Ethnoarchaeological and Archaeological Perspectives on Ceramic Vessels and Annual Accumulation Rates of Sherds

A broad examination of the synthetic results of ceramic ethnoarchaeology reveals that research has centered on the factors that influence variation in the production, use, and discard of whole pottery vessels. Far less common are ceramic ethnoarchaeological studies that investigate the various ways...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American antiquity 2008-01, Vol.73 (1), p.121-135
Main Author: Sullivan, Alan P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
America and Arctic regions
Analysis of archaeological features
Archaeological methods
Archaeological paradigms
Archaeological sites
Archaeology
Canyons
Ceramic materials
Ceramics
Cooking pots
Cultural anthropology
Ethnoarchaeology
Field archaeology
Generalities
Historic artifacts
History
Material culture
Mesas
Methodology and general studies
Methods
Organisation and history of research
Pottery
Prehistory and protohistory
Research design
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Summary:A broad examination of the synthetic results of ceramic ethnoarchaeology reveals that research has centered on the factors that influence variation in the production, use, and discard of whole pottery vessels. Far less common are ceramic ethnoarchaeological studies that investigate the various ways that broken vessels become incorporated into the archaeological record. Archaeologists who would like to apply the findings of ceramic ethnoarchaeology, therefore, are faced with the daunting prospect of determining the relevance of those findings for archaeological phenomena. In this paper, I first examine the relationship between ceramic ethnoarchaeological research on whole vessels and archaeological methods for determining annual accumulation rates of sherds for sites in southwestern Colorado. I then present an alternative method that analyzes contextual variation between use and discard assemblages at two sites in the Grand Canyon area and explore the consequences of all these studies for evaluating assumptions about vessel use-life, systemic inventories, and annual accumulation rates. I conclude with some archaeologically led suggestions about how ceramic ethnoarchaeologists might expand their research designs to make the results of their studies resonate more strongly with, and hence be more useful to, archaeologists who analyze bucketfuls of potsherds.
ISSN:0002-7316
2325-5064
DOI:10.1017/S0002731600041317