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Setting the wheels in motion: Re-examining ceramic forming techniques in Indus Civilisation villages in northwest India

Ceccarelli, A; Quinn, PS; Singh, RN; Petrie, CA; (2021) Setting the wheels in motion: Re-examining ceramic forming techniques in Indus Civilisation villages in northwest India. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology , 64 (101346) , Article 101346. 10.1016/j.jaa.2021.101346. Green open access

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Abstract

The invention of rotational devices contributed to a range of developments in craft production technology, perhaps most visibly in the various forms of potter's wheels. These technological innovations, and the adoption or non-adoption of those innovations, carry economic and social implications, which are significant for understanding past human behaviour. There has been debate around the introduction and use of the potter’s wheel in South Asia's Indus Civilisation for almost a century, and opinions remain divided. This paper considers the emerging ceramic traditions identified at two Indus settlements in modern Haryana, northwest India. It presents evidence demonstrating that Indus Civilisation potters utilised multiple forming techniques for producing ceramic vessels and explores the evidence for the use of rotational gestures and rotational devices in regional ceramic production industries. Two dominant technological traditions are outlined, along with the implications of this discovery and future research opportunities.

Type: Article
Title: Setting the wheels in motion: Re-examining ceramic forming techniques in Indus Civilisation villages in northwest India
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.jaa.2021.101346
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2021.101346
Language: English
Additional information: © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Keywords: Potter’s wheel, Forming techniques, Ceramic, Pottery, Technological traditions, Indus Civilisation
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Institute of Archaeology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Institute of Archaeology > Institute of Archaeology Gordon Square
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10137419
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