Research Catalog

Title

Pottery ethnoarchaeology in the Michoacán Sierra / Michael J. Shott.

Author

Shott, Michael J. (Michael Joseph)

Publication

Salt Lake City : The University of Utah Press, [2018]

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

xii, 196 pages; 26 cm.

Summary

"Although most ceramic studies describe vessel production and use, the causes and rates of pottery discard are often neglected in archaeological studies. Michael Shott presents analytical methods for determining pottery use life and demonstrates why use life should not be overlooked. Over a five-year period Shott inventoried the household pottery of about twenty-five homes in five towns in Michoacán, Mexico, recording age and types of use. He also looked at a subsample on a monthly basis over two years to estimate the magnitude of early vessel failure that would go unnoticed in an annual census. His analysis of about 900 vessels clearly shows that context does not explain use life, but vessel size does. Bigger pots last longer. Consulting other ethnoarchaeological sources for comparison and cross-cultural perspectives, Shott shows that his results can be applied to other archaeological data sets for determining numbers of original whole vessels as well as site occupation span."--Provided by publisher.

Series Statement

Foundations of archaeological inquiry

Uniform Title

Foundations of archaeological inquiry.

Subject

• Indian pottery > Michoacán de Ocampo > Antiquities
• Ethnoarchaeology > Michoacán de Ocampo
• Excavations (Archaeology) > Michoacán de Ocampo
• Antiquities
• Ethnoarchaeology
• Excavations (Archaeology)
• Michoacán de Ocampo (Mexico) > Antiquities
• Mexico > Michoacán de Ocampo

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

The burden of ceramics -- Ceramic assemblages and archaeological inference -- The Michoacán study area -- Data collection -- Data analysis : contextual factors -- Use life and vessel size -- Michoacán data in cross-cultural perspective -- Pottery quantification and the Michoacán discard assemblage.

ISBN

• 9781607816225
• 1607816229

LCCN

• 2017060270
• 40028443372

OCLC

• on1019844217
• 1019844217
• SCSB-9164259

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries