Ceramics in Archaeology: Pottery of the Vučedol Culture in the Vinkovci Region

• Main Author: Miloglav, Ina; Sveučilište u Zagrebu, Filozofski fakultet, Odsjek za arheologiju
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: Croatian
• Published: FF Open Press - open access books from University of Zagreb Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences 2019
• Subjects: sami
• Online Access: https://openbooks.ffzg.unizg.hr/index.php/FFpress/catalog/book/31

The book is divided into two parts: the first part stems from the author’s position in the Subdepartmentof Archaeometry and Methodology at the Department of Archaeology of the Facultyof Humanities and Social Sciences of Zagreb University, where she deals with an aspect ofarchaeology which is not very popular among archaeologists: counting, classifying and typologicallydescribing tens of thousands of pottery sherds. But, as the author herself put it, We put togetherpieces of information as if piecing together a jigsaw puzzle, as though we were participatingin the creation of the pottery vessels and entering the lives of the people who made them. Pottery isone of the materials most frequently processed and analysed by archaeologists, since it providesinfinite and important information about the cultural, social, economic, religious and technologicalachievements of a community and about the period in which the vessel was made. This partof the book discusses analytical techniques and theoretical frameworks of pottery technology,and parameters for the processing of archaeological pottery. As such, it is very useful and pertinentfor any archaeologist dealing with pottery finds as the leading source of archaeological data. The second part of the book is also interesting to a broader readership, and not just for experts.Much as archaeology is nowadays an interdisciplinary science – which can also be read from InaMiloglav’s book – we could not imagine reconstructing a landscape or the dietary habits of a populationwithout archaeobotany, while archaeozoology studies animal remains found at archaeologicalsites. For example, we have learned that, in the period between around 2880–2480 BC,the predominant economic activity of the Vučedol population of Ervenica was animal herding,and that they mostly raised cattle. Many analyses done on sherds of Vučedol pottery have yielded‘unimaginable’ data on the pottery. The archaeological biomarkers from a cup recovered fromErvenica have revealed residues of milk fat, allowing us to interpret it as a milk cup, while thefat residues on a pottery strainer from Damića Gradina lead to the conclusion that the Vučedolpopulation produced cheese. In addition, petrographic analysis of pottery sherds has shown thatthe mineral composition of the pottery corresponds to the mineral composition of the loess thatErvenica and Damića Gradina sit on, which confirms that vessels were produced from local rawmaterials. A standardization test has also been conducted on the pottery material, and its resultssuggest that the production of pottery was standardized, especially when it comes to a certaintype of bowl. On the basis of the results obtained, the author has concluded that the pottery productionin these two Vučedol settlements was organized and that it involved specialized potters. (from the Foreword byMaja Krznarić Škrivanko) Knjiga je podijeljena na dva dijela, prvi dio knjige proizlazi iz radnog mjesta autorice na Katedriza arheometriju i metodologiju Odsjeka za arheologiju Filozofskog fakulteta u Zagrebu, ukojem se uhvatila u koštac s onim dijelom arheologije koji nije baš popularan kod arheologa, ato je prebrojavanje, klasificiranje i tipiziranje desetaka tisuća keramičkih ulomaka. Ali kako samaautorica kaže slažeći podatke poput slagalice čini nam se kao da sami sudjelujemo u stvaranjukeramičkih posuda i ulazimo u živote ljudi koji su ih napravili. Keramika je jedan od najčešćihmaterijala koji arheolozi obrađuju i analiziraju, pružajući nebrojene i važne informacije o kulturnim,socijalnim, ekonomskim, religioznim i tehnološkim postignućima određene zajednice irazdoblja u kojem su pojedine posude nastale. Ovaj dio knjige koji se bavi analitičkim tehnikamai teorijskim okvirima o keramičkoj tehnologiji, kao i parametrima za obradu keramičkog materijala,vrlo je koristan i važan svakom arheologu koji se bavi keramičkim nalazima kao vodećemizvoru arheoloških podataka.Drugi dio knjige zanimljiv je i ostalim čitateljima, ne samo stručnjacima. Iako je arheologijadanas interdisciplinarna znanost, što se iščitava i iz knjige Ine Miloglav, bez arheobotanike nemožemo zamisliti rekonstrukciju krajolika ili prehrambene navike stanovništva, dok se arheozoologijabavi proučavanjem životinjskih ostataka na arheološkim lokalitetima. Tako npr. saznajemoda je dominantna gospodarska grana Vučedolaca na Ervenici oko 2880.-2480. g. pr. Kr. bilostočarstvo te da su najviše uzgajali goveda. Mnoge od analiza koje su napravljene na ulomcimavučedolskih posuda pružaju nam „nezamislive“ podatke o keramičkom posuđu. Arheološki biomarkerina jednoj šalici s Ervenice pokazali su ostatke mliječnih masti te ju možemo interpretiratikao šalicu za mlijeko, dok se na osnovi ostataka masti s keramičkog cjedila s Damića gradinezaključuje kako su Vučedolci proizvodili sir. Osim toga, petrografske analize keramičkih ulomaka na vinkovačkom područjupokazale su da mineralni sastav keramike odgovara mineralnom sastavu prapora na kojem senalaze Ervenica i Damića gradina, što je dokaz da se posuđe izrađivalo od lokalnih sirovina.Napravljen je i test standardizacije na keramičkom materijalu čiji rezultati ukazuju na standardiziranuproizvodnju keramičkih posuda, posebno određenog tipa zdjela. Na osnovi rezultataautorica zaključuje da je u obrađenim vučedolskim naseljima postojala organizirana keramičkaproizvodnja sa specijaliziranim lončarima. (Iz Predgovora Maje Krznarić Škrivanko)