A Study of Double Chambered Kilns in the Near East-Their Origin and Socio-economic rolls

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

This study consists of three important parts, i.e.Collection of archaeological materials, Ethnoarchaeological data, and philological survey.1.Based on the available archaeological data, the pottery kilns first appeared as pit kilns in the early 6th millennium B.C.Thereafter, the double chambered kilns were established in the middle of 6th millennium B.C.The most probable reason why the double chambered kilns appeared can be recognized as the emergence of commercial production such as painted pottery in the Halaf period. Besides double chambered kilns, pit kilns and single chambered kilns were also used for making the domestic pottery.2.Based on the detailed results of my ethnoarchaeological study of modern Syrian pottery production, I try to calculate the productivity of prehistoric pottery kilns. This study indicates that so many, at least some hundreds, pottery had been fired in the prehistoric pottery kiln at the same time. We can suppose that prehistoric kilns had the quite high productivity.3.Some old historical documents, such as Mjlam al-Bldan by Yaqout al-Hamouye in the Medieval Age, show the historical pottery production. They pointed out that the red pottery made of weathered lime-stone clay had been produced in the northwestern Syria, especially in Armanaze area, and some white pottery made of flood clay of the Euphrates had been made in the northern Mesopotamia. This difference can also be seen in the prehistoric pottery production.The development of double chambered pottery kilns corresponds to the emergence of craft specialization, and we can reconstruct the development of human history from this kind of view based on my study results.