Neolithic and Bronze Age Greece by Clare Burke
The Wider Island of Pelops: Studies on Prehistoric Aegean Pottery in Honour of Professor Christopher Mee, 2023
This chapter discusses the Neolithic-Early Bronze Age pottery analysed from the site if Midea in ... more This chapter discusses the Neolithic-Early Bronze Age pottery analysed from the site if Midea in the Arpolid of NE Peloponnese, Greece. The paper presents pottery shapes and some of the petrographic and SEM results which show aspects of continuity and change, with notable technological changes related to the use of grog.
Journal of Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2023
ONLINE ACCESS HERE https://rdcu.be/dbRb4
This paper presents the analysis of Early Helladic II ... more ONLINE ACCESS HERE https://rdcu.be/dbRb4
This paper presents the analysis of Early Helladic II (EH II) pottery from Keramidaki (Ancient Corinth) and the nearby settlement of Korakou. Based on macroscopic, petrographic and SEM-EDS data, the work builds on pioneering chemical research by Michael Attas who demonstrated the limited circulation of finewares in the region and posited the existence of a workshop in the area of the Corinthian Plain. The current research adds substantial detail to Attas' insights by characterising the varied range of pottery fabrics encompassed within his chemical groups, differences in raw material choice and manipulation, and the presence of both oxidation and reduction firing regimes to achieve different surface finishes. It is suggested that the area hosted a number of potters during this period, some making a broad range of pottery types to satisfy daily consumption needs of the local community, whilst others produced a more restricted repertoire.
Journal of Archaeological Science Reports, 2021
This paper will present the results of an integrated programme of analysis that combines typologi... more This paper will present the results of an integrated programme of analysis that combines typological, macro-scopic, petrographic, and microstructural techniques, with experimental analysis, to examine and reconstruct the chaîne opératoire of production used to make Bronze Age ceramics from the site of Pheneos, Peloponnese, mainland Greece. The results demonstrate the prevalence of local production using a narrow range of raw materials and specific sequence of forming techniques that were applied to make a wide variety of vessel types from the Early through to the Late Bronze Age. This domination of local production is accompanied by the presence of a small number of high quality imports from key centres of production during the Middle and Late Bronze Age.
Free access for 50 days - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X2030451X?dgcid=author
TΟ ΑΡΧΑΙΟΛΟΓΙΚΟ ΕΡΓΟ ΣΤΗΝ ΠΕΛΟΠΟΝΝΗΣΟ 2 (ΑΕΠΕΛ2) Πρακτικά της Β ́ Επιστημονικής Συνάντησης Καλαμάτα, 1-4 Νοεμβρίου 2017, 2021
A short report on preliminary macroscopic and petrographic analysis of EHIII-LHII ceramics from A... more A short report on preliminary macroscopic and petrographic analysis of EHIII-LHII ceramics from Archaia Pheneos, Greece. (For detailed publication of Pheneos results see Burke, C., Zavadil, M., and Kordatzaki, G. 2021 The chaîne opératoire of pottery traditions at Pheneos, Mainland Greece, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 35)
Oxford Journal of Archaeology , 2020
This paper discusses the analysis of Early Bronze Age ‘Talioti’ style ceramics found at sites acr... more This paper discusses the analysis of Early Bronze Age ‘Talioti’ style ceramics found at sites across Corinthia and the Argolid, in the NE Peloponnese of mainland Greece. Forming part of a broader programme of analysis, it presents the results of an integrated methodology to address questions relating to the potential sources of raw materials, the identification of potting practices, and the nature of vessel movement during the EBA period. The objective of the work has been to place site-based results within a broader spatial and temporal context, specifically examining how this characteristic ceramic assemblage has been used as a chronological and cultural marker for the Early Bronze Age 1 (EBI) period in the NE Peloponnese of Greece, and the implications of analysis for our understanding of its chronological and spatial distribution.
