resistance and change: pottery manufacture in sardinia · resistance and change 243 of...

Resistance and Change: Pottery Manufacture in SardiniaAuthor(s): M. Beatrice AnnisReviewed work(s):Source: World Archaeology, Vol. 17, No. 2, Ethnoarchaeology (Oct., 1985), pp. 240-255Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/124513 .Accessed: 15/01/2012 10:54

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Reslstance and change: pottery manufacture 'in Sard' 8n'ia

M. Beatrice Annis

Thle aim of the ethno-archaeological research on present-day pottery production that I am carrying out in Sardinia, is to contribute towards the formulation of the theory of the dynamic processes that determine the development of any ceramic production. The importance of these processes and consequently the need for theoretical definitions or models which can be used in the archaeological interpretation of them (Peacock 1982: 51; Van der Leeuw and Pritchard 1984: 14), became clear to me when dealing with Roman, mediaeval and Renaissance pottery from the Mediterranean (Annis 1976; 1979).

That being stated, the aspects that are considered essential in the above-mentioned processes and on which the attention was mainly focussed are: the raw materials and their properties in relation to the craft; the transformation of the raw materials into consumer goods; the conditions that determine continuation, adaptation or extinction of a tradition; the factors involved in the introduction of new products; and the mutual influences between the old and the new.

As late as the 1950s Sardinia was still regarded as a world apart, governed by the social and economic structures characteristic of an agro-pastoral society of a pre-industrial type. In t:he past thirty years the island has suddenly found itself forced into the modem world (Brigaglia 1976). Within a geographically and chronologically well-defined framework (192041980) we can therefore observe the effects of this change which altered the terrtory and the landscape and, to an even greater extent, social and economic structures. Pre-supposing that these changes are also reflected in the ceramic production one has to determine how they can be perceived archaeologically (Annis 1983).

The historical sources cite approximately ten centres of ceramic production in Sardirnia. In the twenties and the thirties these supplied the needs of a structurally agro-pastoral popu lation concentrated in 364 villages in a total area of 24,089 km 2. The main centres are siftated in the Campidano of Oristano and Cagliari (the largest plain with the most extensive clay-beds), the others are prevalently along the east coast (Figure 1). The production consists of terracotta vessels, roof-tiles and bricks. Fine ware, ordinary tableware, large storage pots and part of the building materials are imported. At the present stage of the investigation it appears that, at least in the Ccampidano, we are dealing with a single ceramic tradition. A tradition which, as regards the raw materials, the manufacturing techniques and the formal and functional repertory does not differ mujch in the various centres. What do vary are the modes of productiovn,

World Archaeology Volume 1 7NVo. 2 Ethnoarch#aeo/ogy ?R.K.P. 1985 0043-8243/85/1702-240 $1.0O/1

Resistance and change 241

that is the kind of organization of the professional potters, ranging from household industry to manufactory (Peacock 1982: 8-9). These variations are caused by the villages' differing environmental and socio-economic circumstances.

This was the situation until the beginning of the 1 960s. Today in several centres the tradition has come to an end whereas in others we observe symptoms of resistance, adaptation and innovation. The responses to the new reality are indeed different: it is a matter of discovering the causes of these differences and of recognizing variables and constants.

In the present article I shall confime myself to an outline of the situation in Oristano, the study of which is almost concluded.

The ceramic industry of Oristano

Environment

During the period 1920-1950 Oristano, a small town with a few thousand inhabitants, was the principal agricultural centre of the northern Campidano. Today (1984) the city, which has been the capital of the homonymous province since 1974, has a population of approximately 30,000 and is regarded as one of the industrial centres of development-of modem Sardinia.

The town's position on predominantly clayey quatemary alluvial soils; the abundance of maquis in the vicinity which is used as fuel; the regular commercial contacts with a large island area, including the mountainous regions in the centre and the north with which for a long time the tradition of transhumance has existed, are the environmental conditions that have favoured the development of Oristano's ceramic industry (Atlante 1971; Le Lannou 1941).

Socio-economic organization

The full-time male workshop industry is fundamentally organized for wholesale via middlemen. A type of commercial organization in keeping with the vastness of the supplied area and with the rather difficult communications. Transport is by ox- or horse-drawn cart. Direct sale also takes place, both at the workshops and at popular religious feasts within a radius of about 50 km, to which the potters themselves bring along their merchandise with ox-drawn carts (2 km/h) which they rent from the peasants (Figure 2).

The unit of wholesale is the set. This consists of a certain number of pots with the same shape and the same volume. The number of pots (e.g. 30, 40, 60, 100) distinguishes the set and gives it its name. The value, and therefore the price, of each separate set, based on the quantity of raw material used, on the amount of space occupied by the set in the kiln and on the length of time it takes to manufacture them, is the same for the various sets.

