7.12 Unravelling the Producer/User Interface

Although a vast quantity of pottery artefacts has been discovered, there are still serious gaps in our detailed knowledge of them because of the inadequacy of written records; making analysis of the data we have confusing. The production and use of pottery can indicate the level of complexity and organisation of societies. For example; is the pottery item for household, ritual or funerary use, or perhaps for the display of wealth or power; is it made locally, on an estate or in a factory? There are many possible variations. In one area, rough household pottery could be made on a village basis, with high quality wares being produced in the cities. But in some pottery sites handmade rough wares were made alongside high-quality, fine wares. It gets even more complicated when one considers that pottery having a well-recognised style, initially imported from the main technology centre, can, over time, be imitated locally or regionally and even exported to a third user. This imitation could be carried out by itinerant potters, perhaps originally from the technology centre, and/or by competent local potters. Therefore it can be quite difficult to explain the exact relationship between the producer (the location and method of manufacture), the shipper (the transport method and route) and the user of pottery products. This can be illustrated by considering the Mediterranean Region between 1,800 and 500 BC, as some data exists on Mycenaean and later Greek societies during this time, and their pottery exhibits many of the possible variations.

At the start of this period many major villages and towns in Greece had their own, albeit variable quality, pottery production. As pottery is not an inherently precious product, export for household use is less likely than for fine pottery and special items - such as for rulers to show their status. Accordingly, some high quality Greek potteries were more likely to export wares than others. Of course much pottery was also exported as the container for other goods, so some evidence can also be gathered from this source.

Mycenaean Vessel - source National
Archaeological Museum Athens

The widespread Greek overseas settlements would all import pottery, but also have their local pottery production; local and Greek designs would be passed round and copied. As an example, in the Mycenaean period less than 5% of pottery was imported by these settlements directly from Mycenae, compared with locally made Mycenaean-style pottery.

As the original local pottery of the overseas settlement was usually so different in style and technology from the Greek, it is very likely that potters familiar with the technology moved to some of these settlements temporarily or permanently. Local production of Mycenaean pottery was found at several sites in South Italy ascribed to these migrant potters. Potters in other countries or regions would see examples of these vessels and copy them, because of their popularity. These local potteries may thus be manufacturing wheel-made fine Greek-style pottery alongside coarse handmade vessels to local designs, depending on the demand. For instance the Levantine potters were producing Aegean-style vessels around 1,300 BC, as well as producing Cypriot-style pots.