Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-pftt2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-21T19:40:35.550Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

M. James Blackman ,
Gil J. Stein  and
Pamela B. Vandiver
M. James Blackman
Affiliation:
Conservation Analytical Laboratory, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20560
Gil J. Stein
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208
Pamela B. Vandiver
Affiliation:
Conservation Analytical Laboratory, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20560
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

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.

Resumen

Resumen

Los arqueólogos usan a menudo medidas de estandarización cerámica como evidencia de producción artesanal especializada. El análisis de desechos de horno correspondientes a cuencos de pasta fina provenientes del centro urbano de Leilan, Siria (ca. 2300 A.C.) ofrece la rara oportunidad deponer a prueba la hipótesis de estandarización utilizando el registro arqueológico de un evento de producción. La microscopía electrónica de barrido, la xerorradiografía, la activación de neutrones, y los análisis métricos de los desechos muestran una extrema uniformidad en las técnicas de manufactura, la composición química y las dimensiones de las vasijas. Sin embargo, cuando se los contrasta con tiestos del mismo tipo de cuenco procedentes de otros contextos en Leilan, se observa un mayor grado de variabilidad composicional. Este efecto de "obscurecimiento acumulativo" es consecuencia del uso de tipos de larga duración procedentes de diferentes talleres. Aun cuando el "obscurecimiento acumulativo" aumenta la variabilidad de las muestras, no obscurece la homogeneidad general de esta cerámica. Nuestros resultados sugieren que la estandarización puede ser un índice confiable de especialización artesanal solamente bajo condiciones de estrecha proximidad espacial y control cronológico sobre el registro arqueológico

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 58 , Issue 1 , January 1993 , pp. 60 - 80
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1993

