abstract: This project examines the social and economic factors that contributed to the development of a specialist-based economy among the Phoenix Basin Hohokam. In the Hohokam case, widespread dependence on the products of a few concentrated pottery producers developed in the absence of political centralization or hierarchical social arrangements. The factors that promoted intensified pottery production, therefore, are the keys to addressing how economic systems can expand in small-scale and middle-range societies. This dissertation constructs a multi-factor model that explores changes to the organization of decorated pottery production during a substantial portion of the pre-Classic period (AD 700 - AD 1020). The analysis is designed to examine simultaneously several variables that may have encouraged demand for ceramic vessels made by specialists. This study evaluates the role of four factors in the development of supply and demand for specialist produced red-on-buff pottery in Hohokam settlements. The factors include 1) agricultural intensification in the form of irrigation agriculture, 2) increases in population density, 3) ritual or social obligations that require the production of particular craft items, and 4) reduced transport costs. Supply and demand for specialist-produced pottery is estimated through a sourcing analysis of non-local pottery at 13 Phoenix Basin settlements. Through a series of statistical analyses, the study measures changes in the influence of each factor on demand for specialist-produced pottery through four temporal phases of the Hohokam pre-Classic period. The analysis results indicate that specialized red-on-buff production was initially spurred by demand for light-colored, shiny, decorated pottery, but then by comparative advantages to specialized production in particular areas of the Phoenix Basin. Specialists concentrated on the Snaketown canal system were able to generate light-colored, mica-dense wares that Phoenix Basin consumers desired while lowering transport costs in the distribution of red-on-buff pottery. The circulation of decorated wares was accompanied by the production of plainware pottery in other areas of the Phoenix Basin. Economic growth in the region was based on complementary and coordinated economic activities between the Salt and the Gila River valleys. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Anthropology 2013

O presente trabalho tem por objetivo caracterizar e identificar a natureza de recursos cerâmicos brasileiros utilizando métodos físicos não destrutivos. O estudo está inserido na área interdisciplinar da Arqueometria e envolve a participação de pesquisadores do Museu de Arqueologia e Etnografia da Universidade de São Paulo (MAE-USP). As amostras analisadas são de grande interesse arqueológico, pois foram coletadas em uma região do Pantanal sul-matogrossense que possui um complexo processo de ocupação envolvendo diversas tradições culturais, entre as quais a tradição Guarani e a tradição Pantanal. Os fragmentos cerâmicos foram caracterizados através das técnicas de Emissão de Raios X Induzido por Partícula (PIXE) e Fluorescência de Raios X (XRF) para a determinação da composição da matriz da pasta cerâmica e através da técnica de Radiografia Computadorizada para a investigação da estrutura interna das peças. A técnica PIXE permitiu uma caracterização dos elementos majoritários encontrados na matriz cerâmica (Z<26), usados na previsão do valor da densidade da matriz. A técnica XRF foi utilizada para determinar as concentrações elementares com destaque para os elementos minoritários (Z>26, wt%<5%) presentes na pasta cerâmica. Essas técnicas, quando associadas a métodos de análise estatísticos permitiram um melhor entendimento do conjunto de amostras. Os resultados encontrados apontam uma clara diferença na composição elementar das amostras encontradas nos diferentes sítios arqueológicos e pertencentes às diferentes tradições. Com a aplicação da técnica de Radiografia as amostras foram separadas de acordo com a presença de tempero em sua estrutura e através da análise das imagens radiográficas foi determinada a densidade dos fragmentos. Neste trabalho foi possível estabelecer uma relação entre os fragmentos cerâmicos estudados às suas tradições, assim como aos sítios arqueológicos nos quais foram coletados. / The present work aims to characterize and identify the nature of Brazilian ceramics using non-destructive physical methods. The study is inserted in the interdisciplinary area of the Archaeometry and involves the participation of researchers from the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography of the University of São Paulo (MAE-USP). The analyzed samples are of great archaeological interest, as they have been collected in a region of Pantanal in the state of Mato Grosso do sul with a complex settlement process that involves different cultural traditions like the Guarani tradition and the tradition Pantanal. The ceramic fragments were characterized through the techniques of X-ray Emission Particle-Induced (PIXE) and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) to determine the composition of the matrix of the ceramic paste and using the technique of Computed Radiography for the investigation of internal structure of the sherds. PIXE technique allowed a characterization of majoritarian elements found in ceramic matrix (Z < 26) and was used in the prediction of the density of the paste. XRF technique was used to determine the elemental concentration with emphasis on the minority elements (Z> 26, wt% < 5%) presents in ceramic paste. These techniques, when associated with statistical methods of analysis allow a better understanding of the sample set. The results show a clear difference in the elemental composition of the samples found in different archaeological sites and from different cultural traditions. By applying the technique of X-ray samples were separated according to the presence of temper in its structure and through images was obtained the density of fragments. In this work it was possible to establish a link between the studied ceramic fragments to their traditions, as well as the archaeological sites in which they were collected.

