This study examines the origins of complex societies in Mesoamerican archaeology, and the “mother culture” versus “sister cultures” debate and whether or not the sharing of ideas and materials, from one or multiple sources, catalyzed internal changes toward greater complexity for some early centers during Formative times, prior to the emergence of cities and states. The examination includes pottery analyses and other contextual observations from the Tayata site, in the Mixteca Alta region, as a marker for larger regional and macroregional developments, and as a means of evaluating the Olmec-centric (mother culture) versus pan-Mesoamerican (sister cultures) viewpoints. Tayata is an ideal case study to examine the emergence of complex societies and interregional interaction for early Mesoamerica because of its initial dates of occupation, its location in one of the “nuclear areas” in the emergence of Mesoamerican civilization, and because of its relationships with other regions and contemporaneous sites. The central research question guiding this study concerns the origin of early decorated, well-finished pottery in the Mixteca Alta, and whether they were imported products from other regions, or local copies, or if it was a simultaneous and mutually influential tradition present not only in the Mixteca Alta and greater Oaxaca area but also in different Mesoamerican regions. The focus of this study is Area A of Tayata, where excavations in 2004 revealed one of the largest pre-urban Formative centers in the Mixteca Alta. Tayata’s growth in social complexity is evident by 900/850 BC, when the site expanded significantly and initiated the construction of non-residential buildings and public spaces far in excess of prior phases of occupation. This data set includes architectural features and other deposits, which permit an analysis that compares the presence, and characteristics of pottery in different contexts. Data generated from this study come from 166 sherds selected for macroscopic fabric analysis, then 141 used for portable X-ray fluorescence analysis (pXRF), and then 60 for applying instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA), show relevant and potential conclusions to understand the local, regional and macroregional exchange and production of pottery. The sample includes utilitarian vessels, such as tecomates, jars, and braziers, and non-utilitarian vessels, such as well-finished vessels of gray and white wares, and focus on pan-Mesoamerican pottery styles identified across Early and Middle Formative times. Samples were from diverse contexts excavated at two different compounds, where Compound 1 shows the earliest material (ca. 1400 BC) and presents clear evidence of multi-craft production; and Compound 2 has later occupation, from Middle Formative to the beginning of Late/Terminal Formative, and its contexts correspond to an elite residence, an adjacent temple, and cremated human and animal burials. Multiple lines of evidence, including pottery production, multicrafting, goods and routes of exchange, architecture, and funerary practices, support the idea that Tayata in the Mixteca Alta, was immersed in social transformations observed across different regions during the Early/Middle Formative (ca. 1400 – 350 BC). Tayata’s interactions with multiple areas related to its local development, showing particularly similarities with the Central Valley of Oaxaca in public constructions, such as the one-room temple, and rituals, such as feasting and funerary practices. Results of macroscopic, contextual, and compositional analyses from Tayata’s pottery, show that pottery production at this site followed both regional and macroregional traditions. Tayata’s imported pottery was primarily associated with a Pacific-coast exchange route that crossed the lowland coastal Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the mountainous Nejapa/Yautepec region, and the highland Central Valleys of Oaxaca, and from there reaching the north of the Mixteca Alta, being a corridor of influence in both goods and ideas to the Formative centers in the region.

Elemental analysis of pottery sherds provided insights on the ceramic production in the Huancabamba Valley (northern highland-Peru) and the way in which the Incas administrate the provinces. The pottery sherds from six archaeological sites selected for elemental analysis indicated the use of similar clay sources in the manufacture of pottery. The production of ceramic vessels took place at the local level without the strict control of the Inca state. The Incas built administrative structures in the Huancabamba Valley in order to maintain control of their road system, which connected the north area of Peru to Ecuador. The ceramic assemblage recovered from Inca sites does not illustrate typical Inca pottery style or decoration from the heartland. The administrative centers built by the Incas throughout the Empire provided the means to support state activities such as pottery production of local wares. In addition, ethno-historic evidence suggests that during the Inca period coastal communities were relocated to highland settlements in order to serve as officers in state facilities, or to maintain the Inca road system. These coastal communities continue producing pottery following the traditional techniques from their homeland.

