The chaîne opératoire of Meillacoid ceramics from El Carril, Dominican Republic (c. AD 900-1400)

The chaîne opératoire of ceramics found at El Carril, Dominican Republic. El Carril is a site in the DR where I participated in an excavation in 2018. I was able to study 13 ceramic sherds – which were large enough to permit detailed study - found on site. This thesis looks at the chaîne opératoire of those ceramics. This involves trying to establish the step by step processes involved in the manufacture of those ceramics and assessing if similar methods were used by the majority of artisans. This, in conjunction with similar studies at other sites may cast light on the development of ceramic technology and the associated social organisation. El Carril yielded many ceramic artefacts mostly of Meillacoid style. This thesis describes the Meillacoid and other styles and the geographic extent of the spread of the Meillacoid style. It describes the El Carril site and in particular the presence of large numbers of anthropogenic mounds in which most of the artefacts were found. The thesis...Show moreThe chaîne opératoire of ceramics found at El Carril, Dominican Republic. El Carril is a site in the DR where I participated in an excavation in 2018. I was able to study 13 ceramic sherds – which were large enough to permit detailed study - found on site. This thesis looks at the chaîne opératoire of those ceramics. This involves trying to establish the step by step processes involved in the manufacture of those ceramics and assessing if similar methods were used by the majority of artisans. This, in conjunction with similar studies at other sites may cast light on the development of ceramic technology and the associated social organisation. El Carril yielded many ceramic artefacts mostly of Meillacoid style. This thesis describes the Meillacoid and other styles and the geographic extent of the spread of the Meillacoid style. It describes the El Carril site and in particular the presence of large numbers of anthropogenic mounds in which most of the artefacts were found. The thesis presents some theoretical perspectives already advanced on the study of ceramic chaîne opératoire and, in light of this, it presents the methodology employed and the detailed analysis of the ceramic sherds I studied. This is followed by a description of the majority chaîne opératoire used, as observed from my research, as well as some variants also observed. The thesis acknowledges some factors confounding attempts to draw definitive conclusions concerning the anthropological interpretation of my results but makes a variety of suggestions for further research that should be conducted to expand on the findings in this work and throw additional light on the subject.Show less

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The chaîne opératoire of Meillacoid ceramics from El Carril, Dominican Republic (c. AD 900-1400)