IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/nathum/v7y2023i2d10.1038_s41562-022-01491-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The transmission of pottery technology among prehistoric European hunter-gatherers

Author

Listed:
  • Ekaterina Dolbunova

    (State Hermitage Museum
    British Museum)

  • Alexandre Lucquin

    (BioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York)

  • T. Rowan McLaughlin

    (British Museum
    Maynooth University)

  • Manon Bondetti

    (BioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York)

  • Blandine Courel

    (British Museum)

  • Ester Oras

    (University of Tartu)

  • Henny Piezonka

    (Institute of Pre- and Protohistory)

  • Harry K. Robson

    (BioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York)

  • Helen Talbot

    (BioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York)

  • Kamil Adamczak

    (Nicolaus Copernicus University)

  • Konstantin Andreev

    (Samara State University of Social Sciences and Education)

  • Vitali Asheichyk

    (Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus)

  • Maxim Charniauski

    (Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus)

  • Agnieszka Czekaj-Zastawny

    (Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Sciences)

  • Igor Ezepenko

    (Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus)

  • Tatjana Grechkina

    (State Autonomous Institution for Heritage Research and Production)

  • Alise Gunnarssone

    (National History Museum of Latvia)

  • Tatyana M. Gusentsova

    (Russian Research Institute for Cultural and Natural Heritage)

  • Dmytro Haskevych

    (National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine)

  • Marina Ivanischeva

    (East Onega Archaeological Expedition)

  • Jacek Kabaciński

    (Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Sciences)

  • Viktor Karmanov

    (Institute of Language, History and Literature, Komi Scientific Center of Ural Branch of RAS)

  • Natalia Kosorukova

    (Cherepovets State University)

  • Elena Kostyleva

    (Ivanovo State University)

  • Aivar Kriiska

    (University of Tartu)

  • Stanisław Kukawka

    (Nicolaus Copernicus University)

  • Olga Lozovskaya

    (Institute for the History of Material Culture RAS)

  • Andrey Mazurkevich

    (State Hermitage Museum)

  • Nadezhda Nedomolkina

    (The Vologda State Museum)

  • Gytis Piličiauskas

    (Lithuanian Institute of History)

  • Galina Sinitsyna

    (Institute for the History of Material Culture RAS)

  • Andrey Skorobogatov

    (Voronezh Archaeological Society)

  • Roman V. Smolyaninov

    (Lipetsk State Pedagogical University PP Semenov-Tyan-Shan)

  • Aleksey Surkov

    (Archaeological Society of Kuban)

  • Oleg Tkachov

    (Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus)

  • Maryia Tkachova

    (Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus)

  • Andrey Tsybrij

    (Don Archaeological Society)

  • Viktor Tsybrij

    (Don Archaeological Society)

  • Aleksandr A. Vybornov

    (Samara State University of Social Sciences and Education)

  • Adam Wawrusiewicz

    (Podlachian Museum in Białystok)

  • Aleksandr I. Yudin

    (Research Center for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage)

  • John Meadows

    (Centre for Baltic and Scandinavian Archaeology)

  • Carl Heron

    (British Museum)

  • Oliver E. Craig

    (BioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York)

Abstract

Human history has been shaped by global dispersals of technologies, although understanding of what enabled these processes is limited. Here, we explore the behavioural mechanisms that led to the emergence of pottery among hunter-gatherer communities in Europe during the mid-Holocene. Through radiocarbon dating, we propose this dispersal occurred at a far faster rate than previously thought. Chemical characterization of organic residues shows that European hunter-gatherer pottery had a function structured around regional culinary practices rather than environmental factors. Analysis of the forms, decoration and technological choices suggests that knowledge of pottery spread through a process of cultural transmission. We demonstrate a correlation between the physical properties of pots and how they were used, reflecting social traditions inherited by successive generations of hunter-gatherers. Taken together the evidence supports kinship-driven, super-regional communication networks that existed long before other major innovations such as agriculture, writing, urbanism or metallurgy.

