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'Rocek TR, 2013: Why not pottery? A comparative approach to the variables underlying the adoption (or non-adoption) of ceramics. Anthropologie (Brno) 51, 2: 231-242'. |
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| Abstract | | This paper considers from a comparative perspective the spread of ceramics and the widespread but highly variable pattern of a two stage adoption of pottery: an initial sparse "software horizon" followed by a transition to intensified production of more durable pottery. It first illustrates this multi-step pattern not just as an issue in the initial invention of pottery technology but as relevant particularly to later cases of the adoption of ceramic production. Second, it summarizes a set of examples, particularly from the southwestern United States, to demonstrate variation in the software horizon pattern. Finally, it considers models and underlying variables that have been suggested to account for these examples, and points to several potential explanations with possible implications for interpreting Neolithic origins in central Europe and for considering the pattern of adaptation and interaction between pioneer farmers and persistent Mesolithic groups during the early Neolithic period. It argues that the multivariate nature of pottery technology and the low visibility of the software horizon may contain suggestions of variation in early Neolithic adaptations but may also be obscuring hints of interaction between farming and non-farming groups. | | | | Keywords | | Pottery - Ceramic technology - Southwestern United States - Central European Neolithic | | |
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