Radiocarbon approaches for mapping technological change: The spread of the potter’s wheel in the Iberian Peninsula, 1000–0 BCE

Groot, B. de; Bloxam, Anna

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.103288

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 35 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Workshop production implies a level of craft specialisation, which tends to occur during processes of intensification of production, in relation to a growing need for specific consumer goods [11][12][13][14][15][16]. In the Iberian Peninsula, the spread of the potter's workshop is an asymmetrical process, with regional variation in the contexts and speed of its introduction [17][18][19][20]. Pottery workshops first appear on the southern Iberian coastline, in the context of Phoenician trading colonies, which were established during the 9 th and 8 th centuries BCE [17,20,21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the Iberian Peninsula, the spread of the potter's workshop is an asymmetrical process, with regional variation in the contexts and speed of its introduction [17][18][19][20]. Pottery workshops first appear on the southern Iberian coastline, in the context of Phoenician trading colonies, which were established during the 9 th and 8 th centuries BCE [17,20,21]. In such contexts, ceramic production forms part of an economic strategy based on the trade of foodstuffs in custom-made amphorae and luxury tableware.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Capturing technological crossovers between clay crafts: An archaeometric perspective on the emergence of workshop production in Late Iron Age northern Spain

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the Iberian Iron Age, the transition to workshop-based pottery production involved the use of innovative tools (the potter’s wheel and kiln) and dedicated workspace. This facilitated an intensification of production, with repercussions for consumption practices and the economy. Cross-craft comparison can contribute to understanding the transmission processes underpinning this transition, as well as its impact on local craft traditions. This paper discusses an archaeometric methodology to compare the technological procedures underpinning different clay crafts to reveal crossovers and divergences that are meaningful for understanding cross craft interaction and the spread of technological innovations. We use thin-section ceramic petrography, X-Ray Fluorescence, Inductively Coupled Plasma–Mass Spectrometry, and X-Ray Diffraction to analyse the mineralogical and geochemical compositions and levels of standardisation in hand-made pottery, wheel-made ceramics, and ceramic building materials from the Late Iron Age oppidum of Monte Bernorio (Aguilar de Campoo, Palencia) and the kiln site of El Cerrito (Cella, Teruel). The results demonstrate that wheel-made pottery was produced according to a highly uniform clay preparation and clay selection procedure, which spanned the northern Iberian Plateau and largely existed in isolation from local pottery traditions. At Monte Bernorio, wheel-made pottery was made on-site from non-local clays, suggesting that suitable clays were brought to the site, perhaps by itinerant potters working on a seasonal basis. Technological traditions were thus largely polarised, demonstrating that knowledge, skills, and markets relating to workshop-produced pottery were enacted by a segment of society operating as part of a closed technological system.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Capturing technological crossovers between clay crafts: An archaeometric perspective on the emergence of workshop production in Late Iron Age northern Spain

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Convergent Evolution of Prehistoric Technologies: the Entropy and Diversity of Limited Solutions

Diachenko,

Rivers,

Sobkowiak-Tabaka

2023

J Archaeol Method Theory

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Linking the likelihood of convergent evolution to the technologies’ complexity, this paper identifies the scales of technological diffusion and convergence, i.e., the evolving of structures that are similar, but not related to a common “ancestor.” Our study provides quantitative measures for understanding complexity and connectivity in technologies. The utility of our approach is exemplified through the case study of Cucuteni-Tripolye pottery kilns in Chalcolithic Southeastern Europe. The analysis shows that technological evolution has to be scaled to the “technologically important” (in quantitative terms) component parts, whose introduction shapes a ground for extinction and self-evolvement caused by the cascade effects along technological design structure. Similar technological solutions to the technological design structure engender the spread of similar devices in various locations. Surprisingly, such a broad distribution may be the result of relatively low internal diversity, rather than arising from higher efficiency. This gives some reasons for the underestimation of convergence as a mechanism for evolution of technology in current prehistoric archaeology.

show abstract

Technological dynamics of Early Iron Age ceramics from the Heuneburg (SW Germany): A synthesis of 50 years of research

Groot

Braekmans

Fernández-Götz

et al. 2023

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper addresses technological dynamics revealed through raw material analyses of Late Hallstatt (seventh–fifth centuries BCE) ceramics from the famous Heuneburg site (Herbertingen-Hundersingen, SW Germany). The study combines, for the first time, separate sets of thin-sections produced over the last 50 years in order to provide a comprehensive and consolidated characterisation of technological changes in ceramic production taking place at the site during the Hallstatt phases D1 to D3. It provides significant new insights into the relation between raw material procurement and preparation, on the one hand, and changes in ceramic typology and production methods, on the other hand (i.e. the introduction of the potter’s wheel). The results reveal a shift from a broad spectrum of fabrics tempered with grog, sand or crushed calcite in phase Hallstatt D1, to the increasing use of non-calcareous, grog or sand-tempered fabrics. The new wheel-turned pottery (appearing from phase Hallstatt D3) is exclusively produced using a non-calcareous clay, often tempered with fine sand, indicating a specialisation in raw material selection alongside the introduction of novel shaping techniques. Evidence of continuity between the fabrics used in phase Hallstatt D1 and the new wheel-turned pottery suggests craft specialists drew upon established technological knowledge to integrate the potter’s wheel. The adoption of the potter’s wheel was likely also stimulated by the increased demand for new vessels to accommodate the consumption of fermented drinks such as grape wine, fruit wine or beer.

show abstract

Radiocarbon approaches for mapping technological change: The spread of the potter’s wheel in the Iberian Peninsula, 1000–0 BCE

Cited by 3 publications

References 35 publications

Capturing technological crossovers between clay crafts: An archaeometric perspective on the emergence of workshop production in Late Iron Age northern Spain

Capturing technological crossovers between clay crafts: An archaeometric perspective on the emergence of workshop production in Late Iron Age northern Spain

Convergent Evolution of Prehistoric Technologies: the Entropy and Diversity of Limited Solutions

Technological dynamics of Early Iron Age ceramics from the Heuneburg (SW Germany): A synthesis of 50 years of research

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About