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Handbook for the 1st Annual Maya at the Lago Workshop April 14 17, 2011

ARCHAEOLOGICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CERAMICS:


Drawing Conventions and Practices in the Maya Area

Prepared by Reiko Ishihara-Brito, Ph.D. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection Washington, D.C.

Table of Contents
I. II. III. IV. V. VI. Why are ceramics important in the archaeological record?.2 What are ceramic?.2 What can ceramics tell us?3 How are ceramics analyzed? 4 Why are ceramics illustrated?. 4 Basic conventions and creating the drawings.5

VII. References..11

Appendices A. Vessel forms in the Maya area.12 B. Radius chart..14

I.

Why are ceramics important in the archaeological record?

Pottery has been the focus of research from a variety of disciplinary perspectives including archaeology for numerous reasons. Humans have produced pottery since at least 10,000 BC usually by those living in sedentary communities. Because they are non-perishable, they tend to preserve in the archaeological record. Moreover, they were used by people throughout society, not being restricted to the upper stratum. They were also used in varied contexts from daily residential use to more specialized use, such as mortuary purposes. Due to their plasticity as a raw material, clay could be formed into a number of different shapes, thus ceramics were used for a myriad of functions. These factors are true for the Maya area as well. Ceramics comprise the most ubiquitous artifact class, the majority of which are vessels and sherds (fragments of vessels). Figurines are also included in this class. This handbook, however, focuses on ceramic vessels and sherds.

II.

What are ceramics?

The term ceramics stems from the Greek word keramos meaning potters clay, specifically referring to the fired product rather than the clay raw material. The two most basic components of ceramics are clay and water, the latter which gives the clay its characteristic plasticity. Inclusions in the claynatural or intentionally added (called temper by archaeologists) modify the clays texture and transform its properties such as stickiness, porosity, shrinkage, drying time, and reaction when fired. Temper may be any number of raw materials including sand, plant fiber, volcanic ash, crushed shell, crushed pottery, or rock. The clay and added materials is referred to as paste. The potters wheel was not used by the prehispanic Maya people. Rather ceramics were formed out of coils or slabs of clay, and molds were sometimes used. The pottery was then dried and finished. At this time, using a hard tool such as a pebble or sherd, surfaces may be treated in the following ways: smoothed to even out irregularities, leaving a matte surface, burnished to an irregular luster, possibly leaving lines from the tool, or polished to a uniform, highly glossy surface. The surface can then be further modified by a range of techniques. Examples include incisions, carvings, punctations, impressions, or appliqus. Color may be added to the entire surface using slips, not glazes, in the case of the Maya area. Rarely, vessels were coated with a layer of stucco to create a white canvas on which to paint. Usually applied after drying and before firing, slips are made of a watery fine clay, usually of a different color than the paste. Ceramics with a single

color are called monochromes. Prehispanic Maya pottery was often slipped one color as the base slip and decorated with various designs, images and sometimes text using different colored paints. When two colors are present, they are referred to as bichromes, and with three or more colors, polychromes. Though few direct evidence of production locales have been found, the ceramics were likely produced in open firings (bonfire kilns) or pit kilns, whose temperatures could reach about 900 and 1100 degrees, respectively. The terms ceramics and pottery have technical distinctions: ceramics can refer specifically to high-fired, vitrified, often glazed objects and utensils, while pottery can refer to low-fired, unvitrified objects and utensils. However, in Maya art and archaeology, these two terms are largely used synonymously, as objects made of clay during the prehispanic periods were not fired at temperatures sufficiently high enough to become vitrified.

