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Book Description

Daniel Albero Santacreu presents a wide overview of certain aspects of the pottery analysis and summarizes most of the methodological and theoretical information currently applied in archaeology in order to develop wide and deep analysis of ceramic pastes. The book provides an adequate framework for understanding the way pottery production is organised and clarifies the meaning and role of the pottery in archaeological and traditional societies.

The goal of this book is to encourage reflection, especially by those researchers who face the analysis of ceramics for the first time, by providing a background for the generation of their own research and to formulate their own questions depending on their concerns and interests. The three-part structure of the book allows readers to move easily from the analysis of the reality and ceramic material culture to the world of the ideas and theories and to develop a dialogue between data and their interpretation.

Daniel Albero Santacreu is a Lecturer Assistant in the University of the Balearic Islands, member of the Research Group Arqueo UIB and the Ceramic Petrology Group. He has carried out the analysis of ceramics from several prehistoric societies placed in the Western Mediterranean, as well as the study of handmade pottery from contemporary ethnic groups in Northeast Ghana.

Table of Contents

  1. Preface
  2. Part I: Materiality, Archaeometry & Analythical Methods
  3. 1 Introduction: Ceramic Archaeometry and Paste Analysis
  4. 2 Sampling Strategies
  5. 3 Analytical Methods
  6. 4 Analytical Data and the Life Cycle of Ceramics
  7. Part II: Materials, Techniques & Chaînes Opératoires
  8. 5 Techniques, Chaîne Opératoire and Technology
  9. 6 Clay Selection and Procurement
  10. 7 Clay Extraction
  11. 8 Paste Preparation
  12. 9 Forming Methods
  13. 10 Drying Process
  14. 11 Surface Treatments
  15. 12 Firing Process
  16. 13 Raw Materials, Techniques and Sequences: Fabrics
  17. 14 The Role of Ethnoarchaeology and Experimental Archaeology in the Study of Ceramics
  18. Part III: The Social Context: Ceramic Technology, Archaeometry & Theoretical Trends
  19. 15 Analytical Levels and Scopes in Ceramic Archaeometry
  20. 16 Ceramic Technology and Theoretical Perspectives
  21. 17 Ceramic Ecology
  22. 18 Functionalist Approach
  23. 19 Social Theory of Technology
  24. 20 The Organisation of Pottery Production
  25. 21 Change and Stability in Pottery Production
  26. Final Reflections
  27. References
  28. List of Figures
  29. Index