Pottery technologies and sociocultural connections Between the Aegean and Anatolia during the 3 rd Millennium BC , 2018
This paper will discuss some of the key results of petrographic analysis undertaken on LN–EH II c... more This paper will discuss some of the key results of petrographic analysis undertaken on LN–EH II ceramic material from the site of Midea. Through examination of the petrological and technological variability present at Midea, our results suggest both continuity and significant changes in technological practice, distribution trends and consumption
choices over time. Key amongst our results has been the identification of a fabric characterised by sandstone and low-grade metamorphic rocks, thought to originate in the area of the Talioti Valley, and indicating the presence of a major centre of production in the Argolid. Other fabrics testify to shared technological traditions and raw material choices across the northeastern Peloponnese, which have a very long history of use. Significant changes are presented, not only in specific technological choices, but also in the distribution of vessels from particular production centres. These reflect increased interaction between communities in the Argolid and Corinthia over time.
Integrative Approaches in Ceramic Petrography Edited by Mary F. Ownby, Isabelle C. Druc, and Maria A. Masucci, 2017
Neolithic Serbia by Clare Burke
Archaeologia Austriaca , 2022
The excavations at Svinjarička Čuka in the South Morava Valley in Serbia are presented with new p... more The excavations at Svinjarička Čuka in the South Morava Valley in Serbia are presented with new primary data from the field and related material and scientific analyses. Newly recovered architectural remains from the classical Starčevo period revealed a variety of domestic features, so far belonging to an earlier and later occupation phase at the river terrace dating between 5700/5600 and 5500 BC. Details of the stratigraphy and certain materials are presented for selected domestic contexts, including one potential ‘Starčevo house’. Archaeological and scientific analyses are discussed and contextualised within the Neolithisation process in the chapters on new radiocarbon data and their Bayesian modelling, pottery studies, chipped stones and their raw material analyses, grinding kits, animal remains, archaeobotanical results and charcoal analysis. The later occupation at the site is presented with new results for the Middle and Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age, including domestic contexts, radiocarbon data and materials.
Pots in context: Vessels' use, function, and consumption, research strategies and methodology, 2022
Full book available from BECAP Academia Page
Archaeology in Macedonia , 2022
This paper briefly summarises preliminary observations about the production and consumption of th... more This paper briefly summarises preliminary observations about the production and consumption of the Starčevo ceramic assemblage from the new site of Svinjarička Čuka as part of the NEOTECH project. Through integrating typological and technological approaches, it is already possible to see at the macroscopic level strong links to other sites, particularly in the surrounding region, not only in terms of ideas about what a vessel should look like but also in terms of how it should be made, including some potential ancestral links to Anatolian potting traditions.
The visualization of the archaeological heritage from the Balkans turns the spotlight on the huma... more The visualization of the archaeological heritage from the Balkans turns the spotlight on the human past in this region that is in many ways essential for our understanding of European history in general. Southeast Europe represents one of the key areas for analysing the human past, where most of the major cultural developments started that had a long-lasting impact on the continent. This specific culmination of cultural and social dynamics over millennia took place in the highly diverse, but connected landscapes of the Balkans. These distinct characteristics form the backbone of one of the most exciting and challenging areas for archaeology on the globe. Visualizing the Unknown Balkans offers an overview of ongoing interdisciplinary fieldwork in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Serbia covering a time span of about six millennia. The results, in the form of maps, plans, geophysical screenings and digital reconstructions, open up new perspectives for potential future investigations and set the course for the broader
public and scientific perception of archaeological research in the region.
Archaeologia Austriaca, 2019
This article discusses recent findings from the newly identified archaeological site of Svinjarič... more This article discusses recent findings from the newly identified archaeological site of Svinjarička Čuka, situated next to the Southern Morava River in southern Serbia. We will present the latest results from the excavation, material studies, bioarchaeological analyses and contextualised radiocarbon data, focusing on the Starčevo Neolith-ic horizon within the context of the new NEOTECH project. The interdisciplinary approach aims to shed light on the Neolithisation process of the region along one of the main communication routes between the Aegean and the Danube by the Axios-Vardar-Morava river system. The work so far has uncovered remains of Early to Middle Neolithic features dating around 5600 calBC, with analyses of faunal remains, ceramics and lithics contributing new insights into animal exploitation, raw materials and technological practices during this important time of socioeconomic transition.
Neolithic Anatolia by Clare Burke
R. Özbal, M. Erdalkıran, Y. Tonoike (eds.). Neolithic Pottery from the Near East: Production, Distribution and Use. Proceedings of the 2019 Third International Workshop (Antalya, Turkey). Koç University AKMED Publications: Istanbul, 2022
This paper discusses the Neolithic ceramics from the important site of Çukuriçi Höyük, Western Tu... more This paper discusses the Neolithic ceramics from the important site of Çukuriçi Höyük, Western Turkey, detailing typological and technological elements. The results of the pottery analysis undertaken at the site so far, have highlighted the use of a range of different forming techniques, often in combination. It has also highlighted the use of multiple raw material types to make a varied range of shapes, all of which testify to long held potting traditions, as well as demonstrating the high degree of knowledge and skill used to make these durable and well-finished pottery types. We discuss our results within the contexts of those from other sites, in terms of typological affinities, key technical elements related to vessel forming, and potential pottery use.
Pottery Technology and Theory by Clare Burke
Crafting in the World: Materiality in the Making, 2018
This chapter summarises the key themes addressed by the various case studies in the book, discuss... more This chapter summarises the key themes addressed by the various case studies in the book, discussing, gender, identity, the role of choice, nostalgia, psychology and the importance of the cultural context in which crafting takes place.
Crafting in the World: Materiality in the Making Springer: New York, 2018
This chapter provides a summary background to the study of technology and craft in archaeology an... more This chapter provides a summary background to the study of technology and craft in archaeology and anthropology, advocating for interdisciplinary research and more cross over between academic study and physical practice.
It summarises the approach of the book and the case studies within in it.
The volume expands understandings of crafting practices, which in the past was the major relation... more The volume expands understandings of crafting practices, which in the past was the major relational interaction between the social agency of materials, technology, and people, in co-creating an emergent ever-changing world. The chapters discuss different ways that crafting in the present is useful in understanding crafting experiences and methods in the past, including experiments to reproduce ancient excavated objects, historical accounts of crafting methods and experiences, craft revivals, and teaching historical crafts at museums and schools.
The volume is unique in the diversity of its theoretical and multidisciplinary approaches to researching crafting, not just as a set of techniques for producing functional objects, but as social practices and technical choices embodying cultural ideas, knowledge, and multiple interwoven social networks. Crafting expresses and constitutes mental schemas, identities, ideologies, and cultures. The multiple meanings and significances of crafting are explored from a great variety of disciplinary perspectives, including anthropology, archaeology, sociology, education, psychology, women’s studies, and ethnic studies.
Reports by Clare Burke
by Barbara Horejs, Christoph Schwall, Katharina Rebay-Salisbury, Roderick B . Salisbury, Roman Gundacker, Felix Höflmayer, Bettina Bader, Vera Müller, Teresa Bürge, Laura Burkhardt, Reinhard Jung, Elina Kardamaki, Birgitta Eder, Mario Gavranovic, Benedikt Biederer, Michael brandl, Clare Burke, and Holger Kockelmann OREA Annual Report 2018, 2019
Research results and reports from the Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology of the Aust... more Research results and reports from the Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences of the year 2018 including outreach activities, excavations, surveys, analyses, material studies and current publications from all research groups and labs working in 17 countries.
by Barbara Horejs, Christoph Schwall, Roman Gundacker, Felix Höflmayer, Bettina Bader, Uroš Matić, Natasha Ayers, Reinhard Jung, Birgitta Eder, Mario Gavranovic, Michael brandl, Clare Burke, and Michaela Zavadil 8 Years of OREA, Annual Report, 2020
This special issue of the annual report includes an overview of the 8-year history of the Institu... more This special issue of the annual report includes an overview of the 8-year history of the Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences with research highlights from the Palaeolithic to the early Iron Age. The research results and reports from the year 2020 are summarizing outreach activities, excavations, surveys, analyses, material studies and current publications from all groups and labs working in 17 countries. All publications of 8 years OREA institute are additionally listed at the end of the report.
