Pottery production at the Early Bronze Age lowland settlement in Hulín-Pravčice, central Moravia

Abstract

Věteřov group ceramics are regarded as the apex of Early Bronze Age pottery production. The meticulous surface treatment and similar appearance of the vessels have led many scholars to assume that these artefacts are the work of professional potters. This study evaluates a selected segment of pottery production from the lowland Věteřov group settlement in Hulín-Pravčice, based on the analyses of forty-nine pottery samples from four sunken features. The resulting vivid image of the production of pottery vessels at the settlement in Hulín-Pravčice reveals a raw material strategy aimed at local sources, leading however to technologically rich production divided into four main groups. A foreign origin can be considered for only three samples. The studied assemblage generally did not show a positive correlation between the type of vessel and the production technology. One exception are bowl-shaped forms, for which a single technological process is dominant, and it is possible here to consider technological standardisation related to lower forms of specialised production and/or an important role for these pottery forms. In this case it is possible to speculate on the unification of one segment of pottery production.