Abstract:

In recent years, the great potential of the technological analysis of archaeological materials has emerged. This approach allows in fact to obtain an anthropological reading of the assemblages, going beyond typology. Its premises are based on observations made in the ethnoarchaeological field which have shown how learning processes form the basis of technical traditions and their transmission from generation to generation. So, the identification of the chaînes opératoires permits to investigate the social dimension of production and, indirectly, to achieve a better comprehension of the communities within which determined traditions are handed down.
After a short presentation of the assumptions on which the technological analysis of ceramics is based, and its application, some case studies will be presented, including in particular that of the Predynastic settlement and necropolis of Nag el-Qarmila (First Nile Cataract region, Egypt). The assemblage from this small peripheral site is made of ceramic commonly attributed on a typological basis to the so-called Naqada culture, the Nubian A-Group culture, a Shale Ware with roots in the Egyptian Western Desert and Upper Egypt, and a few hybrid items. The identification of three different technical traditions and the analysis of their interactions allowed to understand whether their variability was functional or sociological, and better delineate the modes of pottery production. And the obtained data led to propose a new interpretative model for the “mixed” assemblage characterizing this site.