Organizational Aspects of Pottery Production in Central Jordan

Ceramic technology involves an assessment of the whole pot, from the non-plastics and firing color inside the wall, to the outermost surface color, texture, and treatment. It addresses the fundamental questions raised in the research strategy of the Madaba Plains Project (MPP) since its inception, i.e. to explain life and survival throughout history, both historically and anthro- pologically. Research into ceramic technology began with a preliminary petrographic analysis of 22 sherds, primarily from Tall al-‘Umayri (London et a l. 1991). The ‘Umayri sample has been expanded and, more recently, we examined pottery collected by J. A. Sauer from the Andrews University Heshbon Expedition in the 1970s.