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Comment on Weymouth's “X-Ray Diffraction Analysis of Prehistoric Pottery”

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Prudence M. Rice
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Abstract

Weymouth's X-ray diffraction analysis of prehistoric pottery necessitates a reevaluation of what diffraction peaks and "groupings" of peaks mean culturally. Specifically, archaeologists need to clarify what they mean by "temper" and what "temper" means behaviorally. X-ray diffraction will not screen out naturally occurring inclusions in the clay from those added by potters; consequently, X-ray data based on mineral ratios cannot necessarily be interpreted culturally as "temper" added by potters.

Type
Comment
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 39 , Issue 4Part1 , October 1974 , pp. 619 - 620
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1974

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References

Shepard, Anna O 1956 Ceramics for the archaeologist. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Publication 609. Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Shepard, Anna O 1964 Temper identification: technological sherdsplitting or an unanswered challenge. American Antiquity 29:518-520 Google Scholar