Archaeologists rely heavily on pottery data to make inferences about the past. Although a critical component of such inferences is knowing how the pots were used, archaeologists at present cannot reconstruct accurately pottery function. This research provides the means whereby actual pottery use can be determined from traces that remain on pots. The study focuses on an analysis of nearly 200 vessels collected in the Kalinga village of Guina-ang. Traces, in the form of organic residues, attrition, and carbon deposits, are linked to pottery use activities observed in Kalinga households. The analysis of organic residue focuses on fatty acids absorbed into the vessel wall; samples are taken from Kalinga cooking pots and several types of food. It is found that rice cooking pots can be discriminated from vegetable/meat cooking pots, though individual plant species cannot be distinguished in the latter. In several cases, however, there is conclusive evidence for meat cooking. An analysis of Kalinga "archaeological" sherds was also performed to look at fatty acid preservation. A pottery attrition analysis, similar to the study of lithic use-wear, is also performed on Kalinga pottery. The objective is to understand the general principles in the formation of an attritional trace. Nine areas on Kalinga cooking vessels are found to have attritional patches. The two forms of Kalinga cooking vessels could be discriminated based on attrition. Carbon deposits reflect what was cooked, how it was heated, and some general activities of cooking. Interior carbon deposits result from the charring of food and is governed by the source of heat, intensity of heat, and the presence of moisture. The processes that govern the different types of exterior soot are difficult to identify and several experiments are performed. It is found that soot deposition is controlled by wood type, temperature of the ceramic surface, and the presence of moisture. This research demonstrates that archaeologists can begin looking at organic residues, attrition and carbon deposits to infer how their vessels were used in the past.

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This study presents an analysis of Chinese trade ceramic data from a stratified burial site in the Philippines representing two main proto-historic periods in the 12th and 14th centuries A.D. An ethnographic model constructed from ethno-historical data is used to generate hypotheses which are evaluated by means of quantitative analyses designed to test for social complexity in each period. The results of analyses are then assessed in terms of symbolic patterns derived from the ethnographic model. The research framework includes the construction of a methodological structure designed to incorporate both processual and symbolic approaches to archaeological analysis. The Pila cultural system is treated as an open, non-homeostatic system incorporating tangible and intangible elements, some aspects of which are not amenable to exact definition or measurement. Major areas of focus include the trade sub-system, the social sub-system and the ritual subsystem. Hypotheses test for social differentiation in terms of wealth, descent, social roles, and specialization of function; for hierarchy and centralization in terms of corporate control; for symbolic content of artifacts and ritual patterns; and for culture change in terms of increased social complexity in the later period. Analyses involve the evaluation of quantitative differences in amount of goods; patterns of spatial distribution throughout the site and within individual burials; and comparisons of burial treatment between individuals and between sub-groups. Major areas of theoretical concern include the question of status differentiation in prehistory, and the extent to which inferences can be made from mortuary patterns; the relationship between material culture, social organization and ideology; and the effects of prolonged long-distance trade on the internal complexity of a cultural group. I conclude that in Pila, mortuary patterns represent an accurate reflection of socio-cultural patterns in general. The results of the analyses support the applicability of the ethnographic model of Pila as an egalitarian society with a prominent ideological component in which Chinese ceramics played an important role. I conclude that a recursive relationship is seen to exist between material culture, social organization and ideology. In particular, that the physical characteristics of Chinese ceramics, characterized by durability, resonance, impermeability and light-reflecting glazes, caused them to become closely identified with all aspects of ritual, and to reinforce the ideological patterns of Pila. These ideological patterns include a belief in powerful ancestor and nature spirits which control all aspects of life and death. Associated with this are petitionary rituals of every kind, conducted mainly within the family circle in a one-to-one relationship with the spirits, and involving the use of Chinese ceramics as important ritual objects. The mortuary data also indicates that culture change, characterized by a slight general increase in social complexity, occurred between the earlier and later cultural periods. This increase in social complexity appears to be associated with the long-standing trading contacts with China, in terms of economic impact as well as diffusion of certain cultural elements. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate