Formal Analysis and Typological Classification in the Study of Ancient Pottery
Daniel Albero Santacreu, Manuel Trías, Jaume Rosselló · 2016
The morphological and typological study of pottery has traditionally been crucial for organizing excavation records. Hence, a substantial methodological development has encouraged more standardized descriptive and grouping protocols based on mathematical and statistical parameters. However, when compared with the significant growth of related methodology in the last decades, theoretical reflection on the role played by formal description of pottery and the drawing of typological classifications to study ancient societies has been pushed into the background. This chapter enlarges on some of the main approaches for the study of pottery form and, particularly, its typological classification. It also considers their innovative interpretative possibilities when integrated into the Anthropology of Techniques, as a fundamental part of the pottery châine opératoire and the technological traditions regarding potters.