Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 February 2011
A comparison of methods used for the manufacture of the largest ceramic storage vessels in two independent ceramic traditions over a period of centuries reveals distinctive trajectories in differing socioeconomic contexts. At Godin Tepe, a Bronze Age town in western Iran, an initially unique production sequence was gradually simplified and assimilated to the techniques used for the rest of the ceramic assemblage. At Gordion, an major urban center in Iron Age Turkey, the techniques changed relatively little over time. The degree and pace of change in production methods appear to reflect development of each ceramic assemblage as a whole and to relate to the scale and stability of the basic local economy.