Reviewed by:

• Ceramics in Circumpolar Prehistory: Technology, Lifeways, and Cuisine ed. by Peter Jordan and Kevin Gibbs
• Ian Gilligan (bio)

Ceramic technology was a relatively late innovation in human prehistory. Recent research indicates that people began making pottery in northeastern Asia towards the end of the last Ice Age, around 16,000 years ago. In comparison, technologies for manufacturing tools from stone and bone, controlling fire, and preparing animal skins for clothing predate pottery by a million years or more. Despite this delayed appearance in the archaeological record, ceramics are traditionally viewed as a very significant technology. Originally, the advent of pottery was considered to be closely associated with a major transition: from the Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age) to the Neolithic (New Stone Age). The Neolithic period encompasses momentous changes that have transformed human society. These changes include the shift from a mobile or "nomadic" existence to a sedentary lifestyle, leading to the emergence of permanent villages, cities, and the advent of writing, which marks the dawn of the historical era around 5,000 years ago. The Neolithic is also linked to a fundamental change in social organization, from more-or-less egalitarian social relations to hierarchical social structures ("complex" societies). Last but not least, the neolithic witnessed a "revolution" in the economic sphere, from hunting and gathering to agriculture.

This volume brings together papers from leading researchers to address key questions about early ceramic technology—namely, why was pottery invented, and what roles did ceramics play in these dramatic Neolithic changes? In the opening chapter, the editors highlight a few enigmas. One is that the earliest pottery has been discovered in a cold region, where cooking would be an obvious benefit. Yet pottery was absent when humans established a presence in the circumpolar region, which extends beyond 30,000 years ago. Clearly, ceramics were not needed for survival. Subsequently, pottery was adopted by mobile hunter-gatherers who evidently were not fazed by its heavy and fragile qualities and who manufactured pottery in difficult environmental conditions. Chapters in the book are devoted to archaeological evidence of early ceramics in Japan, Siberia, Scandinavia, and North America, supplemented by ethnographic examples. Ceramic vessels were mainly used to process marine resources, for instance to make fish soups and extract oils; other functions include storage containers, lighting, and heating. A culinary function might help to explain the widespread adoption of pottery, although the regional studies suggest pottery diffused across Eurasia in contexts of social complexity. Ceramic vessels, often well-decorated, became prestige artefacts, utilized for feasting on special occasions and not just as everyday utensils. A socially-contingent [End Page 1221] model best accommodates the enigmas of early pottery, consistent with views long advocated by Brian Hayden, who contributes the final chapter and summarizes the theoretical issues, the evidence available to date, and the areas needing further research.

Collectively, these papers make a compelling case that ceramic technology was never essential for human survival or adaptation. A functional role in cooking probably gave pottery some advantages over alternative technologies, though not always. Neither, apparently, did the adoption of pottery result in any formative socioeconomic changes. Rather, pottery was sometimes favored as one of the highly-valued technologies in societies that were already becoming complex. Similarly, while ceramics commonly appear alongside agricultural activities and in sedentary and semi-sedentary communities, ceramics are also found among mobile hunter-gatherers and pastoralists; typically, the latter groups were trading ceramics. As an archaeological sign of sedentism, agriculture, or social complexity, pottery is quite unreliable. At best, ceramics serve as useful markers of cultural identities, trends, and contacts, and to assist in the interpretation of demographic patterns. Indeed, the consensus emerging from these contributions seems somewhat at odds with the historical significance granted to pottery. The privileging of pottery likely reflects its durability and visibility in the archaeological record, lending ceramics a prominence at the expense of perishable technologies like wood and fiber. Despite archaeology's focus on pottery as a pivotal technology or catalyst of social change, the advent of pottery was, surprisingly, almost...

审核人：

• 极极性史前的陶瓷：技术，生命历程和烹饪版。彼得·乔丹（Peter Jordan）和凯文·吉布斯（Kevin Gibbs）
• 伊恩·吉利根（生物）

陶瓷技术是人类史前的相对较晚的创新。最近的研究表明，人们在大约16,000年前的最后一个冰河时代末期开始在东北亚制作陶器。相比之下，从石头和骨头制造工具，控制火势以及为衣服制成动物皮的技术要比陶器早一百万年或更久。尽管在考古记录中出现了这种延迟的外观，但陶瓷在传统上仍被视为一项非常重要的技术。最初，陶器的出现被认为与一个重大转变密切相关：从旧石器时代（旧石器时代）到新石器时代（新石器时代）。新石器时代包括改变人类社会的重大变化。这些变化包括从移动或“游牧”转变 久坐不动的生活方式的存在，导致永久性村庄，城市的出现，以及书写的出现，标志着大约5000年前的历史时代的到来。新石器时代还与社会组织的根本变化联系在一起，从或多或少的平等社会关系到等级社会结构（“复杂”社会）。最后但并非最不重要的一点是，新石器时代见证了从狩猎，采集到农业的经济领域的“革命”。