Este trabalho buscou sistematizar e analisar artefatos da cerâmica ritual Mochica e Nasca, pertencentes a coleções de diversos museus, cuja morfologia ou iconografia pode ser atribuída às representações de personagens portando ou tocando flautas de pã. Partimos da premissa de que estas representações aparecem em um conjunto de artefatos cerâmicos produzidos de acordo com uma normatização rígida, controlada por elites de poder político-religioso de uma sociedade hierarquicamente estruturada. Assim, a forma como os músicos estão representados na cerâmica pode revelar muito sobre seu papel social, sua relação com as estruturas de poder locais, bem como sobre a simbologia desse instrumento sonoro nas cosmovisões Mochica e Nasca, nos Andes Pré- Colombianos. / This paper aims to systematize and analyse the artifacts pertaining to a variety of museum\'s collections, which iconography or morphology can be ascribed to depictions of characters holding or playing panpipes on Moche and Nasca ritual pottery. We start from the premise that these representations appear in a set of ceramic artifacts produced according to a rigid standardization, controlled by elites holding the political and religious power. Thus, the way these musicians are displayed on pottery can reveal much about their social role, the imaginary place they hold in the minds of the Moche and Nasca peoples, their relation to the worldview and with their local power structures, as well as the symbolism of this instrument to these societies in the Pre-Columbian Andes.

Neste estudo, pretendo realizar um ensaio interpretativo sobre grafismos presentes na cerâmica arqueológica Tupi que compõem parte do acervo de museus e instituições de pesquisa do interior paulista. Para tanto, proponho um diálogo com outras áreas do conhecimento, como a antropologia da arte e a etnohistória. A primeira contribui para o entendimento das relações estabelecidas entre sujeito (pessoa) e objeto, também entendido enquanto agente social, segundo a teoria de Gell. A segunda propõe a leitura crítica de documentos etnohistóricos, entre eles registros de cronistas (a fim de compreender em que contextos sociais o uso de tais peças era recorrente) e também documentos etnográficos, sobretudo àqueles que apresentam narrativas mitológicas das populações de matriz cultural Tupi, pois como apresentou Tochetto (1996), acredito que estes motivos são representativos de fatos e personagens mitológicos. / In this study, I intend to carry out an interpretative essay on Tupi archaeological pottery painting, in which integrates the collection of museums and research institutions in the country side of the state of São Paulo. Therefore, I propose a dialogue with other areas of knowledge, such as Anthropology of Art and Ethnohistory. The first one contributes to understand the relations established between the person and the object, also understood as social agent, according to Gell\'s theory. The second one proposes a critical view of ethnohistorical documents, among them chroniclers\' records (in order to understand in what social contexts the use of such pieces was recurrent) and ethnographic documents, especially those that present mythological narratives of the Tupi peoples. As Tochetto (1996) presented, I believe that these motifs are representative of mythological facts and characters.

