History, Science and Technology of South Asian Ceramics – The Proceedings of the Third International Conference in Commemoration of Iravatham Mahadevan 2024 (3)
07.01.2024, Sunday
Museum (DakshinaChitra Heritage) and Field (Mamallapuram [Mahabalipuram]) Visits
08.30 AM Tour starts from IIT Madras
10.00 AM Arrival at Dakshina Chitra – Traditional welcome and briefing
10.30-12.30 Noon Museum tour
12.30-1.00 PM Heritage Museum Bazaar
1.00-1.30 PM Lunch in Kanali Hall
1.30 PM Departure from Dakshina Chitra
2.30 PM Arrival at Mamallapuram
2.30-3.00 PM Welcome Refreshment
3.00-6.00 PM Guided Tour of Mamallapuram – Dr. Dayalan Duraiswamy
6.00-7.00 PM Sunset at the beach
7.00-8.00 PM Dinner at Tamil Nadu State Tourism Hotel
History, Science and Technology of South Asian Ceramics – The Proceedings of the Third International Conference in Commemoration of Iravatham Mahadevan 2024 (2)
06.01.2024, Saturday academic proceedings: The session II was about “Graffiti and inscribed potshred” chaired by Prof. Massimo Vidale held between 10-11 AM with the following papers:
Ceramic Chronologies of Tamil Nadu: An Overview by K. Rajan and R. Sivanantham: Rajan presented the paper, delving upon the following: In recent years, Tamil Nadu witnessed tremendous progress in field archaeology. The recent excavations conducted at Pattaraiperumpudur, Vadakkupattu, Perumbalai, Budhinattam, Kodumanal, Vembakottai, Keeladi, Algankulam, Adichanallur, Sivagalai, Korkai and Thulukkarpatti supported with intensive explorations provided certain basic information on the ceramic sequences.
The ceramics are unearthed in two contexts, one from the settlement which is used in day-to-day life and another from the graves, mostly ritual in nature. Though both settlement and grave met with black-and-red ware, but it needs to be understood in the given contexts. Likewise, our understanding of the stratigraphic positions of various kinds of ceramics, namely white painted black-and-ware, plain black-and-red ware, black slipped ware, russet coated ware, rouletted ware, NBP and other wares such as torpedo jar, amphorae, Arretine, Turquoise Glazed pottery, etc., encountered in Early Historic Tamil Nadu need to be analysed in the backdrop of inscribed potsherds.
More than 10,000 graffiti inscribed potsherds and more than 1500 Tamili (Tamil-Brahmi) inscribed potsherds have been unearthed to date. These were engraved with personal names on the shoulder portion of the pot, a social context marker. In the same way, there is a region-specific ceramic such as russet-coated ware, which are found only in Kongu region of Tamil Nadu.
However, its presence in other regions reflects its commercial or cultural contacts. Thus, they attempted to understand the contextual position of each ware and their stratigraphical and chronological settings based on the data collected both from excavations and explorations.
He started cautiously what is early historic, iron, or Neolithic – is a big issue as for as the Tamilnadu is concerned, yet conclude with the following results:
Megalithic – 7000-3000 BCE
Iron Age – 3000-700 BCE
Early historic – 700-300 BCE
When the north India was enjoying copper age, south India Iron age and were contemporaries
The Tamilnadu early historic period goes much before Asokan period.
