Pottery technological analysis of the Copper Age Transdanubia (Western Hungary)

This article focuses on the technological analysis of the Early and Middle Copper Age (4500–3650 cal BCE) pottery vessels from Transdanubia (Western Hungary), which can reveal the previously unknown social connections based on strong personal interactions in this region. The pottery material of four settlements was studied: Zalavár-Basasziget, Magyar-egres-Varga-Bonyi-ároktól keletre, Tikos-Nyárfás-dűlő, and Győr-Szabadrétdomb. As a result, several forming methods, coiling processes, and surface treatment techniques were identified. Their techno-stylistic and spatial analysis revealed a principal technical tradition in the region, which was observed on every site, regardless of the period or location. This tradition constitutes a relatively restricted technological repertoire; most of the vessel forms were created with the same forming method. Thus, most potters belonged to the same community of practice. However, other forms of technical knowledge also appear in the region besides the common technical tradition, albeit in low numbers and only at a few sites. Thus, a few potters were probably part of other communities of practice. The certain settlement communities probably responded differently to the appearance of these new technical knowledges. The potters in some settlements strictly followed the same technical tradition; they did not adopt any other methods or techniques. In contrast, the potters in other settlements were presumably more open to other technical knowledges.