Materiality of Plaster Vessels: The Problem of Southwest Asian Neolithic White Ware

Abstract

The study of plaster vessels, white ware, from the Late Neolithic Southwest Asia (7000–5000 cal BC) is an untapped source that can provide us with valuable insights into the earliest development of pyrotechnology and Neolithic society. This plaster material is not well known and has not been involved in many studies. Using a symmetrical approach for the case study of plaster ware at Tell Sabi Abyad in Upper Mesopotamia, this article argues that it is crucial to acknowledge materiality in the study of these vessels. The ware resembles pottery in shape, typology, and basic function but is far from it material-wise and in its chaîne opératoire. The material plaster is also often misunderstood and associated primarily with architecture. Therefore, plaster ware stands at the crossroads between being observed as a copy of ceramics and being recognized as portable architecture. This article calls for an interdisciplinary approach, balancing the exact sciences of archaeometry and the theory of materiality. It will also address problems concerning terminology; it proposes replacing the term white ware with “plaster ware” as the most appropriate title for this ware because it can be better understood by a wider audience outside the discipline.