Ceramics in the Indus Tradition: Technology, Gender and Ideology – Jonathan Mark Kenoyer: The long trajectory of pottery making documented at the sites of Mehrgarh, Nausharo and Harappa provide a unique opportunity to understand the changes in ceramic technology over time in the Indus Tradition. During the Regionalization Era, or Early Harappan Phase (5500-2600 BCE) the production of pottery in Baluchistan and the Punjab regions will be examined in terms of its association with household crafts and later household industry. During the Harappa Phase of the Integration Era (2600-1900 BCE) Indus ceramic production became quite diversified and involved a wide range of production modes, from household industry to mass production of common wares for use in the urban context. There is also evidence for highly controlled workshops producing elite symbols of power, such as stoneware bangles. Various types of production were involved in these different workshops, including hand building, coil and slab construction, moulds and carved pottery. The firing was also carried out in different types of kilns, including covered pit kilns, updraft kilns and high firing reduction furnaces. During the Late Harappan Phase or Localization Era (1900-1300 BCE) new production technologies, pottery styles and kilns were introduced. The role of women, men and children in ceramic production over time will be examined using comparisons with ethnographic data as well as the study of fingerprints and footprints on pottery. The production of pre-firing and post-firing graffiti on pottery as well as pottery decorative motifs will also be discussed to show the possible role of women in the development of writing and ideological symbols that became important during the Harappa Phase.
11-11.30 AM – Address by Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director – IIT Madras: He could not come, because of his pfeoccupation.
Prof. Amitabh Pande, Director – Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya MoU Tamil Nadu State Archaeology Department and Deccan College Post-Graduate & Research Institute: The MoU documents exchanged between the parties.
11.30-12.00 Noon Tea and Inauguration of Live Potters’ Workshops: The workshop was conducted demonstrating how the man-made and wheel-made potteries were manufactured.
12.00-1.30 PM Third session Tradeand Culture contact: The third session was chaired by Prof. K. Krishnan and the following papers were presented:
The Manifestation of Rouletted Ware – Dayalan Duraiswamy: [not presented today] Rouletted ware is a deluxe ware of the early historic period. The continuous rolling motion of the roulette produces the patterns. These decorations are found on black, grey, red and black-and-red wares. The distribution pattern of rouletted ware in India shows a concentration all along the eastern coast, mainly in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. This pottery is also reported from Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt, Oman and Yemen – a strong association of the ancient maritime trade centres. Thus, it is important evidence for exchange between South and Southeast Asia from the 3rd century BCE to the 3rd century CE. Initially, this pottery and/or rouletted technique was thought to have come from the Mediterranean. However, later evidence substantiated that the pottery was produced somewhere in Asia. He discussed the probable origin, evolution and diffusion of the ware, the nature of the fabric, types of rouletted or chattered decoration, and its regional variation, dealing with the comparative study of the geochemical analysis and the archaeological data of the pottery from various sites.
Impact of Roman Wares on Indian Early Historic Ceramics Repertoire: Stratigraphic, Visual and Typological Analysis – Sunil Gupta: Dealing with the occurrence of Mediterranean pottery in the stratigraphy of Early Historic sites in western and southern India, he started comparing with the IVC. Mortimer Wheeler observed in his report on the excavations at Arikamedu, the coastal trading station on the Tamil coast, that the ‘uninterrupted’ occurrence of Mediterranean amphorae in the Arikamedu strata signified regular Roman sea trade in the BC-CE transition as compared to the ‘spasmodic’ Ptolemaic ventures to India. Similarly, another well-known archaeologist, M.S. Subbarao of M.S. University of Baroda, was of the view that the appearance of the fine Red Polished Ware at a certain point of the Early Historic horizon in western India was indicative of Roman trade contact, the allusion being that the fine RPW derived from the deluxe Roman red wares. H.D. Sankalia voiced the same opinion as Subbarao, dividing the Early Historic stratigraphy at the site of Nevasa on the basis of the appearance of Mediterranean amphorae and the Fine Red Polished Ware. He emphasized that the initial separation or demarcation of Mediterranean derived red wares in Early Historic India is stratigraphic more than visual or typological. From this stratigraphic understanding, it is possible to examine closely the various Roman red ware and amphorae imports as well as a range of fine red wares which appeared suddenly on the western coast of India and triggered a red ware tradition which permeated into northern and peninsular India. In fact, the red fabric techniques were adopted in the terracotta tradition, with Roman inspired doubled moulded figurines appearing in western India. He intended to demonstrate with the aid of stratigraphic profiles, drawings and photographs and some site videos played in the workshop.
