Mud and Fire: A Potter’s Insight into Prehistoric Pottery Technology (original) (raw)
As a potter and maker of replica pottery I try to adhere as closely as possible to the methods and materials used by the original makers and in doing so gain insights into ancient technology. In this paper I give a potter's per spective on prehistoric pottery-making, try to dispel some of the myths surrounding this ancient technology and show that there is far more to making a ‘simple’ pot than most people realise. I explain why I don't like the terms such as ‘coil building’ or ‘bonfire firing’. I believe that it is important for archaeologists to have a better understanding of the processes that created the artefacts and contextual evidence that they uncover, as without this knowledge valuable evidence from excavation could be, and almost certainly has been, lost or misinterpreted.
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