There is mention of a potters' quarter in Oristano at the end of the sixteenth century (Fara 1835: 73, ms. of 1586) and the statutes of the potters' guild, dating back to 1692, mention 34 craftsmen (Loddo Canepa 1961: 254). Sources of the nineteenth century mention 30 vasai (potters), whose workshops and kilns were concentrated in the homonymous district outside the walls of the mediaeval city (De la Marmora 1868: 286; Angius 1853: 248, 268). As late as the 1960s the workshops of the Oristaneian potters were still situated partly along Via Figoli (Potters' Street) and partly in the more recent (nineteenth century) suburban district

242 M. Beatrice Annis

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of Sant'Efisio in the southeast. The clay-beds are situated immediately outside the town, in the southern zone, where we find another toponym: terra Cungiali/Cungiai = potter's clay, indicating soils which have been exploited on a communal basis for at least a century (Carta 1869: 55) (Figure 3).

Until 1953 the Societa della Santissima Trinita continued to function more or less ag the old guild. Its function was essentially to protect the practice of the craft, both within the group and in its contacts with the city. The cohesive power of the Societa became apparent at the time when it was abolished. The clay-site was then divided among the active master potters, for whom mutual technical assistance in digging the clay was no longer obligatory. This led to the progressive abandonment of the quarries. Today the clay is usually supplied by firms digging wells for the building industry. As a consequence the craftsmen often have difficulty procuring the raw material and can no longer control the quality of the clay.

Only the master potters represented the Societd. Officially what counts and what appears in the records is therefore the number of master potters. In the period 1920-1940 this was approximately 35. As, on the average, each master potter was assisted by one labourer and one apprentice, the total number of people engaged in pottery production was approxirnately 100 craftsmen, divided over about 20 workshops. The number of master potters is controlled by the Societd which favours the potters' sons and discourages the admission of outsiders. Despite the virtual doubling of the population between 1921 and 1951 the number of master potters remained more or less the same (Atlante 1980: 171, 176).

In the 1970s the active terracotta producers in Oristano were four; in 1984 they are three out of an urban population of 29,085. Since the fifties in fact the altered economic conditions of Sardinia no longer characterized by isolation and unilaterality, permit young people to change their job. On the other hand the modern social laws in favour of the labourers and apprentices induce the master potters to make do without them. The division of labour in the workshops and the organization of external services are therefore gradually vanishing from the picture. The master potter is left facing a pluriform task by himself: his working situation now corresponds to that of an individual workshop (Peacock 1982: 31).

For the potters their craft is their only means of subsistence. This means non-stop work in the summer months whereas from November to April the decrease in demand and the damp weather force them to find supplementary sources of income.

There are two exceptions to this rule, corresponding to two different economic organiza- tions. An ex-potter, risen to the rank of entrepreneur, buys an agglomerate of old workshops along Via Figoli and employs about 15 craftsmen. This nucleus has two large kilns (with a capacity of ca. 10 mi3), also situated in Via Figoli, at its disposal and by the potter's colleagues it is regarded as a single workshop. The owner provides the workshops and the kilns and pro- cures flint, galena and fuel. By contract he receives the entire production which he then resells to wholesalers. His employees have the disadvantage of having to sell their goods at a minimum price, but the advantage of being able to continue production, even when there is no demand, because the owner can afford to store the products. In such an organization of a capitalist type, which can fundamentally be defmed as a manufactory (Peacock 1982: 10), the concern must produce goods in such quantities and of such a quality that the owner is able to sell

Figure 1 Sardinia: pottery production centres and neighbourning soils. Figure 2 Sardinia: distribution area of the pottery production of Oristano until the 1950s.


them at competitive prices and yet make a profit. Formal and qualitative standardization is the result, leaving no room for experiments.

The second exception is that of a workshop that has become rich the feminine way by means of land and livestock. This provides the logistic (5 wheels and 2 kilns) and economic space to continue production throughout the whole year. As it is not the craft, but the owner- ship of land and livestock that constitutes the economic basis of the workshop, this leaves room for reflection and experiment which encourage innovation.

Each workshop adheres to its autonomy. In the technical organization this is possible thanks to an internal allocation of tasks. Apart from this the owner of a workshop can rely on a certain amount of extemal services: labourers to help mine the clay, carters to transport it, wood-gatherers for fuel, suppliers of engobe and galena.

