Analyzing Color in Historic Refined Earthenwares Using Spectrophotometry

Summary

This project evaluates three of the most well-known ceramic types in historical archaeology: the non-vitreous, white-bodied earthenwares usually distinguished primarily by color and commonly known as creamware, pearlware, and whiteware. Almost ubiquitous on sites connected to worldwide trade routes from the mid-eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries, these three wares are some of the most useful, most discussed, and possibly some of the most controversial in archaeological analysis.  Using a Konica Minolta CM-700d spectrophotometer, this project collected replicable, highly precise color observations on some 700 sherds from the collections of Independence National Historic Park with the aim of understanding the nature of these groups, the overlap between the instrument's measurements and observers' judgments, and the role of illuminants and the phenomenon of "metamerism" in the identification process.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Modern Technology, Past Culture: Emerging Effects of Information Technologies on Archaeological Practice   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2013

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 344