III. What can ceramics tell us?


One of the primary purposes of ceramic analysis is to establish chronology for a particular archaeological site. Certain classes of ceramics recovered from stratigraphically distinct levels at a site can give a relative chronology of the ceramics used at the locale. When these are correlated with other nearby sites, a regional chronology can be established (cross-dating). With the aid of associated radiocarbon dates, more secure dates of the ceramic types can be achieved. In the event that there is little or no stratigraphy, seriation can be used. Seriation simply means to order things in a series. When the sequence is interpreted to be due to temporal changes, it can serve as a relative dating method. The underlying assumption for seriation is that a particular style is introduced into society, gains popularity, then its use declines. With pottery, formal or decorative attributes can be used to examine its frequency at a site or multiple sites. Plotted on a time vs frequency graph, frequency seriations show lens-shaped curves, with the peak of the styles popularity corresponding to the widest point. In addition to chronology, ceramics can be studied to examine how they were used. As tools, different shapes of pots and distinct pastes may reflect decisions on the part of the producers and users on the functions of the vessels. Certainly, the archaeological context from which the vessels were recovered will also aid in the interpretation of the vessels use. Vessel use can also be examined directly by analyzing material remains within the vessels, chemical residues, and use wear. Glyphic texts on vessels may describe the intended contents and owner of the pot. Pastes can be examined microscopically and instrumental neutron activation analysis. These studies may help understand production and distribution patterns

of pottery as well as social organization. Often ethnographic studies offer clues to our interpretations of the archaeological record including pottery (ethnographic analogy).

IV.

How are ceramics analyzed?

In order to standardize descriptions, develop chronologies (via cross-dating or seriation), and aid in intersite comparisons, the ceramics in your sample must be classified. One of the classification systems used predominantly in the Maya area is the type-variety system, established in the late 1950s. A type is a group of pottery that shares a set of diagnostic attributes, and within a type, different varieties point to a smaller subset of minor details. Types reflect pottery which was produced in a spatially and temporally restricted area. This classificatory system allows for comparisons across multiple sites and regions. For the Maya area, the primary diagnostic attributes (modes) that define a type consist of surface treatment such as slip color (or unslipped) and decoration, and subsequently, paste and form.

V.

Why are ceramics illustrated?

Drawings discussed here refer to technical illustrations and not realistic or artistic renderings. As technical illustrations of the material culture of a past society, it is important that the illustrator have basic prior knowledge of the subject being drawn and the purpose that the drawing will serve. The audience of the technical drawings is usually other academics in the discipline, who share basic knowledge of the material culture and the society that produced it. As such, archaeologists should be capable of producing their own illustrations. Technical illustrations of ceramics depict a selection of attributes that are of academic interest to the archaeologist, while many details not considered relevant to the research may be omitted. Accurate drawings of pottery vessels and sherds can visually show dimensions, form, manufacturing method, and surface features and decorations. From a rim or base sherd, the vessel may be reconstructed in the drawing. Technical line drawings are often more informative than a photograph, and they can facilitate comparative analyses with other sites and ceramics. Also line drawings are more easily reproduced than photographic images.

VI.

Basic conventions and creating the drawings

Some of the key components of illustrations are described here. It should be noted that archaeological illustrations have evolved through time and vary from geographic area. The conventions used likewise vary, and are not always uniformly applied in the same discipline. Having said that, the conventions presented here are the more common ones in the Maya area. Basic equipment necessary in producing good quality illustrations include the following: a high-intensity, non-fluorescent lamp to illuminate details to facilitate observation of the object; magnifying glass to study details; calipers to take measurements; ruler for drawing straight lines; triangle rulers (connect the two with tape); and sharp pencils and eraser. Inking pens may be used but the recent trend is to do the inking using computer software such as Adobe Illustrator. Prior to starting the actual illustration, it is useful to start with the following components on your graph paper. A scale bar should always be drawn, not only written in letters. It is standard practice to use the metric system (mm, cm). Thus it is important that you use metric graph paper.
cm 0 1 2 3 4 5

The header on the paper should consist of information on the object including artifact type and form, provenience information, date of the drawing, illustrators name, and perhaps project name. Typically, pottery is drawn in the way they would be used with the vessel rim or mouth at the top and the base of the pot at the bottom, as if placed horizontally on a flat surface. Rim sherds are drawn according to their proper orientation with the vessel mouth opening upward and the plane of the mouth horizontal. Base sherds are oriented downward in a way that maximizes the contact between the base and the flat surface on which it rests. Body sherds, when possible, should be oriented so that they reflect the proper orientation based on coil construction, smoothing, or other surface treatment, which are usually horizontal. Understanding the original vessel form may aid in interpreting the sherds approximate placement on the pot. Appendages such as handles and spouts that are not attached to rims or bases should likewise be oriented, when possible, according to the deduced original vessel form. A single illustration of a ceramic vessel or vessel fragment should depict the vessel form, profile and vertical section (thickness of the vessel or sherd), rim (or base)

diameter (if possible), and interior and exterior surface treatments. For sherds, the largest possible reconstructed shape of the pot should be depicted. The left half of the drawing depicts the section (cutaway view, as if of the vessel was cut out) and interior of the vessel, while the right half shows the exterior.

