Craft Specialization at Shahdad: Pottery Production During the Third Millennium BC

Abstract

Many potteries have been discovered from excavations and a surface survey at Shahdad, but few works have beendone to examine craft specialization in pottery production at this important site. Different types of potteries, some ofwhich bearing potter marks demonstrate that craftsmen of the site had involved in manufacturing of centralized potteryproduction. A number of kilns and many waste of pottery could also support the above idea.Therefore, the aim of this paper is to examine why of pottery manufacturing at Shahdad, which could be considered ascraft quarter for pottery production. It seems that pottery production at Shahdad had been affected by its environmentalconditions. This interaction between craftsmen and environment caused for manufacturing of special types of potteries atShahdad. It is necessary to state that this interaction has also caused for standardization in pottery production at the siteduring the third millennium BC.

Keywords

• craft specialization
• pottery production
• shahdad
• bronze age