Cooking in Clay: A Diachronic Study of Potting and Cooking Traditions in Bronze Age Toumba Thessaloniki, Northern Greece

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Toumba Thessaloniki, situated on the coastal plain of the Thermaikos Gulf in Northern Greece, was one of the largest settlements in Central Macedonia during the Bronze Age. The prolonged occupation of the site spanning from the Middle Bronze Age through the Classical period resulted in the formation of an artificial mound of approximately 1 hectare. The findings obtained in decades of excavation provides fertile ground to gain insight into past communities. This paper presents a diachronic examination of the cooking ware from Middle to Late Bronze Age Toumba. Examining an extensive assemblage comprising thousands of sherds, we employ an integrated approach that combines the study of the chaîne opératoire and morpho-functional characteristics, including macro- and microscopic analysis (thin-section petrography) and elemental analysis (WD-XRF), to investigate fabric, manufacturing techniques, and associated cooking habits. The objective is to identify communities of practice and reconstruct the organization of the local cooking ware production. Additionally, the evolution of "batterie de cuisine" will be examined as a means to explore changes in cooking practices over time. Ultimately, the findings will be discussed within the context of the intense mobility and cultural interactions during the Bronze Age with the Balkans and Southern and Central Aegean.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39180.0