A numbers game: analyzing pottery usage patterns of 4th millennium BCE sites in the southern Levant

Abstract

Excavations of 4th millennium BCE sites conducted in the past two decades have provided a significant amount of quantitative data regarding the use of pottery. This accumulated data provides an opportunity to engage in a comparative analysis between sites of different regions in the southern Levant, as well as of the different periods comprising the 4th millennium, including the Late Chalcolithic, Early Bronze Age IA, Early Bronze Age IB and Early Bronze Age II. The aim of the current study is to utilize quantitative data to detect general trends in the usage patterns of pottery vessels. The study was based on a division into three general categories: serving, cooking and storage vessels. The results show that each period had its own specific usage pattern or patterns, and that during the Late Chalcolithic and the late EBA IB these patterns were similar throughout the southern Levant. The results of this study are also used to explore some of the associated socio-political implications.