Focusing on human behaviour and technological choices, this lecture explores different practices of prehistoric pottery production. With an emphasis on pottery technology in the Aegean, it brings together case studies from different chronological periods and geographical settings across Greece.

Experimentation and ceramic petrography are the two main research tools and are closely combined with macroscopic observations to shed light on different aspects of pottery production, particularly clay paste preparation and vessel-forming techniques. Together, these approaches explore how technological choices can be recognised in the archaeological record and how petrographic analysis and experimental work can help us reconstruct past pottery-making practices and chaînes opératoires.

The case studies presented include the replication of ceramic pastes using collected geo-materials, the use of petrographic analysis to identify vessel-forming techniques, and the experimental reproduction of vessels. By moving between archaeological material and experimental work, the lecture highlights the value of combining different levels of observation and analytical approaches to better understand the technological practices and choices of prehistoric potters.