Firing Strategies: Experimental Pottery Technology Programme for Belize

Summary

This report is a continuation of the Experimental Pottery Research Program I began in Belize in 2000 (Hankins 2009: 177-186). The scarcity of material evidence of pottery manufacture and firing signatures contributes to the relevance of different research strategies to expand our understanding of this technology.

Firing pottery is challenging. The technology of constructing pottery is difficult, stressful, and requires constant attention. All the labor, skill, and planning can be lost in the final accumulation of effort. Mastering pyrotechnology and the knowledge of pottery manufacture can be extremely variable. All the additive processes of creating are subject to possible destruction in the fire.

Experimenting with different methods of firing teaches us what different firing strategies can produce, and the signatures they deposit (or not) in the archaeological record. Kilns are somewhat more predictable. Bonfire firings, pit firings and other open firings challenge our quest for evidence.

This poster will focus on our experiences with different types of bonfire firings we have undertaken in Belize. Every location has so many different environmental issues to consider. In Belize there are seasonal differences to consider, atmospheric conditions, temperature fluctuations (hourly), and of course, time and labor.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Ongoing Research in the Three Rivers Area of the Southern Maya Lowlands

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 15697