Fabrics of space and time: Multiscalar analytical approaches to social process in the Middle Bronze Age Aegean
Author(s): Jill Hilditch
Year: 2015
Summary
Acknowledging analytical scale, or emphasizing the importance of moving coherently from macro to micro to elemental, is not a new concept within ceramic analysis. The work of David Peacock since the 1970s has demonstrated the necessity of a multiscalar approach, yet our attempts to combine techniques that bridge these various scales of analysis have met with mixed success, particularly when confronted by assemblages that include a spectrum of fine to coarse wares. This paper highlights recent studies in automated scanning electron microscopy with linked energy dispersive spectrometers (SEM-EDS) that have created an opportunity to integrate data from multiple analytical scales in a more robust way by offering a seamless combination of textural and mineralogical data. The case study of pottery production during the later Middle Bronze Age at Akrotiri on Santorini is used to investigate issues of social process and interaction across spatial and chronological boundaries. The results show that the integration of multi-analytical datasets across whole assemblages offers huge potential for investigating ancient ceramic technologies and their communities of practice, as well as their development through space and time.
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Cite this Record
Fabrics of space and time: Multiscalar analytical approaches to social process in the Middle Bronze Age Aegean. Jill Hilditch. Presented at The 80th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, San Francisco, California. 2015 ( tDAR id: 397112)
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Spatial Coverage
min long: -11.074; min lat: 37.44 ; max long: 50.098; max lat: 70.845 ;