The Origins and Use of the Potter's Wheel in Ancient Egypt (Paperback)

The invention of the wheel is often highlighted as one of humankinds' most significant inventions. Wheels do not exist in nature, and so can be viewed entirely as a human-inspired invention. Machinery too, was relatively rare in the ancient world. The potter's wheel is arguably the most significant machine introduced into Egypt, second only perhaps to the drill, the loom and the bellows for smelting metal. In Predynastic Egypt (c3500 B.C.), the traditional methods of hand-building pottery vessels were already successful in producing pottery vessels of high quality on a large scale for the domestic market, so it would seem that the potter's wheel was a rather superfluous invention. However, the impact of this innovation would not just have affected the Egyptian potters themselves learning a new skill, but also signalled the beginnings of a more complex and technologically advanced society. Despite many years work on the technology of pottery production it is perhaps surprising that the origins of the potter's wheel in Egypt have yet to be determined. This present project seeks to rectify this situation by determining when the potter's wheel was introduced into Egypt, establishing in what contexts wheel thrown pottery occurs, and considering the reasons why the Egyptians introduced the wheel when a well-established hand making pottery industry already existed.

General

Imprint:	Archaeopress Archaeology
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Series:	Archaeopress Egyptology
Release date:	February 2015
Authors:	Sarah Doherty
Dimensions:	297 x 210 x 10mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback - A4
Pages:	150
ISBN-13:	978-1-78491-060-0
Categories:	Books > Arts & Architecture > Art forms, treatments & subjects > Ceramic arts, pottery, glass > General Books > Humanities > History > World history > BCE to 500 CE Books > Humanities > Archaeology > Archaeology by period / region > Middle & Near Eastern archaeology > Egyptian archaeology Books > History > World history > BCE to 500 CE
LSN:	1-78491-060-0
Barcode:	9781784910600

Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate? Let us know about it.

Does this product have an incorrect or missing image? Send us a new image.

Is this product missing categories? Add more categories.

Review This Product

No reviews yet - be the first to create one!