Russet-coated painted ware pottery: The potential chronological, social, and economic significance of a poorly-understood south Indian ceramic type

IF 0.9 2区历史学 0 ARCHAEOLOGY

Archaeological Research in Asia Pub Date : 2025-01-07 DOI:10.1016/j.ara.2024.100589

C.S. Ambily, Kathleen D. Morrison

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Russet-Coated Painted Ware (RCPW) is a distinctive ceramic ware found predominantly across the Deccan and southern regions of India. Noteworthy as one of the few painted ceramic wares in this region and for its presumed role as a chronological indicator of the Early Historic period, important questions about RCPW nevertheless remain. There is at present no complete accounting of the spatial distribution or chronological range of this ware, nor any understanding of patterns of production and possible exchange. While RCPW is generally viewed as a single type, its internal variability has likewise not been systematically documented. This article presents an overview of RCPW, examining its technical characteristics, chronological position, distribution patterns, and possible socio-cultural significance. Drawing upon existing archaeological evidence from the 4th-3rd centuries BCE to the Early Medieval period (circa 13–14 CE), this study begins to elucidate the origin and extent, production techniques, and morphology and decorative motifs of RCPW as a baseline for more advanced analysis. We trace the evolution of RCPW from its initial identification as ‘Andhra Ware’ by Wheeler in 1947 to its reclassification as Russet Coated Painted Ware by Thapar in 1957. Subsequent exploration and excavation efforts have expanded the geographical scope of RCPW's distribution, highlighting its presence in diverse regions such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh. This paper offers the most comprehensive spatial analysis of RCPW to date.

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来源期刊

Archaeological Research in Asia ARCHAEOLOGY-

CiteScore

2.50

自引率

13.30%

发文量

期刊介绍： Archaeological Research in Asia presents high quality scholarly research conducted in between the Bosporus and the Pacific on a broad range of archaeological subjects of importance to audiences across Asia and around the world. The journal covers the traditional components of archaeology: placing events and patterns in time and space; analysis of past lifeways; and explanations for cultural processes and change. To this end, the publication will highlight theoretical and methodological advances in studying the past, present new data, and detail patterns that reshape our understanding of it. Archaeological Research in Asia publishes work on the full temporal range of archaeological inquiry from the earliest human presence in Asia with a special emphasis on time periods under-represented in other venues. Journal contributions are of three kinds: articles, case reports and short communications. Full length articles should present synthetic treatments, novel analyses, or theoretical approaches to unresolved issues. Case reports present basic data on subjects that are of broad interest because they represent key sites, sequences, and subjects that figure prominently, or should figure prominently, in how scholars both inside and outside Asia understand the archaeology of cultural and biological change through time. Short communications present new findings (e.g., radiocarbon dates) that are important to the extent that they reaffirm or change the way scholars in Asia and around the world think about Asian cultural or biological history.