Technological Studies in Archaeological Science

Introduction

Technological studies are concerned with many of the big questions of archaeology: Who made the objects we find? What materials did ancient people use? Where did they obtain their raw materials, and how did they craft pottery, stone tools, buildings, clothing, and other useful items? How did they communicate technological knowledge to each other, and how and where did they trade raw materials and finished objects? Why did people value certain materials and products over others?

The extent to which scholars can answer these questions depends upon the physical evidence left behind (e.g., pottery kilns, potsherds and broken glass vessels, chert debitage, scraps of preserved textiles), the context of the finds, and the nature of historical information, if any. For example, when dealing with the Roman pottery industry in Italy, France, and Germany, scholars find stamps (Fig. 1) of potters and manufacturers and literary evidence in addition to physical pottery installations for...