A ‘Chaîne Opératoire’ Perspective on Iron Age II Judean Cooking Pots

Abstract

The study presented here deals with the manufacturing technologies of cooking pots in Iron Age II Judah (ca. 1,000-586 BCE). This is the first comprehensive technological study carried out on Iron Age pottery in the Levant and one of the most extensive studies on ancient cooking ware. Two aspects were studied on an assemblage of ca. 500 cooking pots: paste preparation with a highlight on temper analyses as well as fashioning and finishing techniques. The research is conducted as a part of a substantial multi-disciplinary study of cooking ware in Iron Age Judah, combining technological, typological, petrographic, and chemical aspects. New cooking pot types appeared during the Iron Age II, with the apparent existence of regional production centers for cooking pots in this period. The results indicate that the cooking pots were made by three main fashioning techniques, reflecting a stable technical and technological continuity alongside the rise of specialized production in various regional production centers. Temper analysis carried out through petrography shows a slow shift from calcite-calcareous tempering towards quartz tempering (which may be partly or entirely naturally present in the clay selected). These results will also be discussed in relation to the morphological typology of the vessels and petro-fabrics identified in the more extensive study. Resting on several analytical methods, this paper aims to characterize the cooking pot production system, thus providing insights into Iron Age Judah's pottery craft organization.