List of Illustrations
List of Tables
Contributors
Preface
The Shape of Early Pottery Studies p. 1
First in the World: The Jomon Pottery of Early Japan p. 11
Few and Far Between: Early Ceramics in North Africa p. 23
The Inception of Potting in Western Asia and Its Impact on Economy and Society p. 39
Pots, Potters, and the Shaping of Greek Neolithic Society p. 55
Starcevo Pottery and Neolithic Development in the Central Balkans p. 65
Putting the Pot before the Horse: Earliest Ceramics and the Neolithic Transition in the Western Mediterranean p. 79
The Linear Pottery Culture of Central Europe: Conservative Colonists? p. 89
Pottery Production and the Introduction of Agriculture in Southern Scandinavia p. 99
Early Pottery in the Amazon: Twenty Years of Scholarly Obscurity p. 115
Rocks versus Clay: The Evolution of Pottery Technology in the Case of San Jacinto 1, Colombia p. 133
Sites with Early Ceramics in the Caribbean Littoral of Colombia: A Discussion of Periodization and Typologies p. 145
The Many Contexts of Early Valdivia Ceramics p. 157
Monagrillo, Panama's First Pottery: Summary of Research, with New Interpretations p. 169
Interaction in Hunting and Gathering Societies as a Context for the Emergence of Pottery in the Central American Isthmus p. 185
Early Ceramics from El Salvador: The El Carmen Site p. 199
Reinventing Mesoamerica's First Pottery p. 209
The Social Contradictions of Traditional and Innovative Cooking Technologies in the Prehistoric American Southeast p. 223
Economic Intensification and the Origins of Ceramic Containers in the American Southwest p. 241
The Emergence of Prestige Technologies and Pottery p. 257
Social Strategies and Economic Change: Pottery in Context p. 267
Why Did They Invent Pottery Anyway? p. 277
Index p. 281