Book Reviews by Clare Burke
Archaeologia Austriaca, 2021
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Neolithic and Bronze Age Greece by Clare Burke
This paper presents the analysis of Early Helladic II (EH II) pottery from Keramidaki (Ancient Corinth) and the nearby settlement of Korakou. Based on macroscopic, petrographic and SEM-EDS data, the work builds on pioneering chemical research by Michael Attas who demonstrated the limited circulation of finewares in the region and posited the existence of a workshop in the area of the Corinthian Plain. The current research adds substantial detail to Attas' insights by characterising the varied range of pottery fabrics encompassed within his chemical groups, differences in raw material choice and manipulation, and the presence of both oxidation and reduction firing regimes to achieve different surface finishes. It is suggested that the area hosted a number of potters during this period, some making a broad range of pottery types to satisfy daily consumption needs of the local community, whilst others produced a more restricted repertoire.
Free access for 50 days - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X2030451X?dgcid=author
choices over time. Key amongst our results has been the identification of a fabric characterised by sandstone and low-grade metamorphic rocks, thought to originate in the area of the Talioti Valley, and indicating the presence of a major centre of production in the Argolid. Other fabrics testify to shared technological traditions and raw material choices across the northeastern Peloponnese, which have a very long history of use. Significant changes are presented, not only in specific technological choices, but also in the distribution of vessels from particular production centres. These reflect increased interaction between communities in the Argolid and Corinthia over time.
Neolithic Serbia by Clare Burke
public and scientific perception of archaeological research in the region.
Neolithic Anatolia by Clare Burke
Pottery Technology and Theory by Clare Burke
It summarises the approach of the book and the case studies within in it.
The volume is unique in the diversity of its theoretical and multidisciplinary approaches to researching crafting, not just as a set of techniques for producing functional objects, but as social practices and technical choices embodying cultural ideas, knowledge, and multiple interwoven social networks. Crafting expresses and constitutes mental schemas, identities, ideologies, and cultures. The multiple meanings and significances of crafting are explored from a great variety of disciplinary perspectives, including anthropology, archaeology, sociology, education, psychology, women’s studies, and ethnic studies.
Reports by Clare Burke
Book Reviews by Clare Burke
This paper presents the analysis of Early Helladic II (EH II) pottery from Keramidaki (Ancient Corinth) and the nearby settlement of Korakou. Based on macroscopic, petrographic and SEM-EDS data, the work builds on pioneering chemical research by Michael Attas who demonstrated the limited circulation of finewares in the region and posited the existence of a workshop in the area of the Corinthian Plain. The current research adds substantial detail to Attas' insights by characterising the varied range of pottery fabrics encompassed within his chemical groups, differences in raw material choice and manipulation, and the presence of both oxidation and reduction firing regimes to achieve different surface finishes. It is suggested that the area hosted a number of potters during this period, some making a broad range of pottery types to satisfy daily consumption needs of the local community, whilst others produced a more restricted repertoire.
Free access for 50 days - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X2030451X?dgcid=author
choices over time. Key amongst our results has been the identification of a fabric characterised by sandstone and low-grade metamorphic rocks, thought to originate in the area of the Talioti Valley, and indicating the presence of a major centre of production in the Argolid. Other fabrics testify to shared technological traditions and raw material choices across the northeastern Peloponnese, which have a very long history of use. Significant changes are presented, not only in specific technological choices, but also in the distribution of vessels from particular production centres. These reflect increased interaction between communities in the Argolid and Corinthia over time.
public and scientific perception of archaeological research in the region.
