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

美索不达米亚南部从早期王朝III过渡到阿卡德时期（约公元前2450-2250年）是一个巨大的社会和政治变革时期，从独立城邦控制土地到统一中央管理领土的转变。社会组织的转变导致了一个更复杂的行政结构，在这个结构中，各个中心的当局不再是独立的，而是代表统治者的利益。原材料和专业工艺生产高度集中，专家在精英的控制下工作。行政和经济文本b[6]揭示了许多具体工艺的细节，如纺织和金属加工，包括产量、工人数量、内部组织和与政治机构的联系。相比之下，关于陶工和陶瓷制造的信息却很少。早期王朝III/阿卡德的陶器生产很少受到学术界的关注，人们认为陶器是轮制的，标准化的，大量生产的，所有这些特征都与国家组织的社会有关。陶器轮子的最早证据可以追溯到公元前5千年，它们似乎在公元前3千年中期就已经建立起来了。然而，最近的研究强调，制造过程要复杂得多，涉及车轮制造、手工制作和混合技术，因此需要重新评估陶器生产，并质疑陶工与国家之间假定的监管关系。拟议的博士学位旨在澄清陶工在中央集权经济体系中的角色、组织和表现，以及他们与制度的相互作用。为了实现这一目标，我的研究将通过研究美索不达米亚南部遗址的物质文化来重建陶器的制造过程。要调查的主要地点是位于伊拉克南部纳西里耶以南7公里的Abu Tbeirah，那里已经发现了两个时期的地层，并且已经达到了很高的现代标准。由La SapienzaUniversity领导的发掘出土了一个42公顷的大定居点，它被早期王朝III/阿卡德时期占领，并继续在乌尔三世和古巴比伦时期（约公元前2112年至公元前1763年）。关于早期王朝/阿卡德陶器的信息来自该遗址东北部和东南部的第1区和第4区，在那里发现了有图案的建筑、坟墓和不同活动的痕迹（壁炉、心脏）。初步分析表明，与传统假设相反，车轮的使用是有限的。博士的一个更广泛的目标是确定这是否仅仅代表了当地的特征，或者它是否也反映了其他美索不达米亚遗址的生产环境。跨学科的方法，将使用结合宏观，科学分析和实验考古学来获得陶器生产的背景理解。

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.