Michael S. Tite

This chapter investigates the history of scientific research in the field of archaeological ceramics. The primary aim of this research is the investigation of the overall life-cycle of surviving ceramics starting with their production and continuing through their distribution to their use, reuse, and ultimate discard. The first step involves reconstruction of the production, distribution, and use of ceramics. The second step involves interpretation of this reconstructed life-cycle in order to obtain a better understanding of the behavior of the people who produced, distributed, and used these ceramics. The interpretation of the reconstructed production technology is concerned with trying to determine the reasons for the observed technological choices and changes, and the interpretation of the reconstructed distribution of ceramics is concerned with both trying to determine patterns of trade or exchange away from any identified production center or source of raw material.