The 1992 publication of Pottery Function brought together the ethnographic study of the Kalinga and developed a method and theory for how pottery was actually used. Since then, there have been considerable advances in understanding how pottery was actually used, particularly in the area of residue analysis, abrasion, and sooting/carbonization. At the 20th anniversary of the book, it is time to assess what has been done and learned. One of the concerns of those working in pottery analysis is that they are unsure how to "do" use-alteration analysis on their collection. Another common concern is understanding intended pottery function-the connections between technical choices and function. This book is designed to answer these questions using case studies from the author and his colleagues for applying use-alteration analysis to infer actual pottery function. The focus of Understanding Pottery Function is on how practicing archaeologists can infer function from their ceramic collection.

There are many ways to study pots or the sherds of pots. In this book James Skibo has focused on the surface wear and tear found on the resin-coated, low-fired cooking pots of the Kalinga people in north western Luzon. This detailed analysis is part of a much larger evalua tion of Kalinga pottery production and use by the staff members and students at the University of Arizona that has been underway since 1972. Here he has analyzed the variants among the possible residual clues on pots that have endured the stresses of having been used for cooking meat and vegetables or rice; standing on supports in the hearth fire; wall scrapings while distributing the food; being transported to the water source for thorough washing and scrubbing; followed by storage until needed again-a repetitive pattern of use. This well-controlled study made use of new pots provided for cooking purposes to one Kalinga household, as well as those pots carefully observed in other households-- 189 pots in all. Such an ethnoarchaeological approach is not unlike follOwing the course of the firing of a kiln-load of pots in other cultures, and then purchasing the entire product of this firing for analysis. Other important aspects of this Kalinga study are the chemical analysis of extracts from the ware to deduce the nature of the food cooked in them, and the experimental study of soot deposited on cooking vessels when they are in use."

The study of the human-made world, whether it is called artifacts, material culture, or technology, has burgeoned across the academy. Archaeologists have for cen- ries led the way, and today offer investigators myriad programs and conceptual frameworks for engaging the things, ordinary and extraordinary, of everyday life. This book is an attempt by practitioners of one program - Behavioral Archaeology - to furnish between two covers some of our basic principles, heuristic tools, and illustrative case studies. Our greater purpose, however, is to engage the ideas of two competing programs - agency/practice and evolution - in hopes of initiating a dialog. We are convinced that there is enough overlap in goals, interests, and conceptions among these programs to warrant guarded optimism that a more encompassing, more coherent framework for studying the material world can result from a concerted effort to forge a higher-level synthesis. However, in engaging agency/ practice and evolution in Chap. 2, we are not reticent to point out conflicts between Behavioral Archaeology and these programs. This book will appeal to archaeologists and anthropologists as well as historians, sociologists, and philosophers of technology. Those who study science-technology- society interactions may also encounter useful ideas. Finally, this book is suitable for upper-division and graduate courses on anthropological theory, archaeological theory, and the study of technology.

The 1992 publication of Pottery Function brought together the ethnographic study of the Kalinga and developed a method and theory for how pottery was actually used. Since then, there have been considerable advances in understanding how pottery was actually used, particularly in the area of residue analysis, abrasion, and sooting/carbonization. At the 20th anniversary of the book, it is time to assess what has been done and learned. One of the concerns of those working in pottery analysis is that they are unsure how to "do" use-alteration analysis on their collection. Another common concern is understanding intended pottery function-the connections between technical choices and function. This book is designed to answer these questions using case studies from the author and his colleagues for applying use-alteration analysis to infer actual pottery function. The focus of Understanding Pottery Function is on how practicing archaeologists can infer function from their ceramic collection.

There are many ways to study pots or the sherds of pots. In this book James Skibo has focused on the surface wear and tear found on the resin-coated, low-fired cooking pots of the Kalinga people in north western Luzon. This detailed analysis is part of a much larger evalua tion of Kalinga pottery production and use by the staff members and students at the University of Arizona that has been underway since 1972. Here he has analyzed the variants among the possible residual clues on pots that have endured the stresses of having been used for cooking meat and vegetables or rice; standing on supports in the hearth fire; wall scrapings while distributing the food; being transported to the water source for thorough washing and scrubbing; followed by storage until needed again-a repetitive pattern of use. This well-controlled study made use of new pots provided for cooking purposes to one Kalinga household, as well as those pots carefully observed in other households-- 189 pots in all. Such an ethnoarchaeological approach is not unlike follOwing the course of the firing of a kiln-load of pots in other cultures, and then purchasing the entire product of this firing for analysis. Other important aspects of this Kalinga study are the chemical analysis of extracts from the ware to deduce the nature of the food cooked in them, and the experimental study of soot deposited on cooking vessels when they are in use.

The study of the human-made world, whether it is called artifacts, material culture, or technology, has burgeoned across the academy. Archaeologists have for cen- ries led the way, and today offer investigators myriad programs and conceptual frameworks for engaging the things, ordinary and extraordinary, of everyday life. This book is an attempt by practitioners of one program - Behavioral Archaeology - to furnish between two covers some of our basic principles, heuristic tools, and illustrative case studies. Our greater purpose, however, is to engage the ideas of two competing programs - agency/practice and evolution - in hopes of initiating a dialog. We are convinced that there is enough overlap in goals, interests, and conceptions among these programs to warrant guarded optimism that a more encompassing, more coherent framework for studying the material world can result from a concerted effort to forge a higher-level synthesis. However, in engaging agency/ practice and evolution in Chap. 2, we are not reticent to point out conflicts between Behavioral Archaeology and these programs. This book will appeal to archaeologists and anthropologists as well as historians, sociologists, and philosophers of technology. Those who study science-technology- society interactions may also encounter useful ideas. Finally, this book is suitable for upper-division and graduate courses on anthropological theory, archaeological theory, and the study of technology.