Abstract

This paper investigates the use of petrographic analysis (the microscopic study of thin sections) to solve problems concerning prehistoric ceramic ecology, defined as the place of pottery in the lives of the people who made and used it. The approach is distinct from analyses which produce types meaningful for chronological or stylistic studies. Petrographic analysis is a specialized technique which defines paste types effectively and accurately. The paste types are the data which can be quantified and used to answer questions about prehistoric ceramic ecology. The paper deals with problem orientation, what questions can be asked, how to design a test, how to sample the collection, how to make and analyze the thin sections, and what results may be expected. Two specific illustrations are given from my researches in Northwestern Plains pottery, and the pottery of the Sierra Blanca region of New Mexico.