It summarises the approach of the book and the case studies within in it.
The volume is unique in the diversity of its theoretical and multidisciplinary approaches to researching crafting, not just as a set of techniques for producing functional objects, but as social practices and technical choices embodying cultural ideas, knowledge, and multiple interwoven social networks. Crafting expresses and constitutes mental schemas, identities, ideologies, and cultures. The multiple meanings and significances of crafting are explored from a great variety of disciplinary perspectives, including anthropology, archaeology, sociology, education, psychology, women’s studies, and ethnic studies.
Abstract: Crafting-in-the-World: the temporal and spatial dynamics of craft and its practitioners.
Whilst the last two decades have witnessed a prolific interest in craft studies, which have increasingly acknowledged the sociality of craft, the role of choice, and the importance of the body in the development and transmission of craft traditions, there remains an uncomfortable dichotomy between the temporal and spatial understandings of craft practice. The abundance of existing research has traditionally focused on either describing production processes or attempted to theorise how the finished products of craft acquire meaning. The separation of object from process has resulted in the products of craft looming un-tethered to practice, devoid of spatial and temporal understandings of craft practice.
In addition and despite claims to the contrary to this, there has been little coherent collaboration between academic specialisms, which has only served to heighten the fragmented nature of craft study and impeded our understanding of the subject as a whole. In an attempt to address these issues this session will encourage multidisciplinary engagement with the topic of craft, focusing on the temporal and spatial embeddedness of craft activities; what we term Crafting-in-the-World.
We are seeking contributions that will discuss the acts and arenas of production and the reunification of products with their formative processes to embrace a holistic approach to the study of innovation, production, and consumption. To complement this we invite papers that examine the intrinsic relationship between practice and space, exploring the ways in which practice is manifested in the landscape through time, looking at both the physical remains of production and the expression of crafting traditions. Contributions addressing experimental work are particularly welcome.
Papers for the session could address the following themes:
• Reconciling continuity and change: redundancy, innovation and change (every innovation involves loss and gain); re-contextualisation of innovations; why some things change and others don’t (i.e., there is no such thing as progress).
• Spatial articulation of craft: technological ‘features’ as architecture; space shaping practices and practices shaping space; compartmentalization of space and time geographies.
• Tangled web of technological practice: communities of practice; Complementing, referencing, incorporating aspects of other crafts; mobile crafts (i.e., itinerant crafts people).
If you wish to submit to the session, please email j.slater@shef.ac.uk by the 27th of June with the following:
• Paper title (maximum of 20 words)
• Paper abstract (150 words max)
• Your name, affiliation and contact details
If you have any queries or problems, please feel free to contact us.
Clare Burke Davies & Jessica Slater
PhD candidates
Department of Archaeology, University of Sheffield
Immediately preceding the foundation of the Palaces of Bronze Age Greece, the third Millennium BC has received considerable attention. A key aspect of this research has been the nature of ceramic technology and its changes over time. Such work has attempted to detail and understand pottery production and its patterns of consumption, relating trends to wider discussions of societal organization and development in this formative period.
Forming part of a broader programme of analysis of Early Bronze Age ceramics from Corinthia and the Argolid, this paper will examine the results of macroscopic, petrographic and chemical analysis of Early Helladic material from several sites within the NE Peloponnese. Examining and building on our current understanding of the nature and organisation of Early Helladic production and exchange in Corinthia based upon NAA work undertaken in the 1970s (Attas 1981; Attas et al. 1987) our results have revealed significant new detail about the scale and diversity of production across the NE Peloponnese.
Of particular interest is the evidence for both localized small-scale production and exchange, alongside centres with larger scale production whose products appear to have had a broad distribution. Through detailing such technological traditions and spheres of interaction with the surrounding region, these results provide significant insights into the varied character of EH production between sites in the Corinthia and the consumption practices of small-scale communities.
petrographic, SEM, and NAA analysis of ceramics from Mainland
Greece, this paper focuses on the Late Neolithic to Early Bronze II
sequence at the site of Midea in the Argolid.
