Content:
The pottery assemblages of prehistoric settlements are often difficult to work with, mostly due to the high ratio of fragmented vessels. In a multitude of cases, this prevents the reconstruction of vessel shapes, and consequently, the traditional typological examinations. Due to this problem, a new approach should be considered: instead of trying to fit the pottery sherds into pre-existing typological categories, I propose a bottom-up classification method that compares the characteristics of the fragments and forms clusters accordingly. With the use of a multi-step statistical analysis, it is possible to outline groups of sherds that reflect the different kinds of vessels used by the communities. Exploring the characteristics by which these groups of fragments can be defined gives us an insight into several aspects of pottery production and use. The clear distinctions signal that the potters were working within specific mental frameworks. Influenced by their sociocultural context and working with its toolset, the potters made a chain of conscious decisions to manufacture pottery that fulfils given practical functions. Although this function can vary, and we cannot reconstruct all the roles a vessel played throughout its lifetime, with the use of a wide range of ethnoarchaeological data, the specific characteristics can be linked to certain vessel functions. The functional reconstruction can then be used to better understand the behaviours linked to pottery use, and also the patterns of disposal.
Through the case study of fragmented pottery assemblages of the Hungarian Middle Copper Age (4000–3700 BC), I present the possibilities of a statistics-based methodology, aiming at functional reconstruction.
Keywords:
pottery function, statistical analysis, prehistoric settlements, Middle Copper Age