Description: The 1992 book Pottery Function combined ethnographic study of the Kalinga with methods for analyzing how pottery was used. This book describes advances in residue analysis, abrasion and sooting/carbonization, updating progress in our understanding of function.
Review Quotes:
From the reviews:
"James Skibo's volume, Understanding Pottery Function, is a well-written and well-researched foray into the complex study of vessel use. ... Skibo demonstrates through a number of case studies how fruitful partnerships between archeologists and chemists might be formed ... . Case studies, in turn, form an integral part of this book and are one of its most pronounced strengths. ... this book is a stand-alone beginners' guide for determining vessel function ... ." (Joshua R. Lieto, North American Archaeologist, Vol. 35 (2), 2014)
"Understanding Pottery Function builds on Skibo's original 1992 book, Pottery Function. ... I have no doubt that on reading this volume archaeologists will find that they look at pottery in a completely different light. It will provide them with a means to answer long-debated and seemingly unanswerable questions and also inspire them to ask new ones. Undoubtedly this volume will become a standard point of reference for pottery specialists. I certainly will return to it time and time again." (Gareth Perry, Assemblage the Sheffield graduate journal of archaeology, November, 2013)