The social, organizational and technological context of pottery production in mid-3rd millennium Southern Mesopotamia

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The transition from the Early Dynastic III to the Akkadian period (ca. 2450-2250 BC) in southern Mesopotamia wasa period of great social and political change which saw a shift from land being controlled by independent city-statesto territory being unified under a central administration. The transformation of the social organization led to a morecomplex administrative structure, where the authorities of the individual centres were no longer independent butacted on behalf of the ruler [4]. Raw materials and specialized craft production became highly centralized, withspecialists working under the elites' control. Administrative and economic texts [6] reveal much detail aboutspecific crafts, such as textile and metal working, including production output, worker numbers, internalorganization, and affiliation with political institutions. In contrast, little information is available for potters andceramic manufacture [6].The Early Dynastic III/Akkadian pottery production has received little scholarly attention and it is assumed that potswere wheel-made, standardized and mass produced, all traits typically associated with a state-organized society[3]. The first evidence of potter's wheels goes back to the 5th millennium BC, and they seem well established in themid-3rd millennium BC. However, recent studies have highlighted that the manufacturing process was much morecomplex, involving wheel-made, handmade and hybrid techniques, thus inviting a reassessment of the potteryproduction and questioning the assumed regulatory relationship between potters and the state. The proposed PhDaims to clarify the role, organization, and performance of potters within a centralized economic system and theirinteraction with the institutions. To achieve this, my research will reconstruct the pottery manufacturing processthrough the study of the material culture from select southern Mesopotamian sites.The main site to be investigated is Abu Tbeirah located 7 km south of Nasiriyah in southern Iraq that has revealedstrata from both periods and has been excavated to high modern standards. The excavations led by La SapienzaUniversity unearthed a large settlement of 42 ha that was occupied by the Early Dynastic III/Akkadian period with acontinuation in the Ur III and Old Babylonian period (ca. 2112 - 1763 BC). Information about Early DynasticIII/Akkadian pottery comes from Areas 1 and 4, in the northeastern and southeastern parts of the site, wherearticulated buildings, graves and traces of different activities (fireplaces, hearts) were found. Preliminary analysisshowed, in contrast with traditional assumptions, a limited use of the wheel. One of the PhD's broader aims is toestablish whether this represents merely a local characteristic or whether it might reflect the production contextsalso at other Mesopotamian sites.The interdisciplinary approach that will be used combines macroscopic, scientific analyses and experimentalarchaeology to gain a contextual understanding of pottery production.