How did the early colonial regime impact the potter’s craft in the Andes? How can documentary and material evidence of pottery production allow us to better understand that period? This article proposes a methodology to answer both questions. It suggests that it is necessary to use explicit analytic models about potters when dealing with ceramic evidence. In this context, several models about potters are proposed for the early colonial period, and three specific cases showing the diversity of strategies employed by artisans of that period are discussed. / ¿Cómo el régimen colonial temprano afectó el oficio de alfarero en los Andes? Cómo la evidencia documental y material sobre alfarería nos permite comprender mejor ese periodo? Este artículo propone una metodología para responder ambas interrogantes. Con tal objetivo, se sugiere la necesidad de emplear modelos analíticos explícitos sobre alfareros cuando se estudia evidencia cerámica. En este contexto, se proponen algunos modelos alfareros para el periodo colonial temprano y se discuten tres casos específicos que muestran la diversidad de estrategias empleadas por los alfareros en ese periodo.

Questa tesi si propone di offrire un contributo agli studi su un centro situato in una delle aree maggiormente sviluppate nell'Europa nel Tardo Medioevo. La ricerca si basa principalmente sull'analisi dei manufatti ceramici di uso comune (contenitori da dispensa, vasellame da cucina e per altre attività domestiche). In parte l'analisi riguarda il vasellame da mensa. Attraverso lo studio della produzione ceramica, si approfondiscono le fasi di sviluppo e di crisi di un centro urbano fino all' Età Moderna, chiarendone le dinamiche e i processi di trasformazione, nell'ambito dei manufatti di uso comune in correlazione con l'analisi delle fonti scritte e della documentazione archeologica nel suo complesso (in particolare l'archeologia degli elevati e la sintesi delle informazioni da essa derivata). Il centro di Prato costituisce quindi, grazie al un'abbondante documentazione scritta e materiale, un osservatorio privilegiato per lo studio delle dinamiche economico-sociali in Toscana e a un livello più ampio, in Europa tra XIV e XVI secolo. / This analysis aims to contribute to studies on a town situated in one of the most developed areas in Europe in the Late Middle Ages. The research is based primarily on analysis of pottery in common use (containers, cookware and other household activities). Part of the analysis concerns Maiolica Arcaica. Through the study of ceramic production, we will explore stages of development and crisis of an urban center until the 'Modern Age, clarifying the dynamics and transformation processes in the context of the artifacts commonly used in conjunction with analysis of written documentation and archaeological evidence as a whole (particularly the archeology of buildings and synthesis of information derived from it). The center of Prato is then, thanks to the extensive documentation, a privileged observatory for the study of socio-economic dynamics in Tuscany and a broader level, in Europe between the fourteenth and sixteenth century.

