Bonfire of the enquiries. Pottery firing temperatures in archaeology: What for?

Abstract

In this paper serious doubt is cast on the possibility of using firing temperature identifications in technological interpretations of pottery. The comparison of thermometric data for different types of firing structures reveals a large overlap precluding any attempt at technological differentiation on the sole basis of temperatures. Moreover, results from an ethno-thermometric approach of open firings in Cameroon indicate that a thermic characterization of this type of firing is also impossible, due to the considerable variations in temperature in the same firing and even on the same pot. The heating rate and the time of exposure to temperatures are proposed as an alternative because they appear to be the only parameters permitting technological inferences. © 1992.