Publication details
Evolution Of the Scientific Approach To Prehistoric Pottery In The Area Of The Former Czechoslovakia
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2013 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Anthropologie : [international journal of the science of man] |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Archaeology, anthropology, ethnology |
| Keywords | archaeometry; pottery; research history; content analysis |
| Description | Ceramic evidence from archaeological sites offers many opportunities to explore the technological and social behaviour of prehistoric communities. Results related to inter and intra site ceramic variability in technology, provenance, decoration and shapes indirectly reflect the social and natural environment of the producers of prehistoric pottery and consumers as well as the role of pottery in society. The aim of this paper is the evaluation of how these approaches were reflected by scientific analyses of prehistoric pottery in the area of the former Czechoslovakia from the 1920s to the present. Scientific analyses of pottery in Czechoslovakia intensified in the 1970s. In the 1980s, analyses focussed mostly on specific issues, which reflect the high variability of methods used. Technological experiments were carried out mostly in the 1990s and later. In the second half of the 1990s, the role of pottery origin became more strongly emphasised. However, some investigations with social and economic inferences were also carried out. Despite the long tradition of interest in the scientific analysis of pottery and the high level of analytical methods currently used in the Czech Republic, there is still a lack of studies dealing with either the social or cultural questions, or the functionality of pottery. |