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New Perspectives on Experimental Archaeology: Surface Treatments and Thermal Response of the Clay Cooking Pot

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Michael Brian Schiffer ,
James M. Skibo ,
Tamara C. Boelke ,
Mark A. Neupert  and
Meredith Aronson
Michael Brian Schiffer
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Traditional Technology, Department of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721
James M. Skibo
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61761
Tamara C. Boelke
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Traditional Technology, Department of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721
Mark A. Neupert
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Traditional Technology, Department of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721
Meredith Aronson
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721
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Abstract

This paper examines pottery technology and change through the eyes of the experimental archaeologist. A new vision is presented of experimental archaeology and the role its findings can play in archaeological explanation. It is argued that the most useful results of experimental archaeology are best obtained with long-term research programs. This perspective is illustrated by a case study of the relations between surface treatments (interior and exterior) and thermal performance in cooking pots. The experiments indicate that surface treatments like texturing, organic coatings, and smudging have marked impacts on thermal shock cracking and on thermal spalling in simulated cooking. It is emphasized that the findings of experimental archaeology, expressed as correlates, can be employed in explanations of prehistoric technological change, but only when embedded in more inclusive correlate theories and coupled with the requisite contextual information.

Resumen

Resumen

Este artículo examina la tecnología cerámica y su cambio a través de los ojos del arqueólogo experimental. Se presenta una nueva visión de la arqueología experimental y el rol que sus hallazgos pueden tener en la explicación arqueológica. Se arguye que los resultados más útiles de la arqueología experimental se obtienen con programas de investigación a largo plazo. Un estudio de caso sobre la relación entre tratamientos de superficie (interior y exterior) y funcionamiento termal en vasijas de cocina ilustra esta perspectiva. Los experimentos indican que tratamientos de superficie tales como texturas, engobes orgánicos y ahumados, tuvieron impacto en la aparición de fisuras por shock termal y descascarillado termal en la cocción simulada. Se enfatiza que los hallazgos de la arqueología experimental, expresados como correlaciones, pueden ser empleados en las explicaciones del cambio tecnológico prehistorico, pero sólo cuando están embebidos en teorías de correlación más inclusivas y disponen de la necesaria información contextual.

Type
Articles
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 59 , Issue 2 , April 1994 , pp. 197 - 217
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1994

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