Archaeologia Polona vol. 30:1992, Special Theme: Pottery as Information Description: 206 pages, drawings, photos, Condition: very good- (stains on cover) Weight: 355g. Price: $15.68 This item is in stock Quantity:

Archaeologia Polona vol. 30:1992, Special Theme: Pottery as Information, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw 1992



Editorial

SPECIAL THEME: POTTERY AS INFORMATION

Ceramology and Medieval pottery research in Poland

Andrzej Buko Ethnoarchacology, experimental archaeology and inference building in ceramic research

James M. Skibo Studying pottery at the level of the assemblage: the pic-slice computer package

Clive Orton and Paul Tyers Metrological aspects of Mcsopotamian pottery of the 3rd millennium bc

Piotr Bieliriski Studies on the organic components in Neolithic pottery dyes

Jerzy Longer and Aleksander Kosko Pottery fragmentation and dynamics of dcpositional processes inside trapeze-shaped features

Slaivomir Kadroiv Identity, similarity, and differentiation: pottery from Zofipole, Cracow Province, Poland

Halina Dobrzanska, Elzbieta Marasik-Bielejec and Maciej Paivlikowski Magica et ceramica: magic and ceramics in Christian Nubia

Bogdan Zurawski Conjoinable sherds and stratificational processes: an example from Wyszogrod, Plock Province, Poland

Zbignieiv Kobylinski and Waldemar Andrzej Moszcsyriski Peasant households, potters, and phasing: Early Medieval ceramics from Podcblocic, Sicdlcc Province, Poland

Paul Barford and Ewa Marczak Alterations of ceramics due to contact with scawater

H. Bearat, D. Dufournier and Y. Nouet Rapid magnetic localisation of pottery kilns

 

DISCUSSION AND CRITICISM

Medieval Arctic Norway: discussion on the book by Przemyslaw Urbanczyk

Comments

Reidar Bertelsen

Ingegerd Holand and John S'.R. Hood

Reply to comments

Pr^emyslaiv Urbancsyk

BOOK REVIEWS


 

 

 

This jubilee issue, the thirtieth volume of the periodical " Archaeologia Polona", is dedicated to the archaeological study of ceramics, and this choice of special theme was not accidental. Pottery from excavations has a specific place in archaeology. Sometimes called the "archaeologist's alphabet", on many sites from the Neolithic to the post-Medieval periods it constitutes the group of material with which the archaeologist most often meets, sometimes the only group. The making of pottery is also one of the most widespread human activities, found as part of the daily life of societies over most of the world during the last few thousand years of its history.

The frequency of the occurrence of pottery throughout recent human history, its relative resistance to the destructive effects of the passing of time and its relationship with the different aspects of the life of past societies, coupled with its capability for morphological and technological differentiation (in synchronic and diachronic aspects) and also rich array of scmiotic features (decoration and symbolic markings) make it a most attractive source of archaeological information. The leading motif of the special theme of this volume is the presentation of various types of information which can be obtained by the archaeologist from the study of ceramics from excavations.

Although little known outside our country, Polish scholars have for many years had a major contribution to make to the study of ceramics as a source of archaeological information. In the field of cthnoarchacology, experimental pottery manufacture, quantification methods, as well as in the use of laboratory techniques, Poland has a long tradition going back several decades. The effects of these activities however were little known, and still arc hardly noticed in foreign literature on the subjects. There arc several causes of this, the language barrier, insufficient co-operation with foreign institutions, and also the deeply-rooted tradition in Poland of the individualism of archaeological investigation. This last factor was caused by a lack of a forum for the exchange of views and methodological advances, and also the lack of wider-conceived investigative programmes.

This situation has recently changed for the better. An important factor for the integration of the scholars working in this field was the founding at the beginning of 1992 of the Pottery Research Group of the Committee of Prc- and Protohistoric Sciences based at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences. This study group is comprised of scholars from many archaeological institutions and representatives of the pure sciences working with them, and allows the exchange of views and information between workers involved...

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