When it comes to mining the clay and firing the pottery the spirit of independence must give way to efficiency. Within the group small units are therefore fonned of 5-6 master potters who help each other. In general, mutual technical assistance is a moral obligation of each member of the Societd. In connection with this, I think that when we speak of solidarity when dealing with a concentration of workshops (Goudineau 1968; Peacock 1982: 43), we must draw a distinction. It seems that this co-operation will only bear upon the technical aspects of the craft and will do nothing to stop the potter's 'envy' which remains a threatening destructive force. In general, if it is opportunely defended, the equilibrium between the centrifugal and the centri- petal forces will persist as long as the socio-economic structure in which the production is developing is not disturbed (Wolf 1966; Papousek 1981; Rice 1984).

Eloquent in this sense are two phenomena observable in the twenties and thirties. In that period of growing welfare and of intensification of the contacts with the outer world, a' small group of artists introduced the manufacturing of art-pottery in the main centres of terracotta production. A phenomenon destined to remain academic because it was aimed at a far too narrow social group, the rising urban bourgeoisie, whereas the true structure of Sardinian

society was still agropastoral. At Oristano the production of terracotta and the new form of production ignored each other. Only in the workshop of the potter-and-peasant did an inventive craftsman feel attracted by the new way of making ceramics. He stopped producing sets and became a potter-'artist'. But the members of the Societd considered him a 'parasite' and turned him into an isolated craftsman.

At the same time another potter, inspired by a model seen in Tunisia, modified the grate of his kiln and thereby succeeded in reducing the wastage. His colleagues broke off all relations with him and his family. In the economy of a production the element of loss indeed also acts a part and cannot be eliminated without creating imbalances. How, on the contrary, innovation was accepted once the economic context had changed, became apparent a few years later.

During the second World War the island did find itself in an extremely isolated position. The increased demand for terracotta vessels caused by the shortage of all imported goods, solved the problem of the dead season. By this time employment by the workshop owner of Via Figoli had become superfluous and that type of organization disappeared. The shortage of glass, copper, enamelled ware, tableware and sanitary ware resulted in the imitation of these vessels and therefore in an enrichment of the formal repertory. As the same shortages applied for the whole population on the island this naturally resulted in a wider social distribution. The manufacture of cooking pots constituted a technical problem. The centre in Sardinia which had the prerogative of this production, Pabillonis, was unable to satisfy the demand by itself.


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The potters of Oristano, who lacked the necessary know-how to make vessels resistant to thermal stress, met with constant failure. This induced a few of them to go to Pabillonis to observe the technique which they believed consisted in shaping the pots upside down in order to obtain a uniform thickness of the walls. In actual fact this only slightly improved the Oris- taneian pots' thermal stress resistance, which is essentially a matter of fabric (Rye 1976, Steponaitis 1984). The contacts with Pabillonis, where the kilns had a perforated grate, induced some potters to modify their own grates. This innovation, which a few years earlier had been rejected, was now accepted.

The need to simplify the work owing to the lack of assistants in the 1960s brought about the replacement of the wooden double wheel by a mechanical one with an iron head and an iron axle rotating in ball bearings. Significant is the fact that whereas in the thirties a highly developed type of wheel had already been introduced by the potter-artists at Oristano, the entire war-time production had continued to be thrown on the rudimentary wooden wheels which, apart from being subject to deformations, needed continual adjustment (Foster 1965: 51; Balfet 1973: 122; Papousek 1981).

The demand for tableware in the period during and immediately after the war induced two potters, who were not Sardinians themselves, but who served in the army in Oristano, to raise the capital to set up a small manufactory according to the tradition of maiolica in which they had received their training. When the concern was set up a few young potters abandoned the production of terracotta and chose to work in the manufactory producing the fine pottery. This will have an influence on the shape and decoration of the new products, which in its turn will influence traditional production. The initiative, depending on a contingent need, persisted until this need arose. But when it again became possible to import tableware, this kind of organization was not strong enough to compete with industry. Individual artisans however, continued to produce fine pottery, because there was and still is a market for this kind of product, both in Sardinia itself and abroad (Annis 1984).

Manufacturing technique and equipment

The clay is obtained from deposits situated close to the built-up area to the south of the town (Figure 3). It is mined underground (cp. Combes and Louis 1967: 35-6), but in general the length of the galleries does not exceed 4 m. The potters distinguish three different clays: a basic clay, lying in the centre of the sediment, a fat one lying above and a sandy one lying below, both used as correctives (Shepard 1965: 11). The quality of the basic clay determines how much fat or sandy clay must be mined in order to obtain the most suitable blends. The clay arrives in the workshops nearly dry and summarily cleaned and is then stored in a special room for a while (Figure 4). Once the most convenient blend has been made, it is mixed with water in pits dug in the courtyard (cp. Hampe and Winter 1965: Abb. 16). When it is solid enough to be lifted in the hands it is spread out to dry. After it has been thoroughly kneaded by foot, it is then kneaded by hand once more at the bench immediately before being brought onto the wheel.

