British Pottery: The First 3000 Years - Alex Gibson

First comprehensive account of the sequence, development and use of early prehistoric pottery in over 20 years.Pottery was at the heart of the ‘Neolithic package’ appearing in Britain with the first farmers around 4000 BC. It arrived as a mature technology and was essential to the new, largely sedentary, lifestyle and economy. It transformed storage and cooking practices, and the earliest ceramics seem to have been essential equipment in the new practice of dairying. The pottery changed over time and, as a result, ceramics have been fundamental to the construction of relative chronologies since the early days of modern archaeology. Even with the development of absolute dating techniques, the role of pottery as a dating tool has not diminished but instead has become refined and more accurate.But pottery is not just a tool for dating the past – it also represents a facet of prehistoric art and expression. Starting simply, ceramics became arguably the main medium for display, with often complex designs. Simple techniques, motifs and panels are combined to create highly decorated vessels, often of great individuality. The use of inlays, pastes and slips added contrasting colours to these vibrant designs.By the end of the Neolithic, ceramics became one of the major grave goods of British prehistory, acting as accompaniments to those that warranted formal burial whether by inhumation or cremation. This practice continued throughout the Early Bronze Age to the extents th
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