Mary Ownby
My research involves utilizing petrography, compositional analyses, and other scientific techniques to study ancient ceramics and other materials. I do this through my company, Ownby Analytical, LLC. I am particularly interested in the exchange of objects in their political and economic contexts, and the technology of pottery production. I also work with elemental data (NAA, XRF, LA-ICP-MS), scanning electron microscopy, and microprobe instruments. I have conducted projects on pottery and other objects (beads, stone, plaster) throughout the US Southwest and Eastern Mediterranean along with places such as Panama, South Carolina, and Uzbekistan. I enjoy working on a variety of material from any part of the world!
I am very grateful to my colleagues for allowing me to study this material and hope to continue to learn more about the importance of pottery to past societies.
Phone: 505-356-9580
Address: Ownby Analytical, LLC
PO Box 65371
Albuquerque, NM 87193
I am very grateful to my colleagues for allowing me to study this material and hope to continue to learn more about the importance of pottery to past societies.
Phone: 505-356-9580
Address: Ownby Analytical, LLC
PO Box 65371
Albuquerque, NM 87193
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Papers by Mary Ownby
The papers cover domestic, funerary, festival, and ritual contexts and the ceramic finds within them. Additional topics are the widely neglected reuse of pottery and how ceramic material can be interpreted in its wider socio-economic context. The case studies discuss pottery derived from many sites in Egypt from the Delta in the north to Elephantine in the south, and cover a chronological range from the Old Kingdom to the Coptic period. This broad approach ensures that the focus was on the role of Egyptian pottery within past societies as seen through various types of archaeological contexts. This volume provides archaeological and ceramic insights that are significant beyond Ancient Egypt"
During the MBA, Levantine peoples were present at the site of Tell el-Dabca in the eastern Nile Delta. However, archaeologically there is little evidence for contact between these peoples and the Egyptians at Memphis. The results of comparison of MBA Canaanite jars from both sites suggest that the political situation fostered long-distance trade with the Levant and limited local interaction with the Egyptians.
During the LBA, Egyptian kings controlled territory in the Levant. A comparison of MBA and LBA Canaanite jars from Memphis revealed that the political changes in some cases affected the trade partners but not in others. Further, the production of the jars appeared to have altered in some regions.
These results suggest that the affect of political situations on trade can vary, from only minor changes, to the complete exclusion of trade partners and the introduction of new trade contacts. However, the influence of lucrative trade networks on political developments was also illustrated. The utility of provenance studies of ceramics for providing insight into the complex relationship between trade and politics was confirmed.