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Editorial [From earth to pot]

Dominique Garcia
Traduction de Leïla Tickner
Cet article est une traduction de :
Éditorial [De la terre au pot] [fr]
Autre(s) traduction(s) de cet article :
Editorial [De la tierra al tarro] [es]

Texte intégral

1Pottery is not an archaeological artefact like any other; it is above all an anthropological tracer, reliable and abundant, that this issue of Archéopages invites us to review by featuring recent discoveries or renewed studies, all in relation to the material up to the finished product.

2The emergence of pottery is relatively recent in the history of humanity and largely related to the "Neolithic Revolution". While the clay is being processed, the material is transformed which, from plastic, becomes solid when the water used for the shaping of the pot evaporates when drying and then during firing. The technical and material components for this operation were already known in the Upper Paleolithic, during which man exploited the properties of clay. But the emergence of ceramic vessels could result from the necessity to have, or the interest in, impermeable containers to use on a fire. It could be a consequence of the increasingly important place of vegetables in the diet, observed locally by the transition to agriculture, and the modification of the food practices that it caused at the beginning of the Holocene. More than an invention of farmers, it seems to be that of the sedentary for whom the relations with the environment and its manipulation take different forms. These new utensils open the way for the use of new cooking methods other than grilling, such as slow cooking necessary to make porridge, soups or greasy broths and also that of liquids, milk for example.

3Prior to the historical periods, ceramics are archaeological artifacts with original features both from a formal and a heuristic point of view. Prehistoric pottery, and often protohistoric pottery, is unturned (mounted on the columbine, modeled, molded ...), mainly made in a domestic setting. Its distribution is generally limited to the area of production; when that is not the case, it can be proof of contact at varying distances.

4As a fragile object, with a short lifespan, pottery is a good chrono-cultural marker. It is, in many cases, the best preserved artifact on the deposits; that which with lithic objects and, over time with metallic objects , will be at the base of any archaeological study: it is attached to the location and definition of the archaeological site (excavation and prospecting), the identification of the function (dwelling, tomb, deposit ...), the identification of the culture and/or the features (thus often with the dating), the estimate of the exchanges, the approach to food practices ...

5The manufacture of ceramics results from a real operational chain, and sherds contain the traces of each of these steps. To find them, to observe them, to analyze them, to contextualize them, makes it possible to approach not only the production methods, but also all the systems that underlie them, such as the hierarchy of societies that will lead to a specialization of work and the emergence of a profession of potters.

6In the manufacture of pottery, man remains relatively free in his gesture for technological reasons (more than in the lithic industry, for example). This creative freedom and the variability of shapes and decoration that it generates, make it an excellent social marker. During all periods, as a witness to activity and to the times, pottery provides us with large amounts of information about lifestyles and phenomena of a social, economic and artistic nature. Technical innovation, trade, exchanges, transmission of expertise are all debates that drive studies which, for historical periods are based in particular on studies conducted on production workshops.

Potters' kiln discovered in Saintes in 2017.

Potters' kiln discovered in Saintes in 2017.

It is part of a battery of 2 similar and contemporary units, which produced dishware and preparation and storage containers for the first generation of occupants of the Gallic town, around 90-60 BC (In charge of the operation: G. Landreau, Inrap).

Photo: G. Landreau, Inrap.

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Titre Potters' kiln discovered in Saintes in 2017.
Légende It is part of a battery of 2 similar and contemporary units, which produced dishware and preparation and storage containers for the first generation of occupants of the Gallic town, around 90-60 BC (In charge of the operation: G. Landreau, Inrap).
Crédits Photo: G. Landreau, Inrap.
URL http://0-journals-openedition-org.catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/archeopages/docannexe/image/17770/img-1.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 485k
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Référence électronique

Dominique Garcia, « Editorial [From earth to pot] »Archéopages [En ligne], 45 | 2017 [2018], mis en ligne le 09 avril 2024, consulté le 13 février 2025. URL : http://0-journals-openedition-org.catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/archeopages/17770 ; DOI : https://0-doi-org.catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/10.4000/archeopages.17770

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Auteur

Dominique Garcia

President and Director of Inrap

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