Pottery Industries of the Roman East - Craft Communities and Working Practices

"What was the social experience of work in the ancient world? This study approaches the topic through the lens of the potters and ceramicists in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. It reconstructs the complex lives of people in the past, demonstrating the importance of studying work and labor as central topics in social and cultural histories"--

List of contents

1. Introduction; 2. Workshops: models vs practice; 3. Process, people and working conditions; 4. Cultural practices and ritual lives of potters in the workshop; 5. Potting traditions, craft learning and product innovation; 6. Socially embedded technologies and local technological styles; 7. Internal social dynamics of industry clusters: cooperation and competition; 8. Urban industry, topographies and community relations; 9. Conclusion.

About the author

Elizabeth A. Murphy is Assistant Professor of Classics at Florida State University. Her research focuses on the crafts- and trades-people of the Roman and Late Antique worlds and uses the archaeological record to gain insight into the social lives and practices of working communities in antiquity.

Product details

• Authors: Elizabeth A Murphy, Elizabeth A. (Florida State University) Murphy, Murphy Elizabeth A.
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.03.2025
• EAN: 9781009514606
• ISBN: 978-1-0-0951460-6
• No. of pages: 263
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Antiquity; Social sciences, law, business > Social sciences (general); SOCIAL SCIENCE / Archaeology, Middle East, Ancient History, Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500, Archaeology by period / region, c 500 to c 1000 CE, Ancient history: to c 500 CE, Classical style, BCE to c 500 CE, C 500 CE To C 1000 CE, c 1 to c 500 CE, Middle & Near Eastern archaeology