Key to a good drawing is clean, crisp, and thin lines. There should only be one thin, solid, continuous line. Reconstructed lines are drawn in dotted lines. Always be sure the pencil is sharp. If a mistake is made, be sure to erase completely.

Drawing a rim or base sherd


The first step is to take measurements. Assuming that the original vessel was circular in plan, the rim and base diameter can be established by either using a rim radius template (see Appendix B) or a drawing compass. With a radius template, simply place the rim on the paper so that no light shines through and find the closest match in curvature (see figure below).

If using a drawing compass (see figure below), place the rim on a piece of paper and trace the curvature of the rim (or base). Then, mark four points on the curve. Place the needle of the drawing compass on each dot and draw a half circle. The point where the two arcs meet is the center point of the vessel. Thus, simply measure from the traced arc of the rim (base) sherd to the center point. This is the rim (base) radius. Make a note of the rim (base) diameter under the header for reference.

The next step is to start your illustration. Using a ruler, draw a horizontal line the length of the rim diameter. At the halfway point, draw a perpendicular line downward from the first line. If you have a large enough sherd that includes both rim and base (or a whole vessel), then you can measure the height; the vertical line will then correspond to the vessel height. Draw another horizontal line at the bottom of the graph paper where the vertical line ends, which becomes the baseline. The base diameter can also be established using the radius template. These are your stance lines. The horizontal line represents the top of the vessel and the vertical line marks the center line that divides the section drawing on the left hand side and the exterior view on the right hand side. To draw the profile and section of the sherd, there are two simple ways. If the broken edge of the sherd happens to be broken vertically, then you can trace the outer and inner sherd profile, given that you hold the sherd in its proper orientation (as you did in the radius template, but now holding the sherd right side up). The other way is to use a formagauge, also known as a profile gauge. The formagauge is used against the surface of the sherd so that it retains the shape of the sherd, which can then be used to trace onto your paper. Then, using a caliper, measure the thickness of the sherd at the rim and at the broken bottom edge. Mark the thicknesses onto the paper with a small dot. Using the formagauge, or contour gauge, capture the curvature of the sherdboth the interior and exterior surfacesand trace it onto your paper, keeping in mind the sherds thickness you just measured. The broken edge should be depicted with a line distinct from your

profile line. The outer and inner surfaces of the sherd should be shown to be continuing past the broken edge by drawing a single, short line following the general curvature of the sherd. Using the tracing paper, trace the outer profile along with part of the horizontal stance line. Then turn the paper over and align the horizontal line on the tracing paper to that on the graph paper, making sure that the profile corresponds to the end of the stance line. Then, trace over the tracing paper. The line will be transferred to the graph paper, which you can then trace over to solidify the profile for the right hand side of the drawing. You can also fold the graph paper along the vertical central line and trace the profile without using tracing paper. Any sharp edges or turns in the sherd surface, such as ridges, flanges, and folded over lips, should be shown as a horizontal line. Finally, add any surface decorations on both interior and exterior sides of the sherd. Oftentimes, for Maya ceramics, if the vessel contains a surface treatment such as slips that cover the entire vessel or painted bands that encircle the whole vessel, then to simplify the drawing, the color representation is depicted within a thin rectangular block (see figure below).

