This workshop will focus on pottery in the Aegean and in Western Anatolia from EH I–II / EB1–2, i.e. covering the time span from ca. 3000 until ca. 2300 BCE. The aim will be to bring together ongoing research in petrography, chemical analyses and Neutron Activation Analyses (NAA) with archaeological recording for further interpretation of pottery of this era.

Archaeometric analyses aim at identifying clay deposits and, in consequence, of potential pottery workshops. At the same time, large scale macroscopic identification of fabrics, based mainly on petrographic analysis, helps to detect distribution patterns of pottery and technological changes and is a perfectly suitable tool for fabric characterization. Thus, these methods are indispensable for a better understanding of exchange patterns leading to a possible identification of regional and interregional clusters.

Conventional archaeological research on pottery is mostly based on identification and statistical recording of wares, shapes and decoration, which are closely connected with value and the potential use of items. Additionally, microscopic and chemical analysis of pottery allows the characterization of the production process. Both methods help us to understand the socio-economic background of pottery manufacture and craftsmen.

Approaching pottery by combining scientific and archaeological methods will lead us to a better comprehension of social and economic behavior. It equally will draw a map of short and long distance interaction during a well-defined period in the region of our focus. A comparison of pottery deriving from the various areas of the Aegean and Western Anatolia will help us characterizing them as local or super-regional phenomena.

 Programme

 Abstracts