The fast, double- or kickwheel is entirely made of wood (seasoned olive or quercus ilex). At the bottom, the pointed axle rotates in a hole carved in a thick stone, placed 8 cm beneath the fly-wheel and firmly set in the ground without mortar (Vossen 1972: 30a). The lubricant is olive oil. At the top, beneath the head, the axle is held in place by a transverse board to


which it is tied with a cord. A pork-rind serves as a cushion (cp. Hampe and Winter 1965: Farbtafel 1.4). The only auxiliary turning tools are wooden ribs and the wire used to cut the pot from the wheel. When the pot is leather-hard, the base is thinned and smoothed with a piece of split cane (Vossen 1972: 32). When busy at his wheel, the potter is not seated, but leans his back against a wooden board and his left shoulder against the wall. The pots are thrown at a high rate of speed: in a working day of about 10 hours a skilled thrower produces 60 water jars of a capacity of 1 5 litres each.

The updraught kiln without dome is circular in plan and has an underground fire chamber divided into two lobes by a small wall which, starting from the back wall, extends three-fifths of the total diameter. This supports the grate, consisting of radially placed curved elements (Plates 1, 2). Built by the same potters in mudbrick with a few reinforcements, it is coated with a refractory compound of clay mixed with coarse sand and straw. The top part of the oven compartment is movable and consists of courses of mudbricks which are arranged around the load (Plate 5). The covering is made up of sherds. The kiln is situated in the courtyard. Fuel consists of maquis shrubs, of which the cistus is preferred. The pottery is fired once.

In the period under review the large communal kilns of Via Figoli disappeared and in the separate workshops we observe a progressive reduction of the kiln's capacity. Apart from this, the grate was modified and changed (Plates 3, 4) and the fire chamber was placed less deep in the ground until finally the entire kiln was built above the ground. Characteristic of the traditional Oristaneian kiln are the structure of the grate with radially placed curved elements with wide intermediate gaps and the movable construction of the top part of the oven compartment. It seems that the almost direct communication between the fire chamber and the oven compartment neutralizes the great loss of heat caused by the movable top part. In order to success- fully fire the pots stacked at the top of a kiln with a capacity of ca. 10 mi3, such as the large kilns of Via Figoli, there should be nothing but the pots themselves obstructing the circulation of heat. The thin supporting wall in the fire chamber must also be seen in this light. This is long enough to support the curved elements of the grate without obstructing the circulation of heat. The alternative, a broad central pillar, would on the contrary create a relatively large 'dark' area in the oven compartment and would therefore require a different kind of kiln (Cuomo di Caprio 1978/9: Fig. 5). Naturally the construction described above is related to the thermal properties of the clay, the type of products aimed at and the considerable weight of the load. As a consequence of the appearance of the separate workshops in the nineteenth century, each with their own kiln, the kiln's capacity was reduced to two-thirds or half of its previous size, depending on the workshop. But the construction of the kiln and the structure of the grate were left unaltered. We have seen in which circumstances modifications at first rejected are later accepted. From then on the changed working conditions of the potters have caused further reductions in the size of the kilns. Regarding their structure we must not expect any uniformity: all variations are present at the same time.

The workshop and the home form a single unit and in the periods of production the work also invades the rooms designed for domestic life. In the progressive decrease in activity charac- terizing the period between the fifties and the eighties the area designed for domestic life got the upper hand. Simultaneously with the reduction of the kiln's capacity we see the areas designed for work moving away from the home and being confined to the courtyard (Figure 4).


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The artefacts

The potters distinguish three groups of artefacts: 'artefacts with handles'; 'open artefacts'; and 'glazed artefacts' or 'festive ware'. The first two groups constitute the ordinary production of sets: water vessels and storage jars; basins and bowls. The pottery which is not produced in sets and therefore represents the extraordinary production, makes up the third group (Vossen 1974: 167-8).

Products revealing a form of specialization which is the prerogative of one or two families, are a few artefacts other than pots (Plate 8). The distribution of these artefacts is limited to the northern and central Campidano.

A separate group form the 'four-handled jars' bearing a rich plastic decoration, usually depicting a religious subject (Plate 9). These are also the speciality of one or two families of old tradition. They are exclusively show-pieces, not intended for sale, but to be offered to important persons.

