Pottery vessels, technological knowledge, and potters at the Early Copper Age site of Polgár-Király-ér-part (Northeastern Hungary)

Abstract

This paper investigates the long-debated issue of technological knowledge and potters in the Early Copper Age (4500–4000/3900 cal BC) through the analysis of the forming technology of a typical, small-scale settlement at Polgár-Király-ér-part (Northeastern Hungary). A complex technological know- ledge of forming was identified, in which most of the vessel types have their own forming technique. This technological knowledge presumably originated in the local Neolithic. However, a few smaller technological differences nuance this picture, raising the possibility of distinct learning networks and multiple potters at the settlement.

Keywords

• pottery chaîne opératoire
• technological analysis
• pottery forming
• Great Hungarian Plain
• Early Copper Age