Ceramics, classification and Iron Age entities
Thomas N. Huffman · African Studies · 1980
SUMMARY Ceramic style can be used to determine archaeological group identity during the Iron Age for several theoretical and practical reasons: as part of culture it is possessed by groups of people, free to vary regardless of socio‐economic and habitat factors; and it is common, widespread, and variable. Not every ceramic analysis succeeds equally in characterizing style, and the purpose of this paper was to test experimentally the accuracy of different procedures employed in Iron Age research. All procedures that incorporated design were partially accurate, but they were not always clearly resolved. Those centred on Technique Taxonomies needed multiple calculations at the site level for clear resolution and easy interpretation. Procedures that were based on whole vessels rather than fragments were highly accurate because they incorporated motif combinations. The most accurate, clearly resolved and practical were the Affiliate Set (2) and Mode typologies with Presence/Absence calculations. Formal analyses can be used to elucidate the nature and reasons for ceramic change.