
29,8
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
KL7 L7 Nort Area
7000 BC 6500 BC 6200 BC
Time
Shir (Hama Province)
“BMI index”
Average weight of body sherd (Body Mass Index)
Fragmentation: depositional information
Proportions of vessel shape
Complete pot
Complete profile
Rim sherd
Body sherd
Base sherd
Build your own code sheet
Shape
Size
Ceramic technology
Similar system, different site: Tell Chagar Bazar
Measuring rim diameter and thickness
“Excavation is destruction” – well, so is fabric analysis
Quantity, size, and type of non-plastic inclusions
“Pot reading” - looking for traces of the shaping process
Pot reading: traces of the shaping method: coiling
Pot reading: traces of the scraping the exterior surface
Colour: information on raw materials, firing, use, deposition
For instance: completely oxidized or not?
Finally - to restore or not to restore, that‟s the question…
… but if you must … use your mind! (not your marker)
Impossible to remove Water resistant
Penetrating the pottery Very conspicuous
Life after Death – 21th century depositional practices
Helping Salladin: a wall of sherds in the Hama „Azm Palace
Think carefully about your sherd deposition!
Ancient site
Modern site
‫رکش‬ً‫ا‬
! ‫ا‬ً‫شکر‬
Think about your future