2,807 research outputs found
The Incomplete Chaîne Opératoire: Potentials of the Traceological Ap- proach applied to Figurines made of Unfired Clay
No full textThis contribution addresses the potential of manufacturing trace analysis through the case study of the unfired clay figurines found at Lahun (Egypt, MBA). The peculiarity of these artefacts consists in their material. Figu- rines were mostly made of ceramic (fired clay), which is one of the conditions allowing their preservation over time. Nevertheless, in rare contexts, due to favourable environments, unfired clay artefacts have been found suggesting that these miniatures, often invisible in the archaeological record, were common in daily life. The lack of firing makes the production sequence of the clay figurines incomplete, especially if they are compared to a standard ceramic chaîne opératoire. Nevertheless, we can investigate their manufacturing by combining the trace analysis and the reverse reconstruction of the creative process. These data can reveal who made this peculiar category of objects, which techniques were used and how complex and standardised the production was. In this brief contribution, the approach and the criteria to identify and interpret figurine manufacturing are presented, highlighting the potential of this method to study clay miniatures technology. The results sug- gest that the production analysed was not standardised and people of different ages and dexterity shaped the figurines found at Lahun
A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of Early Neolithic Pyrotechnological Structures. The Case Study of Portonovo (Marche, Italy)
No full textThe introduction of agricultural practices fostered the development of specific technologies for the new subsistence practices and the production of new artefacts. Pyrotechnological structures such as ovens are part of the Neolithic equipment and accompanied the spread of agriculture from the Near East
across Europe and the Mediterranean Sea. Ovens located within settlements – mainly domed, above-ground structures – have been traditionally linked to cooking and baking. The function is usually deduced
from techno-morphological traits, although experimental approaches or ethnoarchaeological observations have often been used. This article aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of the multidisciplinary approach to understand the function of fire structures. An integrated methodology that combines archaeological analysis, archaeometry, and experimental archaeology has been applied to study the underground ovens
of the Early Neolithic site of Portonovo (Marche, Italy) dated to the sixth millennium BCE. Samples of hardened sediment of archaeological ovens’ inner surface and selected pottery fragments were analysed
through X-ray powder diffraction to estimate the temperature reached. A life-size replica of an underground oven was then created to perform firing experiments, including pottery firing. Samples of the oven’s walls and experimental vessels were analysed with the same method, and the values were compared. Our results indicate that the Portonovo ovens are potentially multifunctional structures, built for about 700 years,
always with the same technique exploiting the natural soil’s insulating properties
The experimental reconstruction of an Early Neolithic underground oven of Portonovo (Italy)
No full textScelte tecnologiche, expertise e aspetti sociali della produzione
No full textLa tecnologia ceramica è un argomento molto studiato in archeologia, soprattutto in relazione alla società. Questo volume si focalizza sugli aspetti sociali della produzione attraverso lo status dei vasai nelle comunità dell’Età del Rame, un periodo in cui la complessità sociale è incipiente e la produzione ceramica è considerata un’attività non formalizzata. La ceramica proveniente da otto contesti archeologici localizzati nell’area dell’attuale citta di Roma e occupati tra il IV ed il III millennio a.C., è stata analizzata attraverso uno studio multidisciplinare. Un approccio integrato di analisi archeometriche, traceologiche e archeologia sperimentale ha permesso di delineare le principali scelte tecnologiche di all’interno di diverse tradizioni stilistiche e la coesistenza di livelli di expertise artigianale nelle produzioni domestiche e funerarie.
