Plain pottery traditions of the eastern Mediterranean and Near East : production, use, and social significance / edited by Claudia Glatz.

"The evolution and proliferation of plain and predominantly wheel-made pottery presents a characteristic feature of the societies of the Near East and Eastern Mediterranean since the fourth millennium B.C. This plain pottery has received little detailed archaeological attention in comparison to aesthetically more pleasing and chronologically sensitive decorated traditions. Yet, their simplicity and standardization suggest they are products of craft specialists, the result of high-volume production, and therefore important in understanding the social systems in early complex societies. This volume -reevaluates the role and significance of plain pottery traditions from both historically specific perspectives and from a comparative point of view; -examines the uses and functions of this pottery in relation to social negotiation and group identity formation; -helps scholars understand cross-regional similarities in development and use"-- Provided by publisher.

Machine generated contents note: Chapter 1: Introduction: Plain and Simple? Another Look at Plain Pottery Traditions in Early Complex Societies, Claudia Glatz Chapter 2: The Economic Implications of Patterns of Ceramic Vessel Similarity in Ancient Egypt, Sarah L. Sterling Chapter 3: Cultural Transmission, Migration and Plain Wheel-Made Pottery in the Middle Bronze Age II Southern Levant, Valentine Roux Chapter 4: Colonial Cups? The Minoan Plain Handleless Cup as Icon and Index, Carl Knappett and Jill Hilditch Chapter 5: Plain Wares and Urban Identities on Late Bronze Age Cyprus, Lindy Crewe Conspicuous Consumption of Inconspicuous Pottery: The Case of the Late Bronze Age Southern Levant, Sharon Zuckerman Chapter 6: The Evolution of Plain Ware Ceramics at the Regional Capital of Alalakh in the Second Millennium BC, Mara Horowitz Chapter 7: Plain Pots, Festivals and Feasting in Late Bronze Age Anatolia, Claudia Glatz Chapter 8: Ceramic Consumption and Social Context at Middle and Neo-Assyrian Dur-Katlimmu, Janoscha Kreppner Index About the Authors.