Ceramics and Interactions in the Early Historic Indian Ocean Region – Selvakumar V: Ceramics is one of the well-preserved materials indicating long-distance cultural interactions. Ceramics were traded as commodities and also they were used as storage containers for commodities. Ceramic wares and other glass wares were used by the sailors and traders and some of them were also probably traded. Amphora jars were used for the transport of wine, olive oil and fish sauce. They are distributed across several sites in South Asia. Similarly, West Asian ceramics such as TGP and ovoid jars are found at several sites. Rouletted ware and associated ceramics are one of the widely distributed ceramics materials of Indian origin. Inscribed ceramic sherds are also distributed across the Indian Ocean suggesting the nature of the individuals who travelled across. Terra sigillata is reported from a few sites in South Asia. These ceramics are mostly found in coastal port sites and market centres. He discussed the patterns in the distribution of ceramics in the Indian Ocean region with a specific focus on South Asia.
He responded to the querries:
How these goods were imported and exported so that they were available at the different places?
Scientific analysis done on the ceramics point to a common source.
Changing colour of the ceramics – oxidation and reduction for ging red and black colous.
The significance of black and red colour potteries.
Next session was chaired by Sunil Gupta.
Introducing Diversity in South and Southeast Asia Cultural Exchange: Combined Analyses of Ceramic and Ornament Technological Systems Bérénice Bellina and Aude Favereau: Research on commercial exchanges has long been dominated by texts and exotic imported products, leading to a homogenous and elitist view of the groups involved; commonly mercantile and/or religious elites. More rarely have studies focused on imported common/everyday craft products or those produced locally and involving exogenous stylistic and/or technical elements (i.e., ’hybrid’ products), which are indicative of different modes of interaction. Moreover, studies of different assemblages are often compartmentalized: local vs imported, ceramic vs ornaments. However, every configuration of industry provides different information, such that the comparative analysis of technical systems enriches interpretations. This is particularly the case for pottery and stone ornaments omnipresent in ports and their hinterlands. This paper offers a diachronic synthesis of comparative studies of the different categories of ceramic and ornament assemblages from Southeast Asian ports and related to South (imports, hybrid, inspired), providing a chrono-technological sequence spanning almost a thousand years. Do the proportions of the different categories of imports vs hybrids vary over time? Are there changes in the production systems (raw materials, technologies used, etc.)? If so, what can be inferred about the South and Southeast Asian groups using them and their cultural interactions? This research shows how cross-fertilising studies of the technical systems of ceramic assemblages and finery enrich our understanding of both South and South-East Asian groups, the exchanges they had with each other and how they evolved over time.
From the East to the West: Investigating the Presence of South China Sea Ceramics in South Asia – Aude Favereau: Research on the movement of people and goods from the Mediterranean world to China via South- and South-East Asia aroused a great deal of interest, particularly on cultural exchanges that occurred by the end of the 1st millennium BCE and the beginning of the 1st millennium CE. Evidence of contact between communities in the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea basins during this period highlighted complex cultural interactions involving the exchange of artefacts but also the dissemination of technologies and styles. But what about the circulations from East- and South-East Asia to South Asia? Were there imported ceramics or vessels used to carry commodities? Are South China Sea ceramics known in South Asia? She proposes –
(1) to review the ceramics of South Asia reported in the literature as being potentially linked to the East and to assess what is known about these vessels in South-East Asia;
(2) to introduce a selection of ceramic types that circulated widely in the South China Sea and that are also found at sites facing the Bay of Bengal in Myanmar to question whether these types travelled up to South Asia; and
(3) to make inferences about interactions and exchange activities during pre- and protohistoric times.
