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Red Slip Ware: a Chrono-Stratigraphic Approach to Middle Bronze Age Pottery (2000-1600 BC)

GRANDI, Giulia Adelaide

Red Slip Ware (RSW) is one of the most significant pottery productions of Middle Bronze Age in Central Anatolia. Its formal characteristics made it a case study to investigate the evolution of pottery traditions between the Kārum period and the Old Hittite one. The aim of this paper is to propose a preliminary outcome on typological and technological features of RSW, based on material retrieved from key-sites, such as Kültepe, Boğazköy, Acemhöyük and Konya Karahöyük. The first step is the definition of a ceramic typology, built on morphometric and functional aspects, gathering data from a in situ level up to a regional scale of inquiry. The purpose is to recognize a pottery seriation, arranged in a chrono-stratigraphic order, to perform synchronic and diachronic analysis of RSW pottery repertoire and to detect aspects of continuity and discontinuity in RSW manufacturing processes. Through ceramic seriation it is also possible to fix chronological problematics, as discrepancies in the sites’ periodisation, still present in Anatolian studies. This work is part of a broader PhD research project aimed at better assessing RSW production techniques and distribution patterns, as well as RSW's social and economic roles, through a comprehensive approach.

Session 1. Exploring Archaeology as a Global Science [info]