Ceramic production and household organisation of Late Bronze Age communities: forming processes and spatial distribution of the ceramic vessels of Genó (north-eastern Iberian peninsula)*

Abstract

This paper focuses on the reconstruction of forming processes and ways of doing of the Late Bronze Age ceramic productions from the settlement of Genó (Lleida, Spain). An integrated analysis of pottery forming with the typological traits of the ceramic ware and the spatial distribution of the technological data between the houses of this site is proposed. The analysis of manufacturing traces revealed that up to eight hand-made forming processes were used to produce the ceramic wares of several houses of the village. Comparison of typological features with pot-forming processes, as well as their spatial distribution, suggest that the production was carried out by several producers or even several groups of producers. Instead, other work processes of forming were probably shared within the context of ceramic production. Furthermore, certain ways of doing prevail over others located at specific houses or sectors of the settlement. This raises new hypotheses about the social interactions and the household organisation of the communities that inhabited the village of Genó during the Late Bronze Age.