Torpedo Jars of Mesopotamian Origin at Vadnagar – A Tale of Interaction During the 1st Millennium CE– Abhijit S. Ambekar, Ananya Chakraborty and Amol Kulkarni: Recent excavations at Vadnagar have identified certain ceramic traditions dating back to the 1st millennium CE. This period witnessed the appearance of new wares such as Red polished ware, Coarse grey ware, Black burnished ware, and among imported ceramic types -Torpedo jar sherds and turquoise glazed ware (both non-Indian in origin). Among these, the latter distinct ceramic types indicate a relationship of the Indian subcontinent with the Western world (including Mesopotamia) and its overall cultural and economic connections through seaborne trade. The significant quantity of torpedo sherds discovered across various locations and cultural layers at the site highlights a considerable demand and supply to Vadnagar. Torpedo jars had likely served as vessels for transporting liquid commodities such as wine, oil, or other valuable food items over long distances. The presence of such a large number of torpedo jar specimens not only entails substantial import demands but also implies the affordability of the inhabitants residing in an urban centre such as Vadnagar. These findings collectively indicate a sense of prosperity among the town’s residents and direct or indirect commercial ties with neighbouring regions and the Western world over a millennium.
Next Stephen Koob chaired the session – IV, “Terracotta, stoneware glazing and residue analysis,” and the following papers were presented.
A Matter of Colour: An Insight into the Colouring Technologies of Indian Glazed Ceramic Tiles -Maninder Singh Gill: Glazed ceramic tiles in medieval to pre-modern India were coloured and decorated using a relatively restricted palette of colorants. The glaze colorants were typically oxides of metals – either natural minerals or synthetic products – of which the oxides of cobalt and copper were the most frequently used to obtain shades of blue. Other colorants used include oxides of manganese for purples and synthesised compounds of lead and tin for yellows and greens. The colorants were added to a fritted glaze or, at times, painted over the ceramic tile body, before the firing sequence. Published results of scientific investigations indicate that the colorants and colouring technologies have specific distinguishing regional characteristics. This paper, which combines available analytical findings with evidence in historical records, enables inferences to be drawn on the original materials and technologies of glaze colouration, and assists in elucidating artisanal practices that were being followed for the glazing of ceramics at that time.
Which Way Forward for South Asian Ceramic Sociology? Three Vignettes from Medieval Mewat – Mudit Trivedi: Ceramics encode and mediate relationships. Through these mediations these ordinary objects influence and determine our social relationships. They inform how we cook, eat and store foods and shape our notions of self, other and relation. South Asian studies of ceramics have attended to distinct aspect of Ceramic Sociology in several different ways: through detailed ethnoarchaeological studies of production communities, through equally detailed studies of the skills and learning demanded in standardized production, through discussions of the role of caste in ceramic production, use, exchange and formal variation and by developing multivariate techniques for the recovery of distinct sociological patterns of ceramic use. Yet, a typological, formal and technical focus often outweighs the potential of ceramic sociology in South Asian archaeology. This paper will provide a review of ceramic sociology in the context of both South Asian archaeology and archaeological theory more widely. It will then review exemplary case studies. In addition, drawing upon fieldwork in the region of Mewat (Rajasthan), which provides insight into profound ceramic changes over the medieval era it poses and explores the following questions: What is a midden? What architectural arrangements inform ceramic social relationships? How do we understand the coming of glazed wares?
Ceramic Residue and Indian Archaeology, the Past, Present and the Future – Kalyan Sekhar Chakraborty: Since its first application in the 1970s, lipid residues absorbed and adherent to the surface of unglazed ceramic vessels have provided crucial information on foodways and ceramic utilization. Ceramic residue analysis is a technique that extracts and analyses the microscopic and molecular remains of food items to reconstruct the nature of food items that were once processed, stored, served, and consumed in unglazed ceramic vessels. Despite the robustness of this technique and its successful application across the world, its application in Indian Archaeology is far from adequate. In those few attempts where ceramic residue analyses were incorporated into Indian archaeology, they were primarily carried out abroad. In this presentation, he discussed the current status of its application, how this technique has solved some of the pertaining questions related to Indian archaeology, the future of this technique, and whether we should mainstream ceramic residue analysis in Indian archaeological investigation.
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