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References Cited

Akkermans, P. 1990 Operation 3 in the Lower Town. In 1985 Excavations at Tell Leilan, Syria, pp. 542-547, by H. Weiss, Akkermans, P., Stein, G., Parayre, D., and R. Whiting. American Journal of Archaeology 94 : 529–581.Google Scholar
Alchian, A., and Allen, W. 1969 Exchange and Production Theory in Use. Wadsworth Publishing, Belmont, California.Google Scholar
Arnold, D., and Nieves, A. 1992 Factors Affecting Ceramic Standardization. In Ceramic Production and Distribution : An Integrated Approach, edited by Bey, G. and Pool, C., pp. 93–113. Westview, Boulder, Colorado.Google Scholar
Arnold, D., Neff, H., and Bishop, R. 1991 Compositional Analysis and “Sources” of Pottery : An Ethnoarchaeological Approach. American Anthropologist 93 : 70–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Attas, M., Fossey, J., and Yaffee, L. 1982 Variations in Ceramic Composition with Time : A Test Case Using Lakonian Pottery. Archaeometry 24 : 181–190.Google Scholar
Balfet, H. 1965 Ethnographical Observations in North Africa and Archaeological Interpretation : The Pottery of the Maghreb. In Ceramics and Man, edited by R. Matson, Frederick, pp. 161–177. Viking Fund Publications in Anthropology No. 41. New York.Google Scholar
Bates, D., and Lees, S. 1977 The Role of Exchange in Productive Specialization. American Anthropologist 79 : 824–841.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benco, N. 1987 The Early Medieval Pottery Industry at al-Basra, Morocco. BAR International Series 341. British Archaeological Reports, Oxford.Google Scholar
Bieber, A. M., Jr., Brooks, D. W., Harbottle, G., and Sayre, E. V. 1976 Applications of Multivariate Techniques to Analytical Data on Aegean Ceramics. Archaeometry 18 : 59–74.Google Scholar
Bishop, R., Rands, R., and Holley, G. 1982 Ceramic Compositional Analysis in Archaeological Perspective. In Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory, vol. 5, edited by Schiffer, M. B., pp. 275–330. Academic Press, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bishop, R., Canouts, V., DeAtley, S., Qoyawayma, A., and Aikins, C. W. 1988 The Formation of Ceramic Analytical Groups : Hopi Pottery Production and Exchange, A. C. 1300-1600 Journal of Field Archaeology 15 : 317–338.Google Scholar
Blackman, M. J. 1984 Provenance Studies of Middle Eastern Obsidian from the Sites in Highland Iran. In Archaeological Chemistry III, edited by Lambert, J., pp. 19–50. American Chemical Society, Washington, D. C. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blackman, M. J. 1986 Precision in Routine I. N. A. A. over a Two Year Period at the NBSR. In NBS Technical Note 1231, edited by Shorten, F., pp. 122–126. National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, Maryland.Google Scholar
Blackman, M. J. 1992 The Effect of Human Size Sorting on the Mineralogy and Chemistry of Ceramic Clays. In Chemical Characterization of Ceramic Pastes in Archaeology, edited by Neff, H., pp. 113–124. Prehistory Press, Madison.Google Scholar
Blackman, M. J. 1993 Chemical Characterization of Ceramics, Unfired Clay Artifacts, and Source Clays from Tell Leilan, Syria. In The Origins of North Mesopotamian Civilization : Ninevite 5 Chronology, Economy, and Society, edited by Weiss, H.. Yale University Press, New Haven, in press.Google Scholar
Brumfiel, E., and Earle, T. 1987 Specialization, Exchange, and Complex Societies : An Introduction. In Specialization, Exchange, and Complex Societies, edited by Brumfiel, E. and Earle, T., pp. 1–10. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Buccellati, G., and Kelly-Buccellati, M. 1988 Mozan I : The Soundings of the First Two Seasons. Undena, Malibu, California.Google Scholar
Clark, J., and Parry, W. 1990 Craft Specialization and Cultural Complexity. Research in Economic Anthropology 12 : 289–346.Google Scholar
Costin, C. L. 1991 Craft Specialization : Issues in Defining, Documenting, and Explaining the Organization of Production. In Archaeological Method and Theory, vol. 3, edited by Schiffer, M. B., pp. 1–56. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.Google Scholar
DeAtley, S., and Melson, W. 1986 Evaluating Prehistoric Ceramic Clays. Society for Archaeological Sciences Newsletter 9(3) : 3–7.Google Scholar
Feinman, G., Kowalewski, S., and Blanton, R. 1984 Modelling Ceramic Production and Organizational Change in the Pre-Hispanic Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico. In The Many Dimensions of Pottery, edited by Leeuw, S. Van der and Pritchard, A. C., pp. 297–337. University of Amsterdam, Albert Egges van Giffen Instituut voor Prae-en Protohistorie, Cingula VII, Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Flannery, K. 1972 The Cultural Evolution of Civilizations. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 3 : 399–426.Google Scholar
Hagstrum, M. 1985 Measuring Prehistoric Ceramic Craft Specialization : A Test Case in the American Southwest. Journal of Field Archaeology 12 : 65–75.Google Scholar
Harbottle, G. 1982 Provenience Studies Using Neutron Activation Analysis. In Archaeological Ceramics, edited by Olin, J. S. and Franklin, A. D., pp. 67–77. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Henrickson, R., and Blackman, M. J. 1992 Style and Paste : Investigating the Production of Godin III Buff Painted Ware. In Chemical Characterization of Ceramic Pastes in Archaeology, edited by Neff, H., pp. 125–144. Prehistory Press, Madison.Google Scholar
Jomet, A., Blackman, M. J., and Olin, J. 1985 13th to 18th Century Ceramics from the Paterna-Manises Area (Spain). In Ceramics and Civilization, edited by Kingery, D., pp. 235–255. American Ceramic Society, Columbus, Ohio.Google Scholar
