Ancient Cookware from the Levant - An Ethnoarchaeological Perspective - Gloria London
16. Middle and Late Bronze Age Cookware
Ancient Cookware from the Levant - An Ethnoarchaeological Perspective - Gloria London
Gloria London [+]
Independent Scholar
Description
Late Bronze Age society could not support potters who made thin vessel walls from carefully prepared clay. Cookware at coastal sites was highly varied and reflected increased international connections. For the first time, carinated cooking pots appeared alongside globular pots. Both types were made in a mould. Egyptian-style “flower pots” and “beer bottles” attest to foreign influence, presence, and impact on local foodways. Decorated baking trays and/or griddles also were made in moulds. The scoop, an intentionally asymmetrical bowl-like form, made its first appearance. Cookware was often made of clay designed to withstand heating. More than one cookware fabric has been identified at individual sites, which is a trend that expanded in subsequent periods. There is little doubt that despite its bulk, cookware was traded – either empty or filled with food.