This research explores the relationship between social identity, artifact style, and communities of practice in the late prehispanic U.S. Southwest, focusing on how domestic, utilitarian objects and contexts both shape and reflect social identities. During the A.D. 1200s and 1300s, large-scale migration and aggregation occurred over much of the U.S. Southwest, bringing diverse individual and community identities into contact and, potentially, conflict. Within this social context, this research focused on clarifying the relationship between social identities and utilitarian objects and domestic contexts, and how this relationship can elucidate the social history of a community. These issues were explored through analysis of corrugated utilitarian pottery from the sites of the Homol’ovi Settlement Cluster (HSC), a community of seven villages in northeastern Arizona occupied from around 1260 through 1400. The social organization of corrugated pottery production in the HSC was approached from several angles. To identify the number and nature of the ceramic manufacturing communities present during the Pueblo IV occupation of the Homol’ovi area, sherds were submitted for instrumental neutron activation analysis and petrographic analysis. The results of the compositional analyses indicate that ceramic production groups in the Homol’ovi area were not primarily distinguished by access to specific raw material resources. What differentiation there is within the raw materials used by Homol’ovi potters appears to have been determined primarily by village, with the residents of a few villages preferring to use specific clay or temper sources. Both locally produced pottery and ceramics imported into the Homol’ovi area were incorporated into a typological and stylistic analysis. This analysis found evidence of two different production styles in the corrugated pottery assemblage. One appears stylistically similar to pottery produced in areas to the north around the Hopi Mesas; the other appears to be more akin to stylistic traditions practiced in the Puerco area and in the Chevelon drainage. This diversity suggests the presence of multiple immigrant communities co-residing within the HSC. This social diversity is not reflected in the decorated ceramic tradition of the HSC, which largely conforms to the ceramic traditions of the Hopi Mesas. Interrogating the disjuncture in the identities embodied through different categories of material culture, used in different social contexts, provides a framework through which to explore the complex social relationships that characterized Pueblo IV villages formed as individuals and communities negotiated the competing forces of integration and differentiation. This study demonstrates the value of approaching identity from multiple scales. If identity is understood as fundamentally multi-faceted and multi-scalar, even seemingly homogeneous cultural units are characterized by social diversity and the tension that accompanies such diversity. The patterns of production visible in utilitarian corrugated pottery provide a nuanced method of clarifying the complex identities of Ancestral Puebloan communities and assessing social connections and differences between groups.

Tiwanaku IV at Nazacara, Bolivia: Some Notes to a Cultural Chronology   This article discusses two radiocarbon dates associated with Tiwanaku IV ceramics found at Nazacara, a village located approximately 45 kilometers south of Tiwanaku. According to the present study the first traces of this Tiwanaku culture appeared in Nazacara near the beginning of the fifth century. Nevertheless, this first sub-phase does not represent significant change in the traditional ceramic pattern. More important change seems to have started around 550/600 AD when the amount of painted ceramics as well as ceremonial and public ceramic vessels increased precipitously, constituting a more or less pure Tiwanaku IV assemblage. This second sub-phase is interpreted as reflecting even greater changes involved in the incorporation of Nazacara into the domain of the Tiwanaku elite. / Este artículo presenta un análisis, con dos fechados radiocarbónicos, de la cerámica de la época Tiwanaku IV de Nazacara, una localidad situada a unos 45 kilómetros al sur de Tiwanaku. Al parecer, los primeros indicios de la cultura Tiwanaku aparecieron en Nazacara aproximadamente a partir de 400 d.C. No obstante, esta primera subfase no presenta cambios relevantes en el patrón de la alfarería tradicional. El cambio más significativo empezó alrededor de los años 550/600 d.C., cuando la cerámica pintada y las formas de la alfarería ceremonial y pública aumentan radicalmente y presentan rasgos casi puros del estilo Tiwanaku IV. Según el autor, esta segunda subfase probablemente significa la incorporación de Nazacara en el dominio del poder de la elite de Tiwanaku.