Longacre, W., Kvamme, K., and Kobayashi, M. 1988 Southwestern Pottery Standardization : An Ethnoarchaeological View from the Philippines. The Kiva 53 : 101–112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maniatis, Y., and Tite, M. S. 1981 Technological Examination of Neolithic-Bronze Age Pottery from Central and Southeast Europe and from the Near East. Journal of Archaeological Science 8 : 59–76.Google Scholar
Matthiae, P. 1980 Ebla. An Empire Rediscovered. Doubleday, Garden City, New York.Google Scholar
Meijer, D. 1986 A Survey in Northeastern Syria. Netherlands Historical-Archaeological Institute, Istanbul.Google Scholar
Myers, J. E., and Blackman, M. J. 1986 Conical Plates of the Hispano-Moresque Tradition from Islamic Qsar es-Seghir : Petrographic and Chemical Analysis. In La Ceramica Medievale nelMediterraneo Occidentale, pp. 55–68. Edizioni AU'insegna del Giglio, Florence.Google Scholar
Oates, J. 1982 Some Late Early Dynastic Pottery From Tell Brak. Iraq 44 : 205–219.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Orthmann, W. 1986 The Origin of Tell Chuera. In The Origins of Cities in Dry Farming Syria and Mesopotamia in the Third Millennium B. C., edited by Weiss, H., pp. 61–70. Four Quarters, Guilford, Connecticut.Google Scholar
Reade, J. 1968 Tell Taya 1968 : Summary Report. Iraq 30 : 234–264.Google Scholar
Reade, J. 1973 Tell Taya 1972-73 : Summary Report. Iraq 35 : 155–187.Google Scholar
Rice, P. 1981 Evolution of Specialized Pottery Production : A Trial Model. Current Anthropology 22 : 219–240.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rice, P. 1991 Specialization, Standardization, and Diversity : A Retrospective. In The Ceramic Legacy of Anna O. Shepard, edited by Bishop, R. and Lange, F. W., pp. 257–279. University Press of Colorado, Niwot, Colorado.Google Scholar
Schneider, G. 1989 A Technological Study of North-Mesopotamian Stone Ware. World Archaeology 21 : 30–50.Google Scholar
Schwartz, G. 1985 The Ninevite V Period and Current Research. Paleorient 1 l(l) : 53–70.Google Scholar
Schwartz, G. 1988 A Ceramic Chronology from Tell Leilan Operation 1. Yale University Press, New Haven.Google Scholar
Sinopoli, C. 1988 The Organization of Craft Production at Vijayanagara, South India. American Anthropologist 90 : 580–597.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sinopoli, C. 1989 Standardization and Specialization : Ceramic Production at Vijayanagara, South India. In Old Problems and New Perspectives in the Archaeology of South Asia, edited by Kenoyer, J. M., pp. 263–272. University of Wisconsin, Madison.Google Scholar
Stein, G. 1990a Operation 4 : The City Wall. In 1985 Excavations at Tell Leilan, Syria, edited by Weiss, H., Akkermans, P., Stein, G., Parayre, D., and R. Whiting. American Journal of Archaeology 94(4) : 529–581.Google Scholar
Stein, G. 1990b Economic Spheres and Political Structures in Early North Mesopotamian States. Paper presented at the 89th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, New Orleans.Google Scholar
Stein, G., and Blackman, M. J. 1991 Polities and Potters : Compositional and Metric Evidence for the Organization of Specialized Ceramic Production in Early Complex Societies. Paper presented at the 90th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Chicago.Google Scholar
Stein, G., and Wattenmaker, P. 1990 The 1987 Tell Leilan Regional Survey : Preliminary Report. In Economy and Settlement in the Ancient Near East. Analyses of Ancient Sites and Materials, edited by Miller, N., pp. 8–18. MASCA Research Papers in Science and Archaeology, supplement to Vol. 7. University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Stein, G., and Wattenmaker, P. 1993 Settlement Trends and the Emergence of Social Complexity on the Habur Plains (Syria) from the Fourth to the Third Millennium B. C. In The Origins of North Mesopotamian Civilization : Ninevite 5 Chronology, Economy, and Society, edited by Weiss, H.. Yale University Press, New Haven, in press.Google Scholar
Vandiver, P. B. 1987 Sequential Slab Construction; A Conservative Southwest Asiatic Ceramic Tradition, ca. 7000-3000 B. C. Paleorient 13(2) : 9–35.Google Scholar
Vandiver, P. B. 1988 The Implications of Variation in Ceramic Technology : The Forming of Neolithic Storage Vessels in China and the Near East. In Archaeomaterials 2 : 139–174.Google Scholar
Vandiver, P. B. 1993 The Manufacturing Technology of Some Tell Leilan Ceramics. In The Origins of North Mesopotamian Civilization : Ninevite 5 Chronology, Economy, and Society, edited by H. Weiss. Yale University Press, New Haven, in press.Google Scholar
Wattenmaker, P. 1990 The Social Context of Specialized Production : Reorganization of Household Craft and Food Economies in an Early Near Eastern State. Ph. D. dissertation, University of Michigan. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Weiss, H. 1983 Excavations at Tell Leilan and the Origins of North Mesopotamian Cities in the Third Millennium B. C. Paleorient 9(2) : 39–52.Google Scholar
Weiss, H. 1986 The Origins of Tell Leilan and the Conquest of Space in Third Millennium Mesopotamia. In The Origins of Cities in Dry Farming Syria and Mesopotamia in the Third Millennium BC, edited by Weiss, H., pp. 71–108. Four Quarters, Guilford, Connecticut.Google Scholar
Weiss, H. 1990 Tell Leilan 1989 : New Data for Mid-Third Millennium Urbanization and State Formation. Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft zu Berlin, 122 : 193–218.Google Scholar
Weiss, H. 1991a Tell Leilan (Syria). Orient-Express 1991(2) : 3–5.Google Scholar
Weiss, H. 1991 b Diffusion of Mesopotamian Civilization. Paper presented at the 90th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Chicago.Google Scholar
Weiss, H., Akkermans, P., Stein, G., Parayre, D., and Whiting, R. 1990 1985 Excavations at Tell Leilan, Syria. American Journal of Archaeology 94 : 529–581.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilkinson, T. J. 1990 The Development of Settlement in the North Jazira Between the Seventh and First Millennia B. C. Iraq 52 : 49–62.Google Scholar