本书汇集了领先研究人员的论文，以解决有关早期陶瓷技术的关键问题，即为什么发明了陶器，以及陶瓷在这些新石器时代的巨大变化中发挥了什么作用？在第一章中，编辑强调了一些谜题。一个是最早的陶器是在寒冷地区发现的，在那里做饭显然是有益的。然而，当人类在距今3万多年前的极地地区建立据点时，便没有陶器。显然，不需要陶瓷就可以生存。随后，流动的狩猎采集者采用了陶器，他们显然并没有因为陶器的沉重和脆弱而被迷惑，并且在艰难的环境条件下制造了陶器。该书中的各个章节专门介绍了日本，西伯利亚，斯堪的纳维亚和北美，以人种学实例为辅。陶瓷容器主要用于加工海洋资源，例如制作鱼汤和提取油；其他功能包括存储容器，照明和暖气。烹饪功能可能有助于解释陶器的广泛使用，尽管区域研究表明，陶器是在社会复杂性的背景下在欧亚大陆扩散的。通常经过精心装饰的陶瓷器皿已成为声望很高的人工制品，不仅在日常场合还用作特殊场合的盛宴。有社会倾向 烹饪功能可能有助于解释陶器的广泛使用，尽管区域研究表明，陶器是在社会复杂性的背景下在欧亚大陆扩散的。通常经过精心装饰的陶瓷器皿已成为声望很高的人工制品，不仅在日常场合还用作特殊场合的盛宴。有社会倾向 烹饪功能可能有助于解释陶器的广泛使用，尽管区域研究表明，陶器是在社会复杂性的背景下在欧亚大陆扩散的。通常经过精心装饰的陶瓷器皿已成为声望很高的人工制品，不仅在日常场合还用作特殊场合的盛宴。有社会倾向[结束第1221页]模型最适合早期陶器的谜团，这与布莱恩·海登（Brian Hayden）长期倡导的观点相一致，布莱恩·海登（Brian Hayden）贡献了最后一章，并总结了理论问题，迄今可用的证据以及需要进一步研究的领域。

总而言之，这些论文提出了令人信服的理由，即陶瓷技术对于人类生存或适应从来都不是必不可少的。尽管并非总是如此，但在烹饪中发挥功能性作用可能使陶器比替代技术更具优势。显然，采用陶器也不会导致任何形成性的社会经济变化。恰恰相反，在有时已经变得复杂的社会中，有时将陶器作为一种高价值技术而受到青睐。同样，虽然陶瓷通常出现在农业活动旁边以及久坐和半固定的社区，但在流动的狩猎采集者和牧民中也发现了陶瓷。通常，后一组从事陶瓷贸易。作为久坐，农业或社会复杂性的考古学标志，陶器十分不可靠。最好，陶瓷可作为文化身份，趋势和联系的有用标记，并有助于解释人口统计学特征。实际上，从这些贡献中产生的共识似乎与赋予陶器的历史意义有些矛盾。陶器的特权很可能反映了它在考古记录中的耐用性和可见性，从而使陶瓷成为了一个突出的问题，而却以木材和纤维等易腐技术为代价。尽管考古学将陶器作为一种关键技术或社会变革的催化剂，但令人惊讶的是，陶器的出现几乎... 陶器的特权很可能反映了它在考古记录中的耐用性和可见性，从而使陶瓷成为了一个突出的问题，而却以木材和纤维等易腐技术为代价。尽管考古学把陶器作为一种关键技术或社会变革的催化剂，但令人惊讶的是，陶器的出现几乎... 陶器的特权很可能反映了它在考古记录中的耐用性和可见性，从而使陶瓷成为了一个突出的问题，而却以木材和纤维等易腐技术为代价。尽管考古学将陶器作为一种关键技术或社会变革的催化剂，但令人惊讶的是，陶器的出现几乎...