William Lucius on tue 25 jan 11
I read with interest (and agreement) Vince's lecture on the origin of potte=
=3D
ry and the association of that technology with the Neolithic (the Formative=
=3D
in this hemisphere). Although he correctly noted that Hunter/Gatherers ge=
=3D
nerally do not carry pots around the countryside (remember that they had n=
=3D
o beasts of burden or wheeled vechicles) and therefore that pottery product=
=3D
ion was associated with sedentism=3D2C I would add that in addition the adv=
en=3D
t of pottery technology was closely related to the need to cook foods gener=
=3D
ally associated with agriculture.=3D20
One glaring exception to this rule may be the ancestral Japanese who appare=
=3D
ntly used cord-impressed pottery to boil their shellfish. However=3D2C one=
o=3D
f my professors while digging in Hokaido found domesticated Buckwheat kerna=
=3D
ls (think Soba noodles) in a site roughly dating to the same period.
=3D20
The appearance of pottery in the American Southwest most certainly reflects=
=3D
immigrating farmers from Northern Mexico who brought corn=3D2C beans and s=
qu=3D
ash (as well as domestic turkeys) to plant along the way. Beans are notori=
=3D
ously hard to eat unless they are boiled for a fairly long period of time=
=3D
=3D2C which pretty much requires a ceramic pot.=3D20
=3D20
So=3D2C it really boils down (intentional pun) to food preparation. Here a=
lo=3D
ng the Front Range of Colorado a few folks showed up around the year 1000 a=
=3D
nd began making cord marked pots that most likely were used to boil down bo=
=3D
ne grease from Bison kills - a necessary ingredient for making pemmican=3D2=
C =3D
a mix of pounded dry meat=3D2C berries and bone grease that is a great way =
to=3D
transport food. Whether or not these folk also grew corn is still up for =
=3D
debate.
=3D20
And as a final aside=3D2C in traditional egalitarian cultures it is pretty =
mu=3D
ch a rule that women are the potters. It is not until status and ranked so=
=3D
cieties (chiefdoms through states) appear that we see men taking up the cra=
=3D
ft as full-time specialists. In the Old World we see the introduction of t=
=3D
he wheel at about the same time.
=3D20
William A. Lucius=3D2C Ph.D.
Board President and Director
Institute for Archaeological Ceramic Research (IACR)
iacr@msn.com=3D20
www.instituteforceramicarchaeology.org
http://www.ourlkcpage.multiply.com
http://www.leuppkilnconferenceorg.web.officelive.com
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Lee on tue 25 jan 11
On Tue, Jan 25, 2011 at 11:24 AM, William Lucius wrote:
> I read with interest (and agreement) Vince's lecture on the origin of pot=
=3D
tery and the >association of that technology with the Neolithic (the Format=
=3D
ive in this hemisphere). >=3DA0Although he correctly noted that Hunter/Gath=
er=3D
ers generally do not carry pots around
The Jomon hunter/gatherers didn't aimlessly wander about.
Rather, the changed their base camp according to the seasons. In one
place for planting, another for hunting boar and dear, another for the
salmon run and another to meet the dolphin when they were close to
shore. They made some very large pots for cooking in. What they
did, was make a set of pots for each of their seasonal camps.
> One glaring exception to this rule may be the ancestral Japanese who appa=
=3D
rently used >cord-impressed pottery to boil their shellfish. =3DA0However, =
on=3D
e of my professors while >digging in Hokaido found domesticated Buckwheat k=
=3D
ernals (think Soba noodles) in a >site roughly dating to the same period.
The Jomon people confused archeologist at first because
pottery is not associated with hunter/gatherers. They only had two
domesticated animals: The pig and the dog. They did crow crops
in a minimally cultivated way. Like the buckwheat you mention. Sea
food was a large part of their diet. They also gathered acorns and
chestnuts.
--
=3DA0Lee Love in Minneapolis
http://mingeisota.blogspot.com/
=3DA0"Ta tIr na n-=3DF3g ar chul an tI=3D97tIr dlainn trina ch=3DE9ile"=3D9=
7that is, =3D
"The
land of eternal youth is behind the house, a beautiful land fluent
within itself." -- John O'Donohue
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