Ceramic Typology Limitations

Non archaeologists should be aware of the limitations of ceramic typology.

Ceramic typology limitations. Most archaeological typologies organize portable artifacts into types but typologies of larger structures including buildings field monuments fortifications or roads are equally possible. What are the advantages and disadvantages of ceramic. Ceramic typology for cultures that produced pottery archaeologists invariably spend a great deal of time defining ceramic types each type is a series of attributes which distinguishes one group of pottery whether whole vessels or potsherds from all other groups of pottery such that each type was produced in a single time and place. Adams encyclopedia of life support systems eolss krieger a d.

Archaeologist haves long disagreed about the reality usefulness implementation of southwestern ceramic types. The classes are also called types. Issues and limitations in ceramic typology. It takes several centuries for a detectable rind to be created and rinds over 50 microns tend to crumble.

Obsidian hydration is regularly used in mesoamerican sites such as copan. Hence a substantial methodological development has encouraged more standardized descriptive and grouping protocols based on mathematical and statistical parameters. Extremely high melting point. I classification and typology william y.

Dating limitations are physical ones. All such typologies are abstractions and fail to describe all of the variability in an artistic tradition. The subject of classification of ceramic types is not without controversy. Ceramic types refer to the most basic classification group defined for a particular ceramic item.

Ceramics placed into different wares assigned to specific traditions are than assigned to types based on surface including surface texture or painted styles indicative of pottery know to have been produced within particular geographic and during. The morphological and typological study of pottery has traditionally been crucial for organizing excavation records. American antiquity 9 271 288 krieger an early exemplar of functional classification believed that artifacts should be classified in such a way as to. Unesco eolss sample chapters archaeology vol.

Professional disagreement over specifics is common. For example brew 1946 discussed in detail problems in using the kinds of conventions and strategies originally. Low coefficient of friction. The products of the classification i e.

In archaeology a typology is the result of the classification of things according to their physical characteristics. The obsidian hydration laboratory at the university of auckland new zealand describes the method in some detail. Changes in ceramic design did not happen overnight and archaeological typologies tend to break continua of.