Attraverso l’analisi petrografica, associata ad XRF e XRD è stato possibile definire le ricette ceramiche, il loro modo d’uso e le tecniche di cottura praticate dai vasai eneolitici. La collezione di riferimento, composta da tracce tecnologiche delle sequenze di messa in forma dei vasi, dei trattamenti delle superficie e delle decorazioni a pettine, ha permesso di isolare diversi livelli di expertise, definiti in base all’investimento tecnico richiesto per portare a termine specifiche sequenze di lavorazione nei diversi stadi del processo produttivo. I risultati di questa ricerca mostrano una relazione tra l’elevata qualità artigianale di alcuni prodotti vascolari ed i contesti in cui venivano prevalentemente utilizzati, come ad esempio le necropoli, in cui alcune classi di vasi in ceramica avevano probabilmente un valore sociale riconosciuto dall’intera comunità
A preliminary study of ceramic pastes in the copper age pottery production of the Rome area
No full textThis paper presents the preliminary results of an analytical study on domestic pottery samples originating from the Copper Age sites of Casetta Mistici, Tor Pagnotta, Osteria del Curato-Via Cinquefrondi, Torre della Chiesaccia and Valle dei Morti, all of which are located in the Rome area (Latium, Italy). The aim of this research is to define the compositional features of the ceramic pastes and to reconstruct the main technological choices characterising pottery production in these contexts. The importance of these archaeological sites lies in their geographic position, being located in an area bounded by the Tiber and Aniene rivers and the Colli Albani volcano, and in their stratigraphic sequence, spanning from the mid-fourth to the end of the third millennium bc. This research, based on a petrographic and chemical investigation of pottery samples, led to the distinction of eight petrographic groups that reflect specific choices in pottery production. Moreover, the analytical results provide indications about the prehistoric pottery production of the Rome area in relation to the ceramic recipes used, the pastes that were obtained and their sourcing areas
Craft Identities and skill in Copper Age Communities. A multidisciplinary approach to the pottery production of Central Italy
No full textThis paper focuses on the pottery production of Italian Copper Age communities from central Italy and its social implications. The study concerns a specific territory, the current Rome area, where the vessels coming from domestic and funerary contexts (4th and 3rd millennia BC) seem to differ in terms of production sequences, expertise and use.
The social role of craftspeople in these groups is analysed through a series of aspects that directly and indirectly reflect craft behaviour, such as: technological choices in production, the skill required in specific manufacturing processes and the actual level of skill inferred from the ceramic evidence analysed. The methodological approach presented in this paper combines learning theories with a detailed empirical investigation of the potter’s gesture. Data provided by traceological analyses, focusing on manufacturing traces and use wear, compositional analyses of ceramic pastes (petrographic and chemical analyses) and experimental archaeology (reproduction of pottery modelling sequences and ceramic use activities) are interpreted in a wider framework considering also the social value of the craft product. Empirical results revealed specific behaviour patterns in production and use, suggesting different and coexistent degrees of experience and knowledge within domestic production and a higher level of skill and time dedication for shapes used on funerary occasions. This leads to the question of whether the producers of goods were also always the consumers, within contexts where social inequality is perceived as incipient and the role of artisans is better understood if discussed according to usually underestimated aspects such as the skills of craftspeople, the presence of a supportive learning environment and the social value of the ceramic product
Vanessa Roeder: 2024 Irma Black Award Gold Medal Acceptance Speech
No full textAuthor Vanessa Roeder gives an acceptance speech for The King Penguin (Dial Books for Young Readers, Penguin Random House)https://educate.bankstreet.edu/irma_black_awards/1014/thumbnail.jp
7.1 – Analisi petrografica e chimica delle ceramiche preistoriche del territorio di Roma (IV-III millennio a.C.)
No full textQuesto contributo si focalizza sull’analisi delle materie prime utilizzate nella produzione vascolare dell’area di Roma tra il IV ed il III millennio a.C.
Lo studio di una produzione artigianale ceramica non può prescindere da una definizione degli impasti argillosi scelti dai vasai; questi dati permettono infatti di ricostruire non solo aspetti dell’organizzazione della produzione ma anche le relazioni che intercorrevano tra selezione delle materie prime, forme vascolari e manifattura.
Lo studio degli impasti ceramici utilizzati dalle comunità eneolitiche è stato eseguito attraverso un approccio integrato di analisi petrografica in sezione sottile e fluorescenza a raggi x (XRF) per definire la composizione degli impasti e caratterizzare la loro variabilità qualitativa (composizione mineralogica e chimica) e quantitativa (ricorrenza delle classi di impasto in relazione al campione preso in esame per ogni fase cronologica).
