Hisban 1997 Overview

Abstract: Publication of Tell ?isbÁn Pottery
Larry Herr and Gloria London

From early in the field work at Tell ?isbÁn, pottery excavated at the site impacted studies in Jordan and Israel due to the long, uninterrupted sequence of ceramics extending from the Iron Age I through the Mamluk period. The Tell ?isbÁn material remains a well-stratified collection which merits analyses using current laboratory techniques and a full publication. The assemblage of diagnostic sherds permits typological studies and analyses concerning long term developments and changes in the raw material. Since the wares span several major technological innovations (use of molds and glazes, wheel throwing, a return to hand made wares, etc.), one anticipates the clay sources to vary. Rarely is there an opportunity to examine long term continuity or change at a single site, as is possible here. While examining the new developments, we can determine whether or not the entire repertoire changed as a result of the technological innovations or if some things remained the same. Studies of the clay matrices would involve petrographic analyses and NAA for the glazed wares. These studies will also comment on the organization of the ceramics industry through time. Along with the analysis of the ?isbÁn material itself, contemporaneous wares from Tell al-‘Umayri (Iran 1-11) and hinterland sites (later periods) can be compared and contrasted. Both the form and finish of pottery from ?isbÁn and ‘Umayri reveal much overlap which would benefit from mineralogical testing before drawing social implications. Initial petrographic analyses of ‘Umayri pottery have concentrated on trade and interaction between a tell and its hinterland. Studies of the ?isbÁn material would enable us to compare pottery from the two tells and to comment on the ceramic traditions of central Jordan.