The standard color conventions (based on Smith 1955, II:ix) used for Maya ceramics are the following:

Drawing a complete vessel


The first steps in drawing a complete vessel are the same as drawing a rim sherd. Taking measurements is much easier as you can measure the pot directly. Obviously, there are more measurements that can be taken, including height, base diameter, and width of the vessel (if the vessel bulges out and is greater than the rim and base). To take the measurements, place the vessel on a flat surface. The plane of this surface corresponds to the baseline that you drew on your graph paper. Using the triangles, note the point of contact (widest point on the vessel) and measure the height from the table surface and the distance between the rim and the triangle. Mark the point of contact on your paper. Then, draw a vertical, light line that goes through the point of contact, as a reference line for the next step. Note that you should use either a small dot or a point with a feathery tail. With the latter, it is easier to see the points that were taken.

Next, points along the vessel wall are taken and plotted on the graph paper. Use the reference line you just drew as a guide to plot the measured points. Like the contact point, you will take two measurements for each point: height from the table surface and distance from the triangle (which is the reference line on the graph paper) to the vessel wall. The number of points you take is up to you and the complexity of the vessel silhouette. Then, connect the dots with a light line, observing and following the vessel curvature. This is the outer line of the profile drawing. Once you are satisfied with the line, then you can trace it with a more solid line.

In order to complete the profile, the next step is to show the thickness of the vessel. The rim may be easily measured using a caliper. Depending on the type of caliper you have, the caliper may also reach to measure additional points further down the vessel. The thickness of the base can be measured by inserting a ruler vertically to the center point of the vessel interior along with another straightedge laid horizontally on the rim. Additional points can be taken along the base interior. These are then connected as you did with the outer line of the profile. Assuming bilateral symmetry, the right-hand side of the drawing, that is, the side showing the exterior of the vessel, can be drawn now as we did for the rim sherd.

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VII. References
Banning, E. B. 2000 The Archaeologists Laboratory: The Analysis of Archaeological Data. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York. Boot, Erik 2005 A Preliminary Overview of Common and Uncommon Classic Maya Vessel Type Collocations in the Primary Standard Sequence. http://www.mayavase.com/BootVesselTypes.pdf Hodges, Elaine R. S., ed. 2003 The Guild Handbook of Scientific Illustrations. 2nd edition. John Willey and Sons, Hoboken, NJ. Houston, Stephen D., David Stuart, and Karl A. Taube 1989 Folk Classification of Classic Maya Pottery. American Anthropologist 91:720-726. Olin, Joyce and Brian D. Dillon 1987 Ceramics. In The Students Guide to Archaeological Illustrating, edited by Brian D. Dillon, pp.95-109. Second edition. Archaeological Research Tools, Volume 1. Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles. Rice, Prudence 1987 Pottery Analysis: A Sourcebook. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Sabloff, Jeremy A. 1975 Ceramics. In Excavations at Seibal, Department of Peten, Guatemala, Number 2. Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Sinopoli, Carla M. 1991 Approaches to Archaeological Ceramics. Plenum Press, New York. Stuart, David 2005 Vessel Typology and Terms. In Sourcebook for the 29th Maya Hieroglyph Forum. Department of Art and Art History, University of Texas, Austin.

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Appendix A. Vessel forms in the Maya area


In general, standard practices in ceramic analyses in the Maya area apply the terminology of general vessel forms defined by the Ceibal project (Sabloff 1975:22-23, Figs. 9-13): plate, dish, bowl, vase, and jar. Plate: vessel with height less than 1/5 its diameter. (a) may be also specifically called comal. See comment for dish.

Dish: vessel with height between 1/3 and 1/5 its diameter. Commonly, the category of dish and plate are combined, especially because in Spanish the term plato is used to refer to both ranges of vessel shapes.

Bowl: vessel with height no more than equal but no less than 1/3 of its diameter. Gourd-like globular vessels with a restricted orifice, similar to (f), are referred specifically as tecomates.

Vase: vessel with height greater than diameter.

Jar: necked vessel, whose height is greater than its maximum diameter, with an independent restricted orifice. Jars with globular bodies (c), usually water jars, with a highly restricted neck and orifice are called tinajas, as they are continued to be used today. Jars with a wider orifice are called ollas (d).

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Emic definitions of vessel forms have been identified in the glyphic texts (Boot 2005; Houston et al. 1989; Stuart 2005).

(adapted from Houston et al. 1989:Figure 2)

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Appendix B: Radius chart

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