Pottery for Celebration and Fame: Ceramic Artisan Production in a Huari Urban CenterRecent excavations at the Huari site of Conchopata have suggested that the southern sector of the large urban center may have served, at least during one occupation phase, as a residential-artisan area where elite and utilitarian pottery was made. This site has yielded hundreds of tools associated with pottery production, including polishers, molds, and multipurpose andesite hoes, along with several firing pit kilns and firing areas as well as the so-called Huari Middle Horizon ceramic "offerings".In this paper, we examine the spatial distribution and contexts of pottery-making tools, firing areas, and "offerings" within the architecturally defined rooms, plazas, and D-shaped structures. We conclude that the potters of Conchopata both lived and worked in this part of the settlement. They were highly specialized potters who likely belonged to the elite households and produced pottery and other ceramic objects for ceremonial and domestic purposes in workshops that were located inside, or adjacent, to large household compounds. This form of pottery production does not fit traditional organizational models, but instead appears to reflect a new type of craft production arrangement in the Huari imperial heartland. / Excavaciones recientes en el sitio de Conchopata, en el valle de Ayacucho, sugieren que el sector sur de este gran centro urbano puede haber servido, por lo menos durante una fase de su ocupación, como un área residencial-artesanal donde se produjo cerámica de elite y doméstica. Los trabajos en este sitio han sacado a luz cientos de herramientas relacionadas con la producción alfarera, incluyendo alisadores, moldes y azadas de andesita de uso múltiple, así como varias áreas de quema de cerámica en forma de pozo o en área abierta ubicadas directamente encima de los pisos y las "ofrendas" del Horizonte Medio.En este trabajo se analizan la distribución espacial y los contextos de las herramientas utilizadas en la producción alfarera, de las áreas de quema y de las «ofrendas» en espacios arquitectónicos, patios y estructuras en forma de "D". Se concluye que los alfareros de Conchopata vivieron y trabajaron en esta parte del asentamiento, que eran bastante especializados y que, probablemente, pertenecieron a familias que produjeron cerámica para el uso diario y ceremonial en talleres ubicados dentro de sus grandes viviendas o adyacentes a ellas. Esta forma de producción alfarera no comparte rasgos con los modelos tradicionales de organización de la producción, sino que parece reflejar un nuevo tipo de organización de producción andina en el corazón del imperio Huari.

Ce travail de thèse s'intègre dans le vaste débat de la néolithisation de la Grande-Bretagne et de l'Irlande (c. 4000 BC - 3500 BC). La question des liens entre les Îles Britanniques et le continent semblent aujourd'hui indéniables. Toutefois les modalités d'apparition et de développement du Néolithique sont, elles, encore mal connues. La présente étude porte sur l'analyse de la culture matérielle et plus particulièrement sur les productions céramiques, à partir d'un échantillonnage effectué à la fois en Grande-Bretagne, en Irlande, et sur le proche continent. Par ailleurs un pan analytique, jusqu'ici quelque peu délaissé dans les Îles Britanniques, a été mis à profit : l'étude technologique des productions céramiques. Deux interrogations majeures ont été formulées quant à l'arrivée et au développement des productions céramiques. La première concernait la détermination de styles de productions sur l'archipel et l'apparition d'identités culturelles liées à des traditions potières. La deuxième visait à identifier des aire(s) d'influences continentales à l'origine des productions de l'archipel. Les résultats obtenus, selon une approche multi-focale, tendent à illustrer deux grandes aires d'influences durant les premiers siècles du Néolithique (entre c. 4000 et 3700/3650 cal BC), d'une part sur la façade atlantique et l'ouest de la Manche, et d'autre part sur la façade de la Mer du Nord et l'est de la Manche. Ces grandes aires d'influences renseignent alors sur les modalités de néolithisation, vraisemblablement différentielles entre une façade occidentale et une façade orientale. Plus tard, les productions céramiques se régionalisent, développant des thèmes décoratifs pour certaines très élaborées (entre c. 3700/3650 et 3300/3200 cal BC) ; paradoxalement ces productions développent pour la plupart les mêmes codes stylistiques servant à les individualiser les unes des autres, mettant ainsi en exergue une nette accentuation des transferts de savoir-faire, à travers des réseaux d'échanges de plus en plus prégnants. / This Ph.D. thesis takes part to the vast debate of Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in Britain and Ireland. The bonds between the British Isles and the Near Continent are undeniable. Rather, the form(s) the transition took is (are) still to be understood. This work is an accurate analysis of material culture, more specifically pottery production ; sampling was made in order to address questions regarding Britain, Ireland and the Neat Continent. Moreover, a specific type of analysis, usually avoided in British studies, is here promoted : technological study of pottery production. This topic addressed the question of the determination of production styles as well as the appearing of cultural identities during that period. The second question that has been dealt with here is the continental areas of influence. The results obtained, following a multiscalar analysis, shed light on two wide areas during the first centuries of Neolithic (between c. 4000 and 3700/3650 cal BC), on the one hand on the Atlantic façade and western Channel and on the other hand on the North Sea façade and eastern Channel. These areas can thereafter inform on the transition modalities that, in all likelihood, are divergent from one area to the other. Later, pottery productions seem to find a regional basis, developing, for most of them, elaborate decorative patterns, probably used as a means of recognition. Interestingly, these productions seem to rely on the same stylistic codes that are used afterwards in the recognition process, highlighting the gradual emphasis on know-how transmission, through more and more significant exchange network.

