Characterization of Ceramics

Abstract

Ceramics are the most abundant surviving material on many archaeological sites. Once discarded, they offer the archaeologist the possibility to reconstruct the shape of vessels and to identify their origin. Typo‐chronologies of ceramic vessels are studied on virtually every excavation worldwide as the prime stratigraphic dating tool. Ceramics function as a proxy to study craft organization and trade patterns, social stratigraphy, subsistence strategies and the standard of living. The identification of imported vessels in a mass of locally produced wares is perhaps the most frequently asked question in the study of ceramics. For all of this research, the scientific analysis of ceramics has great utility.