Ceramics Analysis

hieroglyphic

Originally, the pictographic script of ancient Egypt; any depictive, art- related system of writing, such as that of Mesoamerica; may also refer to an individual symbol

pottery

Ceramic container or vessel

ceramics

Fired clay

paste

A mix of clay and other materials used to make pottery

temper

A non-plastic substance intentionally added to clay in order to reduce breakage caused by shrinkage and firing

coil method

Pottery vessel made by ropes of clay used to build up the walls of the vessel

paddle-and-anvil technique

Use of two tools to press and shape the walls to make a ceramic vessel

slab technique

Pottery vessel made by rolling a single sheet of clay into a cylinder and attaching a base

molded

Pottery produced by pressing clay into prepared forms

wheel-thrown ceramics

Pottery produced on a wheel with distinctive manufacturing characteristics

hand-thrown ceramic

Pottery made by hand

burnishing

Decorative technique for pottery involving smoothing or polishing of the surface

brushed

Decorative technique for pottery involving the roughening of the surface

impressions

Decorative technique for pottery involving impressions or incisions made with various small tools

cord-marked

Decorative technique for pottery involving impressions of cord- wrapping in the clay

incising

Decorative technique for pottery involving cutting or carving lines and other designs in the surface of the clay

punctate

Decorative technique for pottery involving impressions of circular depressions in the surface of clay

appliqué

Decorative technique for pottery involving the addition of clay pieces to the original clay vessel

slips

A coating of the surface of a ceramic vessel for decorative or functional reasons

glazes

A metallic or glass mixture used to change the surface of the pottery vessel for decorative purposes

resist

A decorative technique for pottery involving materials that disappear on firing and leave a negative color on the surface of the vessel

wasters

Pottery that has broken or warped in the process of firing

kiln

Oven for firing pottery; can be open or closed

rim sherds

A fragment of broken pottery that includes part of the rim of the vessel

body sherds

Fragment of broken pottery that does not include the rim of the vessel

base

The lower part of a ceramic vessel

shoulder

The transition zone where the body ends and the neck begins on a ceramic vessel

neck

The upper zone on a pottery vessel between the shoulder and the rim

collar

A vessel rim with added clay material

clay

A very fine-grained sediment, deposited in water and usually found in former lake or stream deposits; raw material for making pottery

coefficient of stylistic variability

A statistical measure of the strength of association among stylistic attributes

ceramic petrography

Microscopic technique for study of the mineral composition of pottery

polychrome

Several colors; pottery is painted with more than two colors

lintels

A horizontal beam of wood or stone that supports the wall above a doorway or window