| Pottery workshop, the location where potting happened, may be the most probable place that conserving kinds of evidence of pottery-making activities. Meanwhile, Plenty of related archaeological material--the direct evidence of pottery-making activities, have been found all over the world. The discovery of a pottery workshop is obviously invaluable for potting research in archaeology. Hitherto, no one has tried to understand the pottery manufacture of Shang-Zhou Period in northern China--the very important time-space framework, a space that archaeological material culture developing to a very high level, a time that Huaxia Civilization entering the state phase and then changing to empire phase, in the perspective of the pottery workshop. The degree and form of the manufacture specialization be seen as one of the important indicators of the degree of social complexity and the civilizing process. The potting, a handicraft skill that human learned earliest and longest time operated, is closely related to the complicated process of the society. Going through the pattern and changing process of pottery manufacturing of Shang-Zhou Period in northern China will thus be very meaningful for studying the beginning progress of the Chinese Civilization.The aim and meaning of the paper could be divided into three points:Firstly, the archaeological identifying and research of the pottery workshop of a given time-space frame:Shang-Zhou Period in northern China, will find an archaeological operable identifying method for the accurate identification and research of pottery workshop, supply a sample for future research, attest the operability of the method and the necessity of launching related research. Such an identifying method could guide us to find more pottery workshop in the field work, which will make the desire of discoverying potting location belonging to Shang-Zhou Period and the ones earlier than that be possible, which thus provided more accurate and believable basic material for related research, such as techniques in potting, development of craft specialization, ancient society, ancient economics.Secondly, this paper recoverd the information on potting tools, potting craft, potting taboos and sacrifice belonging to the time-space framework. All the recovered information basing on the identifying of pottery workshop were unknown before or not well understood, which deepened our understanding to the potting station and society of that time.Thirdly, the paper was a practice and check of contemporary archaeological theory and method, including settlement archaeology, inner site space analysis, context archaeology, method of pottery workshop archaeological identification.Pottery workshop is not self-evident in Archaeology. Discussing pottery workshop archaeologically need a set of method for identifying. The research method of the paper was composed of three progressive steps:Stepl, set principles for identifying pottery workshop archaeologically; Step2, identify pottery workshop with the archaeological reports relating to the Shang-Zhou Period in northern China, according to the principles above; Step3, discuss the potting tools, potting craft, potting taboos and sacrifice of that time-space framework, basing on the pottery workshop identified above.Chapter1, the identification of pottery workshop. The first issue to be solved is how to identify pottery workshop from the archaeological remains.The remains of pottery workshop we could seen today have underwent the archaeological formation process. Variables impacting the formation process include:1)corrosion resistance of potting related remains;2)mobility of potting related remains;3)representativeness of charactors of potting related remains;4) stationarity of the potting site. The pottery workshop in archaeology should be defined as:a place that occupy a part of the a settlement space, where at least two potting working procedure, the greenware making and firing, were finished together. Pottery-kiln is the most notable character in pottery workshop identifying.The identification of pottery workshop archaeologically in fact is studying the relation between remains, thus it becomes necessary to solve the issue of synchronic between the pottery-kiln and other remains around it. The paper resolved the synchronic basing on archaeological typology and function:Firstly, the chronology of the remains that decided by the archaeological stratigraphy and typology were taken as the foundation for judging the synchronic. All the remains belonging to the same phase of a culture were seen as synchronic; Secondly, according to the remains of the same cultural phase, centralizing situation of the remains will be taken as the foundation for inferring the possible activities beyond it. Thirdly, the function perspective will be taken to speculate the dynamics beyond the spatial distribution of remains, according to the relation between every remains bundle and to the relation of remains in every remains bundle.Building on a situation of considering formation process and fulfilling synchronic, the article proposed several principles for identifying pottery workshop archaeologically:1. If representative remains related to the greenware making wre found around the pottery-kiln, the pottery-kiln and these remains were be taken as constituting a pottery workshop.2. If pottery-kilns were found bundling in a limited space of a regional center settlement, the area that bundling pottery-kilns will be affirmed as a pottery worshop area.3. If a building remains were discovered near a pottery-kiln, both the building and pottery-kiln belongs to the same cultural phase, they will be seen as the components of a pottery workshop then.4. If the pottery-kiln and the residence zone belonging to the same phase were separated in space, and that almost no greenware making tools wre found in the