La definizione della composizione delle classi di impasto (fabrics) ha avuto un ruolo fondamentale nella ricostruzione delle scelte di approvvigionamento sia in termini di localizzazione dei depositi argillosi rispetto ai siti, della varietà e variabilità delle argille selezionate sia tenendo conto del loro impiego nella produzione di specifiche forme vascolari o tecniche di messa in forma, senza tralasciare il contesto e le attività in cui i contenitori venivano coinvolti
Tecnologia e funzione nella produzione ceramica eneolitica del territorio di Roma: casi studio, problemi e potenzialità della ricerca.
No full textThis research focuses on the domestic pottery production related to the Chalcolithic settlements of Tor Pagnotta, Casetta Mistici, Osteria del Curato-Via Cinquefrondi, Torre della Chiesaccia and Valle dei Morti. All of the analysed contexts are located South of Rome and are chronologically dated between the half of the IV and the end of the III millennium B.C.
The settlements analysed in this research play a major role in the understanding of the occupation of this area, such densely populated during the prehistoric period and geographically limited between the Tiber river, the Aniene river and the Colli Albani volcano.
This study aims to reconstruct the technological and functional choices involved in the pottery production in order to define and highlight patterns of continuity or discontinuity, which are useful to investigate the occupation dynamics of the area.
The localization of the settlements (very near one to each other) allows to develop the research both over a synchronic and a diachronic perspective, identifying differences and similarities between contemporary productions and in a diachronic perspective, underlying transformations happening over time within different cultural traditions.
This research falls into a moment where studies focused on the function of prehistoric productions are mostly related to tools made of other types of materials (e.g flint, hard animal materials etc) than pottery, which has rarely been taken in consideration from this point of view.
So far, the few use wear analyses performed on pottery, focused on the reconstruction of the vessels’ use, not taking into consideration its technology, intended as production techniques, not allowing the development of a universal terminology or a specific methodological approach. For these reasons this research proposes a methodological framework comprising an integrated approach of wear analysis and experimentation, which allowed to produce relevant data on this matter.
The methodology here presented allows a detailed examination of a pottery production based upon the decomposition of the vessel. Starting with the compositional analysis of clay pastes (petrographic analysis on thin sections, XRF) it was possible to reconstruct the sourcing strategies, locate the clay sources exploited in the area and define clay recipes. Furthermore, a detailed analysis of the vessel construction and pottery firing techniques was performed.
A major role in this research is played by the analysis of the samples under a microscope, applying a low power approach, and by a dedicated experimental framework that allowed to study and define the modeling techniques, surface treatments, decorations techniques, along with the exploited tools, in order to reconstruct the involved gestures, which are only hypothesised trough the study of traditional contexts.
Trough this approach it is possible to take the whole aspects of a pottery production such as the choices that distinguish individual traditions and the manufacturing features allowing to define the figure of “the potter” or his role in a prehistoric community highlighting possible forms of craft specialization.
Moreover, from the application of this methodology it emerged that it is not possible separate the study of technological choices from the use, as every vessel is produced to be used. For this reason technological features, as modeling and surface treatments and the choice of clay pastes are studied in relation to the functional requirements, with an integrate approach involving microscope observations, residue analysis and experimentation, focused on the definition of the actual use of a pottery vessel
Standards for the level of nurse staffing in critical care units
No full textThe gold standard for nurse staffing levels in critical care in the United Kingdom has been established since 1967 at one nurse for each patient. Recent evidence suggests however that there is a great deal of difference in the staffing levels and skill mix between individual critical care units in the UK, with the result that nurses are being challenged to justify and defend the 1:1 ratio. The aim of this article is to provide the wider intensive care community with an overview of the Standards for Nurse Staffing in Critical Care units as proposed by the organisations representing critical care nurses in the UK
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