The technological analysis of pottery-making can uncover previously hidden aspects of past societies, revealing patterns of technological knowledge transmission across space and time as well as the social connections—based on strong personal relationships—through which such knowledge circulated. The Early and Middle Copper Age (4500–3650 BCE) in the Carpathian Basin is characterised by profound changes, e.g., the appearance of formal cemeteries, heavy copper tools, and golden ornaments or the transformation of the settlement structure from tells to a dense network of mostly smaller settlements. The technological approach of pottery forming and surface treatment techniques has not yet been systematically applied before, despite its potential to shed light on networks of social connections.

This study investigates this issue with a large-scale technological analysis of 26 pottery assemblages from different regions of the Carpathian Basin. This includes the macroscopic observation of the vessels to identify the forming and surface treatment techniques of vessels with the aid of ethnographic and experimental reference works. Thus, the technological knowledge of pottery-making is characterised in each site. The comparison of the sites outlines the Early and Middle Copper Age technical traditions in the Carpathian Basin and spatiotemporal similarities and differences in pottery-making. This sheds light on social relationship networks, based on strong personal relationships between the potters. Furthermore, the study also highlights the varied ways in which Copper Age communities responded to technological innovations, reflecting the diverse nature of these communities.