Pottery in Archaeology
Pottery in Archaeology
This revised edition provides an up-to-date account of the many different kinds of information that can be obtained through the archaeological study of pottery. It describes the scientific and quantitative techniques that are now available to the archaeologist, and assesses their value for answering a range of archaeological questions. It provides a manual for the basic handling and archiving of excavated pottery so that it can be used as a basis for further studies. The whole is set in the historical context of the ways in which archaeologists have sought to gain evidence from pottery and continue to do so. There are case studies of several approaches and techniques, backed up by an extensive bibliography.
- Provides an up-to-date manual for the archaeological study of pottery, accessible to both specialists and non-specialists
- Describes techniques and analysis which are applicable to the study of pottery of any period or region
- Gives practical advice within a theoretical framework
Reviews & endorsements
'… its aspiration [is] to enthuse and inspire … Remarkably, and despite the great breadth of its content, it does both of these things and should entice hordes into the pot shed and keep them effectively employed there. This is how textbooks should be written.' Antiquity
'… the organization of a volume of this scope is a daunting task. Readers can pick and mix relevant chapters. Allowing such flexibility in use without losing consistency is probably Pottery in Archaeology's biggest feat. In its second edition, [it] is still one of the most accessible and authoritative pottery manuals [and] will be of interest to any scholar of the Roman period who finds herself faced with a table of potsherds or … [trying] to get to grips with the value of pottery evidence.' Astrid Van Oyen, The Journal of Roman Studies
Product details
June 2013Hardback
9781107008748
356 pages
260 × 183 × 27 mm
0.87kg
58 b/w illus. 3 maps 9 tables
Available
Table of Contents
- Part I. History and Potential:
- 1. History of pottery studies
- 2. The potential of pottery as archaeological evidence
- Part II. Practicalities: A Guide to Pottery Processing and Recording:
- 3. Integration with research designs
- 4. Life in the pot shed
- 5. Fabric analysis
- 6. Classification of form and decoration
- 7. Illustration
- 8. Pottery archives
- 9. Publication
- Part III. Themes in Ceramic Studies:
- 10. Making pottery
- 11. Archaeology by experiment
- 12. Craft specialisation and standardisation of production
- 13. Pottery fabrics
- 14. Form
- 15. Quantification
- 16. Chronology
- 17. Production and distribution
- 18. Pottery and function
- 19. Assemblages and sites
- Conclusion: the future of pottery studies.
