Pottery in Archaeology

by Clive Orton, Michael Hughes

Overview

This revised edition provides an up-to-date account of the many different kinds of information that can be obtained through the archaeological study of pottery. It describes the scientific and quantitative techniques that are now available to the archaeologist, and assesses their value for answering a range of archaeological questions. It provides a manual for the basic handling and archiving of excavated pottery so that it can be used as a basis for further studies. The whole is set in the historical context of the ways in which archaeologists have sought to gain evidence from pottery and continue to do so. There are case studies of several approaches and techniques, backed up by an extensive bibliography.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781107423923
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	05/13/2013
Series:	Cambridge Manuals in Archaeology
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	66 MB
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About the Author

Clive Orton is Emeritus Professor of Quantitative Archaeology at the University College London Institute of Archaeology. He has won the London and Middlesex Archaeological Society Ralph Merrifield Award for service to London Archaeology and the British Archaeological Awards Lifetime Achievement Award. He is a member of the Archaeology Data Service Management Committee, a member of the advisory board for the Journal of Quantitative Archaeology, the editor of London Archaeologist, a member of the editorial board for Archaeologia e Calcolatori, chairman of Southwark and Lambeth Archaeological Excavation Committee and chair of Gresham Ship Steering Committee. His most recent books include The Pottery from Medieval Novgorod and its Region (2006) and Sampling in Archaeology (2000).
Michael Hughes was Principal Scientific Officer at The British Museum, Department of Conservation and Scientific Research and Senior Lecturer in Forensic Science and Bioscience at the University of East London. His work has been published in Archaeometry, the Journal of Archaeological Science, Studies in Conservation, Medieval Archaeology, Medieval Ceramics and the Oxford Journal of Archaeology, among others.

Table of Contents

Part I. History and Potential: 1. History of pottery studies; 2. The potential of pottery as archaeological evidence; Part II. Practicalities: A Guide to Pottery Processing and Recording: 3. Integration with research designs; 4. Life in the pot shed; 5. Fabric analysis; 6. Classification of form and decoration; 7. Illustration; 8. Pottery archives; 9. Publication; Part III. Themes in Ceramic Studies: 10. Making pottery; 11. Archaeology by experiment; 12. Craft specialisation and standardisation of production; 13. Pottery fabrics; 14. Form; 15. Quantification; 16. Chronology; 17. Production and distribution; 18. Pottery and function; 19. Assemblages and sites; Conclusion: the future of pottery studies.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Pottery in Archaeology covers a wide range of traditional and contemporary topics. In the process, it draws illustrative examples—photographs, line drawings and charts—from European and classical archaeology. The Appendix contains a number of useful tables....There is an extensive and up-to-date bibliography....I find this an attractive, well-organized, authoritative book....I gladly recommend it." Martha A. Latta, Canadian Journal of Archaeology

"Few will find this dry reading. The style is lively, often amusing, and should appeal to students....The subject becomes an interesting and valuable part of archaeological materials science and a fundamental part of archaeology." Times Higher Education Supplement

Editorial Reviews

"… its aspiration [is] to enthuse and inspire … Remarkably, and despite the great breadth of its content, it does both of these things and should entice hordes into the pot shed and keep them effectively employed there. This is how textbooks should be written."
Antiquity

"… the organization of a volume of this scope is a daunting task. Readers can pick and mix relevant chapters. Allowing such flexibility in use without losing consistency is probably Pottery in Archaeology's biggest feat. In its second edition, [it] is still one of the most accessible and authoritative pottery manuals [and] will be of interest to any scholar of the Roman period who finds herself faced with a table of potsherds or … [trying] to get to grips with the value of pottery evidence."
Astrid Van Oyen, The Journal of Roman Studies

From the Publisher