Home
Introduction to the Modules Ceramics, Fermentation, & Feasting Module
Agave in Household Economy Module GIS Module
Module Introduction
Anthropological Interpretations
Interpreting Use From Ceramics
Fermented Drinks in SW
Prehistoric Fermentation
Annotated Bibliography
Annotated Links
Module Glossary

3. Painting

Painted pots are generally used in highly visual, public contexts such as feasts or other communal eating situations. In color and form, the painted decoration, is often the most visually striking aspect of a vessel. Not only can painting be appreciated for purely aesthetic reasons, but the painting on a pot can also function to signal individual or group identity. Also, the imagery painted on a pot can reflect the larger ideological beliefs or worldview of a group. For example, Nic David (David et al. 1988) found that among groups living in Cameroon, pots are metaphors for the human body, and decoration is applied to them in accordance to larger philosophical-religious beliefs about how to decorate the body to bring good will and ward off evil. In sum, then, the decoration on a pot has certain visual performance characteristics that can be examined to understand the sort of social or ceremonial contexts in which it functioned.

Click to Enlarge Figure 2.2.12  Painted bowl.

 

Use Alteration

During the process of ceramic use, the body of a vessel becomes altered from its original state. For example, a vessel that is used as a serving bowl may be altered by the scraping caused by the repeated action of a spoon scooping out the vessel's contents. Scraping is a form of use-alteration that can be studied by archaeologists to get at function. Ceramic use-alteration falls into two general categories: surface attrition and surface accretion (Skibo 1992). The former is caused when parts of the vessel are worn away through use, such as scraping, while the latter occurs as deposits build up on or in a vessel, such as sooting. These will be discussed further below.

1. Surface Attrition

Surface attrition, also known as "use wear," are the deletions made to a ceramic surface that occur during use such as scratching, scraping, abrasion, and pitting. Different actions result in different use wear patterns, and the variation in use wear patterning is what allows archaeologists to understand a vessel's function. For example, a scooping action may result in long scratches along the interior walls and base of a bowl. This bowl, then, may be classified by archaeologist as a serving vessel.

Click to Enlarge Figure 2.2.13 Bowl with use wear.

(Continued)

Top
Next
Back