Material Symbolics in Pre-Columbian Households: The Painted Pottery of Naco, Honduras

To date, the pottery production of Rhodes, Kos and other ‘East Dorian’ islands and coastal areas remains little understood. This article presents and discusses new neutron activation analysis (NAA) of eighth–sixth-century bc vessels found on Rhodes and in related areas, placing them in the wider context of past and present archaeometric research. The results highlight the role of Kos as a leading regional centre of painted pottery production and export in the seventh–sixth centuries bc, notably of ‘East Dorian’ plates. This includes the famous ‘Euphorbos plate’, which can now be attributed to Koan production. Contemporary Archaic pottery workshops on Rhodes, in contrast, had a less ambitious, if diverse, output, ranging from vessels in a Sub-Geometric tradition, imitation Corinthian wares and modest local versions of Koan- and Ionian-style plates to finely potted and richly decorated ‘Vroulian’ cups and black-figured situlae. It was imported mainland and East Greek wares, however, that dominated the island's consumption of Archaic painted wares. This represents a departure from the preceding Geometric period, which was characterised by a local pottery production of considerable scale and quality, although receptivity to external influences remained a consistent feature throughout later periods. As patterns of demand were changing, the island's craft production appears to have concentrated on a different range of goods in which high-quality figured finewares played a lesser role.

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CHALCOLITHIC CERAMIC CONNECTIONS BETWEEN MESOPOTAMIA AND IRAN, c.5900–5100 b.c.e.

Iraq ◽

10.1017/irq.2018.3 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 80 ◽

pp. 233-250

Author(s):

Melissa Sharp ◽

Kyra Kaercher

Keyword(s):

Copper Metal ◽

Long Distance ◽

Northern Iran ◽

Trade Networks ◽

Northern Iraq ◽

Modern Period ◽

Chalcolithic Period ◽

Technological Developments ◽

Painted Pottery ◽

The Relationship

The Chalcolithic period in Mesopotamia and Iran (c.6000–4000 b.c.e.) is characterised by larger cities replacing small farming settlements, technological developments including wheel thrown pottery and copper metal working, and people establishing long distance trade networks. The Halaf horizon (5900–5100 b.c.e.) developed out of the local late pottery Neolithic tradition and is found throughout western Syria, southern Turkey, and northern and central Iraq. This archaeological culture is defined by a finely painted pottery, dryland farming, round and rectangular houses, and the use of stamp seals. A comparable ceramic horizon, the J-ware horizon (5200–4700 b.c.e.) arose in the Mahidasht and Kermanshah valleys of Iran. The J-ware ceramics are finely painted, possibly deriving from the Halaf tradition, but also slipped and burnished. The Rowanduz Archaeological Program's (RAP) excavations elucidate links between northern Iraq and northern Iran from the Chalcolithic to the modern period. This paper explores the relationship between the Halaf and J-ware traditions at Banahilk, recently re-excavated by RAP, and the larger contacts during the Chalcolithic.

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