Through investigating the technological variability present at
Midea, our results suggest significant differences, and continuity,
in technological choices over time. Most notable is the decline of
grog temper between the Final Neolithic and Early Bronze Age
periods. This is accompanied by the increased dominance of a
sandstone-low grade metamorphic fabric believed to originate in
the area around Asine but which appears to have been widely
distributed throughout the NE Peloponnese.
These results indicate a fundamental shift in the way potters
approached their craft between the end of the Neolithic and the
early stages of the Bronze Age. Significant changes not only in
specific technological choices but also in the scale of production
and exchange, suggest the emergence of particular production
areas and increased interaction between communities over time.
However, this narrative of change has been constructed at the expense of a coherent picture of the character of Early Bronze Age crafting practices and the degree of interaction between communities. The present project examines ceramic material culture in Early Bronze Age of Mainland Greece. In work which integrates macroscopic, petrographic, chemical and SEM analysis of Early Helladic II ceramics from Korinthia and the Argolid, it examines the varied ceramic landscape of these areas, relating new understandings of provenance and technology to issues of scale, both in terms of settlement size and craft production.
Building on previous work by NAA, undertaken by Michael Attas, we suggest instances of localized small-scale production and juxtapose these with evidence of larger scale production in some centres, whose products have a broad distribution.
Forming part of a broader program of analysis of EBA pottery from the Corinthia and Argolid, this paper examines the results of macroscopic and petrographic analysis of ceramics from Early Helladic Tsoungiza, Nemea, a large fill in Ancient Corinth, the Sanctuary of Apollo Maleatas at Epidauros, and finally the sites of Delpriza and Agios Pandeleimon in the Southern Argolid. This analysis builds on previous chemical analyses by Michael Attas in these regions and has enabled the reconstruction of EH technological choices and practices, thus revealing important information about the development of craft practices in these areas.
EH pottery production is shown to have taken place in the vicinity of all the sites under consideration and to have been characterized by specific fabric recipes of each site. Some locations demonstrate clear change between EHI and II, while both Tsoungiza give a flavour of the substantial changes in ceramic technology by the EHIII period.
Of great interest are the scale and diversity of production within each community, which appear to have differed considerably. This is exemplified through different trajectories of technological development and exchange. Some sites, such as Tsoungiza, in EHII move to rather homogeneous crafting practices with a limited number of producers, but contain regional and supra-regional imports (most notably from Aegina). Others, such as Ancient Corinth, appear to be characterized by a number of variant paste recipes, which derive from local sources and may reflect a larger number of workshops or a greater scale of production.
These trends are cross-cut by evidence for shared technological behaviors such as the mixing of calcareous and non-calcareous clays, particularly for Urfirnis ware, and the wide appearance of products of particular recipe tradition or workshops across sites, such as the use of siltstone-based fabrics. Through detailing such technological traditions, their diachronic alteration and spheres of interaction with the surrounding region, these results provide insights into the varied character of EH production between sites in the Corinthia and Argolid and the consumption practices of small-scale communities.
material from the site of Midea. Through examination of the petrological and technological variability present at Midea, our results suggest both continuity and significant changes in technological practice, distribution trends and consumption choices over time. Key amongst our results has been the identification of a fabric characterised by sandstone and low-grade metamorphic rocks, thought to originate in the area of the Talioti Valley, and indicating the presence of a major centre of production in the Argolid. Other fabrics testify to shared technological traditions and raw material choices across the northeastern Peloponnese, which have a very long history of use. Significant changes are presented, not only in specific technological choices, but also in the distribution of vessels from particular production centres. These reflect increased interaction between communities in the Argolid and Corinthia over time.
Keywords: Neolithic, Early Helladic, petrography, ceramics, technological tradition, northeastern Peloponnese