Le premier néolithique de la Méditerranée occidentale est représenté par un ensemble d'expressions culturelles polymorphes qui se sont développées au cours du VIème millénaire AEC et qui sont définies traditionnellement par la présence de céramiques imprimées. En traçant la variabilité morphologique et décorative des productions céramiques, on peut suivre les dynamiques de diffusion du Néolithique selon un modèle de progression arythmique, d’est en ouest, caractérisée par un renouvellement continu des composantes technoculturelles.Dans ce cadre, à partir du début du VIème millénaire AEC, la Ligurie se révèle comme un espace particulièrement représentatif des transformations sociales et culturelles en jeu et constitue donc un domaine privilégié pour la compréhension des mécanismes de diffusion néolithique en Méditerranée nord-occidentale. Cette recherche s’est focalisée sur l'analyse technologique de la production céramique pour décoder les systèmes techno-économiques des groupes néolithiques, à travers une étude structurée sur deux niveaux progressifs et complémentaires, du site à l'échelle régionale.Les récentes fouilles effectuées aux Arene Candide (1997-2012) ont documenté en détail une séquence stratigraphique relative aux premières phases du Néolithique et ont fourni de nouvelles et cohérentes données contextuelles. La lecture technologique de l’assemblage céramique issu de ces recherches a permis de reconstruire le système de production céramique en relation avec l’articulation stratigraphique et chronologique, en mettant en évidence une évolution des comportements techniques et stylistiques au cours du VIème millénaire AEC. On a pu ainsi élaborer un modèle de périodisation, fondé sur des marqueurs techno-stylistiques spécifiques des différents horizons chrono-culturels. Ce modèle a été ensuite appliqué dans le cadre d’une révision systématique des céramiques provenant des sites contemporains, répartis entre la région de Finale et le Val Pennavaira, souvent très peu considérées parce que provenant généralement de contextes jugés peu fiables. Cette approche a permis de clarifier l'attribution chronologique et culturelle de ces séries céramiques, en fournissant des éléments pour une reconstruction diachronique des dynamiques de peuplement, et pour l'organisation et la gestion du territoire au cours du VIème millénaire AEC. Ces résultats ont alimenté le débat sur les interactions culturelles dans le bassin occidental de la Méditerranée. / The early Neolithic of the western Mediterranean is represented by a polymorphic set of cultural expressions, traditionally defined by the presence of impressed wares, that developed during the sixth millennium BCE. By tracing the morphological and decorative variability of these ceramic productions, it was possible to outline a model of arrhythmic progression of the Neolithic package diffusion, from east to west, characterized by a continuous renewal of its techno-cultural components. Within this context, from the beginning of the sixth millennium BCE, Liguria is a particularly representative space of the social and cultural transformations that took place in the western Mediterranean and represents a privileged area for the untangling of the mechanisms of Neolithic diffusion in this area. This research focused on the technological analysis of ceramic production in order to decode the techno-economic systems of the Neolithic groups, through an integrated study, which was structured in two progressive and complementary levels, from infra-site to a regional scale.Recent excavations at the Arene Candide cave (1997-2012) documented in detail a clear stratigraphic sequence related to the early Neolithic phases, providing new and consistent proxy data. The technological analysis of the ceramic assemblage resulting from these researches allowed for the reconstruction of the pottery production system in relation to the stratigraphic and chronological articulation, highlighting an evolution of technical and stylistic behaviours during the sixth millennium BCE. This led to the elaboration of a diachronic model, articulated in different chrono-cultural horizons, each characterized by specific techno-stylistic markers. The systematic revision of the pottery from the contemporary sites of the region, mainly distributed between the Finalese region and Val Pennavaira, and often neglected due to their absent or unreliable contextual documentation, was also implemented. This revision allowed for the clarification of the chronological and cultural attribution of these ceramic sets, providing new elements for a diachronic reconstruction of settlement dynamics, as well as of the organization and management of the territory during the sixth millennium BCE, and finally revealed cultural interactions with the western Mediterranean basin.In general, the results obtained by this study increase, both quantitatively and qualitatively, the data relating to the early Neolithic stages of the region, unlocking the informative potential of a holistic approach to the analysis of the ceramic document, even when applied to remarkably fragmentary materials. These new results contribute to the ongoing debate on the complex phenomenon of the neolithization of the western Mediterranean.