residence zone, then the location of the pottery-kiln were taken as a workshop.5. If a pottery-kiln were affirmed for firing special or delicate pottery object, the site where the pottery-kiln located were taken as a pottery workshop.The scope of a pottery workshop should be delimited basing on the the range of the concentrated distribution of potting related remains. The identified pottery workshops and their scope must also be the foundation for analyzing potting tools, pottery handicraft, potting taboos and sacrifice, and so on.According to the principles for identifying pottery workshop, there are66pottery workshop or workshop area belonging to the Shang-Zhou period in northern China were recovered, including11workshops of the BELL(Before Erligang Lower Level) Period,22ones of the Shang period,9ones of the Western Zhou Period and24ones of the Eastern Zhou Period.Chapter2discussed the potting tools. Basing on the workshop identified in chapter1, the paper discussed the issue related to the potting tools, pointed out that the stone pestle, pottery griddle maybe used to the deal with the clay; the spindle-whorl, arrowhead-like object, knife, sickle, bone Bi, bone awl, cobble, scraping board, antler awl are tools related to the pottery shaping, scraping and polishing. The stone board was related with the delicate pugging procedure, the pottery fired small cone was used as kiln furniture. The specialized potting tools appeared in the workshop of the capital of different state in the Eastern Zhou Period, such as the jade scraping board and pottery griddle found in the workshop of Zhenghangucheng, the peach-like throwing tools and Qing-like polishing tools appeared in the workshop of Dongzhouwangcheng, pottery dish-like object, bakup ring and kinds of kiln furnitures, all of which have their own specialized function, could be seen as the result of further improved potting specialization level. The small pottery cone appeard in the Eastern Zhou Period, represented the most advanced technological level on pottery firing, confirmed the initiate use of support pin could be as early as Shang Period. The appearance of many specialized potting tools proved that the potting specialization reflected in the workshop of capitals in different states of the Eastern Zhou Period have achieved a very high level.Chapter3probed into the potting craft. Basing on the pottery workshop identified in chapter1, this part discussed the way of digging clay, the way of storing clay, facilities for washing and pugging, building for storing and drying greenware, the way of water using in potting. The varied ways of digging clay is to a large degree decided by the context of the pottery workshop located. The underground tunnel S1found in Xiwusi, Yanzhou, may be the tunnel for digging clay.The bag-like pit found in Doufucun pottery workshop could store more clay strips and clay for longer time, which not only improve the quality of the clay strips, but make it possible to divide into more procedures of potting, to let some people focusing on twisting the clay strip when others specializing in shaping the pot with the clay strip. Meanwhile, the existence of the clay-storing pit added a new procedure in the chain of the potting, which also indicated the development of potting specialization.The discovery of the special equipped pool or pit for washing and pugging, the building for storing and drying greenware, should be seen as direct evidence of the improvement of potting specializeation. Part of specialized washing and pugging pit were linked with pottery pipe or headwaters, which reflected the improved productive efficiency, reflected more attention paid on the choosing and peocessing of clay, which indicated that the improvement of potting specialization level and the using of new techniques were the dynamics beyond it.Choosing the way of getting water for potting is related closely to the water-clay environment the pottery workshop located. Potters must get a balance between satisfying the dry conditions for firing pottery and obtaining effectively stationary, sufficient waterheads for potting. Digging well is the main way of getting water for potting in the pottery worshop of Shang-Zhou Period in northern China. Part of the well location in workshop is for the sake of watering the kiln for a reducing atmosphere.Chapter4explored the taboos and sacrifice in potting of the Shang-Zhou Period in northern China. The taboos and sacrifice of potting in such a time-space framework fall into the following types:sacrificial pit, sacrifice focusing on the workshop, human skeleton in the pottery-kiln, oracle bone and oracle turtle shell, divinatory symbols carved on the pottery, and so on. The targets of worship fall into three categories:(1) divining before doing things, so the targets hard to see;(2) the God of fire or the God of pottery-kiln;(3) God of land. The purpose of the sacrifice could be grouped into two categories:(1) for the success of pottery manufacture;(2) for following the customs and believies of society, highlighting their own value in the society as potters. The analysis indicates that the potters of the day had been planning sacred space in the pottery workshop. Some of the potters with rich experience in potting and awesome potting skills may have become wizard, the medium between human beings and God.Basing on the worshop identified in Chapter1, the author retrieved the information on potting tools, potting craft, potting taboos and sacrifice reflected from the pottery workshop, which proved the availability and importance of studying pottery industry in the perspective of pottery workshop. Such a method obviously has endless potential in deepening related research on potting and should be great meaningful for exploring the political, economic, cultural progress of ancient society reflected in the potting. |
PDF Full Text Request