Interpreting the Relationship between Political Structure and Different Consuming Strategies of Imported Chinese Ceramics through Comparative Analysis: A Case Study of Eighth–Eleventh-Century Japan

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In the eighth–eleventh centuries CE, Chinese ceramics were imported to Japan and showed limited distribution in specific sites. Historical documents, along with their geographic distribution and both fine and coarse ceramic assemblages, suggest these sites shared political connections. Past studies on trade ceramics in China have typically directly applied a political explanation. However, I argue a dynamic social structure in eighth- to eleventh-century Japan should also be considered. This paper considers the agency of social groups living in different settlements, analyzing the style, function, frequency, and distribution of trade ceramics to better understand consumption strategies at these different sites. Furthermore, the question of how consumer preferences interacted with the existing political structure can be discussed through the comparative approach and long-term observation.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

Keywords

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36504.0