This thesis is a comprehensive investigation of the transport containers produced in Roman Sicily over a chronological period composed of five phases: Early Roman period (30 BC–AD 100); Middle Roman period (AD 100–300); Late Roman period (AD 300–440); Vandal Perios (AD 440/535) and Early Byzantine period (AD 536/600). The research investigates the production and transportation of Sicilian foodstuffs (especially wine) from the major ports of the island to Mediterranean ports and northern Europe. The results demonstrate the wide distribution of Sicilian amphorae and their important role within the wider economy of the Roman Empire. The importance of this research lies in the fact that, despite the agricultural prosperity of Sicily in the Roman Period and its strategic topographical position, transport amphorae remain understudied especially in economic terms. In regards to typology, chronology and distribution, our current knowledge of regional containers has not reached a level comparable to that of amphorae manufactured in other territories. The key discussion focuses on the commercial dynamics of Roman Sicilian amphorae from local, regional and Mediterranean-wide perspectives. The research aims to outline the distribution trends of Sicilian amphorae, looking at the different relative quantities of each amphora type and consequently the extent to which they are present in regions inside and outside Sicily, while considering presences and absences within the more general and homogeneous context of the Mediterranean basin. The organisation of Sicilian amphora production is also tackled through the presentation of probable production sites and excavated kilns. Using these examples, the study investigates the management of production of these containers on the island. The initial data obtained by this research represents a first step in determining differences between Sicilian amphorae workshops producing amphorae — therefore trading wine — for Mediterranean export and manufacturing sites specializing in local/regional trade. Other key achievements include the creation of a new illustrated typology with profile drawings of all the amphora forms and a summary and catalogue of Sicilian amphorae fabrics. In the thesis, the results of archaeometric analysis (thin-sections) carried out on more than 120 Sicilian amphora samples, provided by numerous institutions in Sicily and abroad, are presented. These results add significantly to our knowledge of the fabric composition, manufacture technology, origin and consequently movement of these amphorae around the Mediterranean over six centuries. More generally the research shows that the study of Sicilian material culture along with archaeological evidence is essential for recording the economic dynamics of Sicily, with the intent of dispelling the stereotype that Sicily's primary role was as a grain supplier to Rome. Besides grain — widely produced and exported throughout the imperial period, as attested by ancient sources and inscriptions — the archaeological evidence clearly indicates the export of foodstuffs, especially wine, at an inter-provincial level from the 1^st until the second half of the 6^th century AD.

Michal Zezula: Selected issues in the High Medieval transformation of the Moravian- Silesian border region (evidence from archeological sources) This study consists of three chapters and focuses on the Moravian-Silesian border region and its transformation during the High Middle Ages (in the 13th century). For most of the Early Middle Ages, this region lay on the boundary between the early Bohemian and Polish states, and after being annexed to the Přemyslid territories at the end of the 12th century it underwent fundamental changes, which are symbolized by the early emergence of institutionalized towns within the Bohemian Lands. The first chapter focuses on the Golensizi region in the Early Middle Ages, particularly on the village of Holasovice, which has attracted the attention of archeologists and historical researchers for over two centuries. Based on an assessment of older and more recent archeological discoveries and surveys, the significance of the location during the second half of the 12th century and the first half of the 13th century has been determined. Although there is at present no relevant archeological information which would provide evidence of the role played by Holasovice in the structures of the Piast state, its status as a local- level administrative centre in the Přemyslid-controlled...