Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - TraCTUs (Tracing European Copper Age Social Dynamics through Pottery Technology and Use)

Teaser

TraCTUs project aimed to explore the social dynamics characterising European prehistoric communities between the 4th and the 3rd millennium BC investigating the phenomenon of craft specialisation in pottery technology and use. To isolate forms of specialization in ceramic...

Summary

TraCTUs project aimed to explore the social dynamics characterising European prehistoric communities between the 4th and the 3rd millennium BC investigating the phenomenon of craft specialisation in pottery technology and use. To isolate forms of specialization in ceramic production an integrated approach of theoretical and empirical analyses was applied.
The copper age is a crucial moment in human history during which, the first forms of social complexity started to develop; TraCTUs focused on a specific context dated to this period, as the current Rome area in Italy, where prehistoric communities settled between the 4th and 3rd millennium BC showed forms of incipient social complexity.
Recent researches in this area unearthed evidence of cemeteries close to domestic contexts and burials of individuals accompanied by rich grave goods suggesting the emergence of social inequality. According to these evidences, the project focused on social dynamics characterizing the organization of pottery production and the role of artisans within these communities. A survey on archaeological and ethnoarchaeological literature supported the contextualization of the empirical data coming from the Copper Age contexts of the Rome area in a broader European and anthropological framework in order to elaborate and propose a model explaining forms of specialization in prehistoric communities. Such a model is based on social environment of production as the household, its system of learning and knowledge transmission and the social value of the vessels produced for different purposes.

Work performed

In order to reconstruct the social environment of pottery production, ceramic use activities and establish the presence of forms of specialisation in copper age groups, TraCTUs applied a methodology integrating empirical analyses to a theoretical framework.
The first period was spent in an itraining integrated with a practical experience in compositional analyses at the Fitch Laboratory (Athens, Greece) in order to apply analyses on ceramic pastes. A survey literature on social aspects of production, social theories, material culture interpretation and learning theories was explored as well in order to build the theoretical background, fundamental for the research.
A three months data collection followed the training. During this period spent in Rome (Italy), were the archaeological collections of the main case study are stored, ceramics were analysed and sampled for archaeometric investigations. In details, petrographic analyses of ceramic pastes (to define ceramic recipes and variability of fabrics), X-Ray diffraction-XRD (to establish range of temperatures reached during ceramic firing); X-Ray fluorescence-XRF (to establish chemical composition of clay and reconstruct provenance of raw materials) were applied to reconstruct raw material processing and firing technology.
Moreover, a traceological study of vessels through an optical observation using a portable microscope (GXM-Dino-Lite AM4113T Pro Digital Microscope) was applied in order to analyse and document traces left by the technological process of production (modelling, surface treatment and decoration techniques) and use activities (use wear and residues affecting vessels’ used in domestic and ritual activities). These observation have been integrated with results of an X-Ray analysis program in order to identify anomalies in ceramic paste due to manufacture and reconstruct techniques of modelling. The traceological data thus obtained was stored in a dedicated database, and lead to reconstruct the technical sequence of pottery production in the current Rome area, defining differences between domestic and funerary vessels, levels of skills required in manufacturing and the actual uses of vessels produced by potters. The interpretation of wear was possible through the setup of a dedicated experimental framework, built on the basis and characteristics of the archaeological items. This allowed to understand techniques of production and provide a comparison collection for interpreting the technological traces observed on the archaeological implements.
The second year was dedicated in improving the literature data collection with a particular attention to European archaeological contexts for a comparative background in order to interpret the data achieved through the analysis of the main case studies and suggest a model explaining forms of craft production in copper age groups. Papers regarding the methodological approach applied to define traces on ceramic vessels are published on Journal of Archaeological Science: Report with the article “ Cooking traces on Copper Age pottery from central Italy: An integrated approach comprising use wear analysis, spectroscopic analysis and experimental archaeology”. Other two articles discussing methodology, technological data regarding copper age vessel productions and an overall interpretation of the craft systems in copper age communities are currently under review or ready to be submitted to scientific journals. Numerous talks discussing these results have been delivered during academic conferences and public events in Europe between 2016-2018. Moreover, outreach activities involving TraCTUs project and practical demonstrations of pottery production using ancient techniques and tools have been delivered during the Festivals held in Cambridge between 2016-2018 as Festival of ideas/Prehistory Day and Festival of Science.

Final results

\"The contribution of TraCTUs to progress beyond the state of the art relies upon the applied methodology and interpretation. The main contribution concern a systematic application of traceological analyses to study archaeological ceramics and their use for a wider understanding of craft production systems. During this research, an assessment of the traditional methodology and nomenclature was possible and the interpretation of wear was elaborated in association with the theoretical framework built during the training.
The research took place at a timing of growing interest for the application of traceological approaches in ceramic studies and their use for broader anthropological and behavioural interpretative reconstructions; in this sense, TraCTUs participated actively to the debate regarding traces analysis on pottery through talks at the AWRANA meeting (May 2018) and during the journée d\'étude \"\"Des altérations à l\'utilisation des céramiques (November 2018) dedicated to the study of use wear and residues on pottery held at Nanterre Université (Paris). Moreover, the integration of technological and functional traces in the same research project represented a unique opportunity to develop and discuss the methodology and the traces nomenclature, which is still currently lacking in the field of ceramic studies. The multidisciplinary nature of the adopted approach and the application of a theoretical framework is currently uncommon in many research traditions and can thus improve the methodological debate.

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Website & more info

More info: https://www.facebook.com/MSCATractusProject/.