The Chimu culture developed on the North Pacific coast of today's Peru in the so-called Late Intermediate Period, i.e. approximately AD 1000 - 1476, after which it was dominated by the Inca. Brief characterization of the Chimu culture, supported by ethnohistorical and archaeological sources, is followed by description of its crafts, especially ceramic technology, morphology and iconography. Artifacts, i.e. object used, modified or made by people, may serve apart from practical also social and symbolic roles. Based on the theoretical background of evolution of power and society, different approaches to the study of artifacts' function, specialization, exchange and social complexity are outlined and tested on the Chimu pottery assemblage from the Ethnologisches Museum in Berlin. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the 1832 available ceramic vessels, lacking the contextual find information, had to focus solely on the formal aspects of the specimens. Interpretation of the obtained results disproves primary position of pottery as means of social - political organization in the Chimu and Chimu-Inca societies (occupied by fine textiles and metal items), but still points out certain non-utilitarian aspects of both Chimu and Chimu - Inca styled pottery which probably represented a secondary socio -...

This research reconstructs site formation processes and activities of the inhabitants of two cave sites in south China, Xianrendong and Yuchanyan, where the earliest pottery in the world has been discovered. The goal is to broaden existing understandings of human behavior of Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene Chinese hunter-gatherers, through the production of data types rarely gathered at a Chinese Palaeolithic site. I use the geoarchaeological technique of micromorphology – microscopic observation of thin sections of oriented intact sediment samples to identify their components and nature – and micro-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (μ-FTIR) a technique used to obtain the molecular composition of materials used here to detect changes associated with fires. In this study, I reconstruct occupational patterns over time and show how flooding events as well as cave-specific climatic patterns, such as freeze/thaw and dripping water affected human choices of living spaces. Analysis of sediments derived from human use clarify details of such activities as building and cleaning fires, and constructing clay surfaces. Analytical results indicate that the inhabitants of Xianrendong maintained fires with consistently low temperatures, while at Yuchanyan through control of oxygenation and preference of wood fuel humans could maintain their fires between 500 and 700 Co for long periods of time. The low temperatures support the hypothesis from a preliminary study of the ceramics that pottery at Xianrendong was made without the use of kilns. Thoroughly consumed wood fuel at Yuchanyan indicates sophisticated pyro-technological knowledge and a possible preference for boiling as a cooking method. Finally, micromorphological analyses confirm the undisturbed nature of the sediments and so corroborate the reliability of a recent radiocarbon date of 20 ka cal BP for the earliest pottery-bearing layers. Micromorphological research reveals these early peoples’ knowledge of the physical properties of fires and clays, as well as their behavior of separating usable space into activity areas. In combination with the published systematic analysis of the faunal and botanical remains and of the material culture from these sites, my results provide a high-resolution account of life in these two sites. This study will be an important precedent for the further, systematic use of these geoarchaeological techniques in Chinese archaeology. / 2020-02-14T00:00:00Z

This thesis is a report on a pottery analysis which was carried out in the laboratory of the Department of Anthropology at Portland State University. The earthenware materials involved were collected from three surface sites on Batan Island, Philippines, during the summer of 1969. The interpretation of these potteries was based upon the direct-historical approach to archaeological research. The use of this method was proposed after a cursory examination of the earthenwares revealed certain general similarities between the archaeological potteries and the ethnographically-known wares produced in the area at the present time. One of the sites was a known habitation, and the wares in this collection were analyzed to determine the characteristic ceramic attributes exhibited by the sherds. A comparison of these attributes with those noted in the collections from the other two sites revealed that the surface treatment and vessel form of all the wares were similar enough to indicate only a minimal amount of functional variation between the sites. Ethnographic data concerning the manufacture and use of contemporary earthenwares in the town of Uyogan, on Batan Island, revealed that these potteries are all strictly utilitarian, and are used primarily in the preparation, handling, or storage of foodstuffs. By inferring similar uses for similar items in the past, the three collections of earthenwares appear to have been directly associated with habitation activities. Ethnographic and archaeological evidence from other areas in the Philippines indicate that the materials from Batan are also comparable to earthenware items produced elsewhere for "kitchen" purposes. The three surface collections of Filipino earthenwares have been analyzed with reference to function and use. It has been found that these materials are representative of the potteries used ethnographically in habitation activities in the area, and that the differences between the three collections may be attributable to diachronic rather than synchronic variation. It is argued that once the characteristic ceramic attributes for any particular site are determined, their functional interdependence with habitation activities can be demonstrated. It is concluded that the direct-historical and ethnohistorical approaches can be utilized in the determination of site activities based upon the archaeological potteries found in them.