Families behind Potters? Technological Insights in the Analysis of “Ubaid Pottery” from Southern Mesopotamia and Their Implications for a Social Reconstruction

The so-called “Ubaid pottery” is a prehistoric assemblage dated to the VI and V Millennium BC of Southern Mesopotamia, well-known for its characteristic “black-on-buff” painted decorations. Ongoing studies on the “Ubaid pottery” are leading to overcome the early attention towards thepainted decorative motifs favouring a more detailed analysis aiming to reconstruct the peculiar and intrinsic features of the repertoire (in terms of morphology, technology, and decoration). Technological analyses aimed at identifying how those vessels were made can play a significant part. The recognition of specific traits for identifying primary forming techniques and secondary refining procedures are suggestive of peculiar technological choices which have a value for understanding who realised those vessels. The case-study here proposed is based on some pottery materials found in situ on the floor-level L.364 from the newly excavated site of Tell Zurghul, Southern Mesopotamia. The preliminary results lead to the identification of different technological “ways of doing things” that might be the consequence of various traditions inherited within different social groups (in this case, different families producing their pots and living together within the same site). The preliminary analysis here presented represents just the first step in the process, and it is meant to be of encouragement for building up our knowledge of the technological procedures employed by the potters producing the “Ubaid” repertoire and for investigating the social stratus hidden behind it.