Abstract
The identification of social interaction is one of the primary reasons archaeologists embark on the petrographic examination of ceramic and stone artifacts. For archaeology, petrography is a laboratory method that aims at identifying the mineralogical and microstructural composition of artifacts. It is based on the use of a polarizing light microscope to recognize minerals and their structural arrangement to carry out provenance and technological studies of artifacts. Because each geographic region has its own unique lithography, it is often possible to identify where artifacts that have undergone pyrotechnological change have their origin. Pottery is one of the most ubiquitous artifacts found on ancient Near Eastern sites, and as the preparation of petrographic thin sections is relatively inexpensive, the petrographic analyses of ceramics have proven to be a low-cost and expedient way of making general assessments concerning the production locales for ceramics and the role in trade and exchange. There have been very few petrographic studies of Iron Age ceramics from stratified sites in the Transjordanian region of Edom. The results presented here for the first time contribute to understanding cultural evolution and socioeconomic exchange during this approximately 500-year period.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | New Insights into the Iron age archaeolgy of Edom, southern Jordan |
| Subtitle of host publication | Surveys, Excavations, and Research from the University ofCalifornia, San Diego–Department of Antiquities of Jordan,Edom Lowlands Regional Archaeology Project |
| Editors | Thomas E. Levy, Mohammad Najjar, Erez Ben-Yosef |
| Publisher | The Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press, University of California |
| Chapter | 5 |
| Pages | 461- |
| Volume | 1 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9781938770937 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781931745994 |
| State | Published - 2014 |