| Fingerprints of the maker |
| Smart potters succeed | |
| The repertoire of vessels and their distribution patterns reflect the economic drive of a production centre. Rising incomes in the thirteenth century encouraged the demand for `packaged' foods, such as butter in pots. By anticipating consumer demand with innovation and marketing, certain pottery workshops succeeded. Such an example is the production centre at Brill/Boarstall, which dominated the local ceramic market for some 500 years. | 
Novelties
captured the townsmen's imagination |
| The social status of the potters and their families can be explored through interpreting the processes of imitation, innovation and `style drift'. This helped to spread new designs and new products. Conclusions from such studies can be substantiated by the techniques of ethnoarchaeology in modern craft-based communities. Our understanding of the production techniques can be explored by means of field experiments and reconstruction. | |
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How were pots fired? |
Fingerprints ... | Bibliography |
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