Suggested Citation

  • Ekaterina Dolbunova & Alexandre Lucquin & T. Rowan McLaughlin & Manon Bondetti & Blandine Courel & Ester Oras & Henny Piezonka & Harry K. Robson & Helen Talbot & Kamil Adamczak & Konstantin Andreev & , 2023. "The transmission of pottery technology among prehistoric European hunter-gatherers," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 7(2), pages 171-183, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nathum:v:7:y:2023:i:2:d:10.1038_s41562-022-01491-8
    DOI: 10.1038/s41562-022-01491-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-022-01491-8
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41562-022-01491-8?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Goslee, Sarah C. & Urban, Dean L., 2007. "The ecodist Package for Dissimilarity-based Analysis of Ecological Data," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 22(i07).
    2. Kimberly R. Hall & Ranjan Anantharaman & Vincent A. Landau & Melissa Clark & Brett G. Dickson & Aaron Jones & Jim Platt & Alan Edelman & Viral B. Shah, 2021. "Circuitscape in Julia: Empowering Dynamic Approaches to Connectivity Assessment," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-24, March.
    3. Lia Betti & Robert M. Beyer & Eppie R. Jones & Anders Eriksson & Francesca Tassi & Veronika Siska & Michela Leonardi & Pierpaolo Maisano Delser & Lily K. Bentley & Philip R. Nigst & Jay T. Stock & Ron, 2020. "Climate shaped how Neolithic farmers and European hunter-gatherers interacted after a major slowdown from 6,100 bce to 4,500 bce," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 4(10), pages 1004-1010, October.
    4. Mélanie Roffet-Salque & Martine Regert & Richard P. Evershed & Alan K. Outram & Lucy J. E. Cramp & Orestes Decavallas & Julie Dunne & Pascale Gerbault & Simona Mileto & Sigrid Mirabaud & Mirva Pääkkön, 2015. "Widespread exploitation of the honeybee by early Neolithic farmers," Nature, Nature, vol. 527(7577), pages 226-230, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Davide Rassati & Massimo Faccoli & Robert A Haack & Robert J Rabaglia & Edoardo Petrucco Toffolo & Andrea Battisti & Lorenzo Marini, 2016. "Bark and Ambrosia Beetles Show Different Invasion Patterns in the USA," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(7), pages 1-17, July.
    2. repec:jss:jstsof:22:i01 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Wilson Lara & Stella Bogino & Felipe Bravo, 2018. "Multilevel analysis of dendroclimatic series with the R-package BIOdry," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(5), pages 1-23, May.
    4. Kraker, Peter & Schlögl, Christian & Jack, Kris & Lindstaedt, Stefanie, 2015. "Visualization of co-readership patterns from an online reference management system," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 169-182.
    5. Joaquim Fort & Joaquim Pérez-Losada, 2024. "Interbreeding between farmers and hunter-gatherers along the inland and Mediterranean routes of Neolithic spread in Europe," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, December.
    6. Kneib, Thomas & Petzoldt, Thomas, 2007. "Introduction to the Special Volume on "Ecology and Ecological Modeling in R"," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 22(i01).
    7. Michael F Bonner & Russell A Epstein, 2018. "Computational mechanisms underlying cortical responses to the affordance properties of visual scenes," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(4), pages 1-31, April.
    8. Pebesma, Edzer & Bivand, Roger & Ribeiro, Paulo Justiniano, 2015. "Software for Spatial Statistics," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 63(i01).
    9. Benoit Talbot & Dany Garant & Sébastien Rioux Paquette & Julien Mainguy & Fanie Pelletier, 2012. "Lack of Genetic Structure and Female-Specific Effect of Dispersal Barriers in a Rabies Vector, the Striped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis)," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(11), pages 1-7, November.
    10. Eric Vander Wal & Audrey Gagné-Delorme & Marco Festa-Bianchet & Fanie Pelletier, 2016. "Dyadic associations and individual sociality in bighorn ewes," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 27(2), pages 560-566.
    11. Lucas P. Martins & Daniel B. Stouffer & Pedro G. Blendinger & Katrin Böhning-Gaese & Galo Buitrón-Jurado & Marta Correia & José Miguel Costa & D. Matthias Dehling & Camila I. Donatti & Carine Emer & M, 2022. "Global and regional ecological boundaries explain abrupt spatial discontinuities in avian frugivory interactions," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-13, December.
    12. repec:jss:jstsof:31:i03 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Anna C. Peterson & Himanshu Sharma & Arvind Kumar & Bruno M. Ghersi & Scott J. Emrich & Kurt J. Vandegrift & Amit Kapoor & Michael J. Blum, 2021. "Rodent Virus Diversity and Differentiation across Post-Katrina New Orleans," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-18, July.
    14. Ishrat Z. Anka & Tamsyn M. Uren Webster & Waldir M. Berbel-Filho & Matthew Hitchings & Benjamin Overland & Sarah Weller & Carlos Garcia de Leaniz & Sofia Consuegra, 2024. "Microbiome and epigenetic variation in wild fish with low genetic diversity," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-14, December.
    15. Megan K. Jennings & Katherine A. Zeller & Rebecca L. Lewison, 2021. "Dynamic Landscape Connectivity Special Issue Editorial," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-2, May.
    16. Weerasena, Lakmali & Shier, Douglas & Tonkyn, David & McFeaters, Mark & Collins, Christopher, 2023. "A sequential approach to reserve design with compactness and contiguity considerations," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 478(C).
    17. R. Bhalla & Neil Pelkey & K. Devi Prasad, 2011. "Application of GIS for Evaluation and Design of Watershed Guidelines," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 25(1), pages 113-140, January.
    18. Charles Cunningham & Jorge E Parra & Lucy Coals & Marcela Beltrán & Sama Zefania & Tamás Székely, 2018. "Social interactions predict genetic diversification: an experimental manipulation in shorebirds," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 29(3), pages 609-618.
    19. Samantha Bothwell & Alex Kaizer & Ryan Peterson & Danielle Ostendorf & Victoria Catenacci & Julia Wrobel, 2023. "Pattern‐based clustering of daily weigh‐in trajectories using dynamic time warping," Biometrics, The International Biometric Society, vol. 79(3), pages 2719-2731, September.
    20. Stephen Buckley & Karen Hardy & Fredrik Hallgren & Lucy Kubiak-Martens & Žydrūnė Miliauskienė & Alison Sheridan & Iwona Sobkowiak-Tabaka & Maria Eulalia Subirà, 2023. "Human consumption of seaweed and freshwater aquatic plants in ancient Europe," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    21. Turner, Rachel A. & Polunin, Nicholas V.C. & Stead, Selina M., 2015. "Mapping inshore fisheries: Comparing observed and perceived distributions of pot fishing activity in Northumberland," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 173-181.
    22. Zhiyuan Wei & Quanchao Zeng & Wenfeng Tan, 2021. "Cover Cropping Impacts Soil Microbial Communities and Functions in Mango Orchards," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-12, April.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:nathum:v:7:y:2023:i:2:d:10.1038_s41562-022-01491-8. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.