The water vessels are the products of Oristano par excellence and account for approximately 60% of the total production (Plate 10). The function of these vessels is to purify the water and to keep it cool, an irreplaceable necessity all over the island because it is connected with the precarious hydrographical situation and with the island's climate (Annis 1984). This ecological aspect (Matson 1965) is reflected in the wide area of diffusion of the vessels, in the density of the distribution pattern and in their occurence in all layers of society. In this category we also find the widest range of shapes and sizes, corresponding to the various uses they have to fulfill; the geographical configuration of the different regions; the type of water supplies (river, spring, well); transport; agricultural or pastoral economy and domestic organization (Annis 1984). The two-handled water jar in particular is regarded by the potters as a means of estirmiating the quality of the clay, the artisan's degree of skill and the labourer's productivity.

The basins constitute ca. 20% of the production (Plate 13). The area of diffusion is as wide as that of the jars, but the pattern of distribution differs: it is very dense in the Campidano and less so in the mountainous regions (where wood is also used) whereas their social distribution is limited to the rural population. There are only two different shapes and the range of the sizes is smaller than that of the jars.

The 'glazed artefacts' are entirely covered on the outside with a green lead glaze (Plate 11). This is indicative of their decorative function, further confirmed by the unusual shapes. They were made to be sold at regional religious feasts, which also had the function of a fair. This explains the wide area of diffusion and the scattered distribution limited to the rural population. As an occasional production it is, from a quantitative point of view, only of secondary importance. From an economic point of view however, the 'festive ware' has its importance: this is sold by the piece and the price paid for it is twice as high as that of the ordinary ware. Not being of primary necessity this production was in complete decline during the war.

In the past years the quantitative and qualitative scarcity of the clay and the reduced kiln

Figure 4 Oristano: potter's workshop in the Sant'Efisio area; phase 1 (1 943-1970) and phase 2 (actual state). ingresso/soggiorno = entrance/living room; cucina = kitchen; deposito terra =

store of clay; soppalco = lowered ceiling for the storage of fired and unfired vessels; asciugatura vasellame = drying of unfired vessels; locale tornitura = workshop and wheels; vasche = wetting tanks; area preparazione argilla = area for the preparation of the clay; legnaia = fuel store; deposito vasellame cotto = store for fired vessels.


Plate 2 Demo lition of a kiln, to be substituted by a smaller one 1980). With the

/ 4 ~~~~~~round mudbricks ......... 3Adaptedradithe radial elements

....... of the grate are constructed.

Pla te 1 Radial grate.

Plate S Kiln with underground fire chamber and radial grate (-1980). Upper part of oven compartment movable.


............ . .. ... Plate 7 Pushing up the clay betw en the knuckles.

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... ... ... ... ... . . ... .... . ... ... ... . . ... .... ....... ....... .. . .... .... ..... .. ...... .... .............. .. .. .... ........... .......... ... .. ...... ..................... ... . ............ .. .... . . . . ..... . .. .. .. ... ... .............: .. ... ... .. .. .. .. .. ....... ... ... .... .. ... ... ... ... ...... ... ... ... ... ..... .... ... .... ....... ... .. ... .... .X .. ... ... .. .. .. .. ... .... . . ... ... . ..... ..... ... ... ... . .. ... ... .. ... .. . ... .. .. ... ... .. .. ... .... ... .. .. ... . . . . . .. . . .. .. .. .. .. .... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. . . .. . .. .. . . ... ... ... .. .. .. ... .. ... ... ... .. ... .. .. .. . . .. .. ... .. ... .. .. .. ... .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... ........ ..... .... ... ..... .... ... .............. .. ............ ... ..... .. . ... ....... .. ............ .... ........ ... . .............. . ... .... ....... ....... ... ... ....... ............. ............ ........ ........ .. .. ............ ... ...... .... ... .... ............. ix x : .. ............ .... .. .. .... ....... ::::: ... .... ... ............. ...... ... ... . .. .. ............ .. ............. .. .... .. . . ...... . ... ...... .............. ..X ................ ........... ........... ............... ............ ................ .... ........... ........ Plate 1 1 'Green ware'. .......................... ............ ... .... ... ... .............. ................. ............. X.N. ....... . ... .. ........ ........ ... ... .. ................. ... .. .. ... ........... .... ... . ... .. ............. .. ........ . ... ... . . ... .... ... ... .... ... .. ... .... ....... .... .... .. ................. .......... .... ...... ........... ... ............... ........... . . ............ ..... ......... ............ .... ............ ........... ............ .......... ........... .......... ... ....... ........ ....... . ... ... .... ............. ... ......... ... .......... ......... .... ........ ... ....... ... ....... .. ... ........ . ... .. ... ....... ... . ............ ........ ........... ... ........ .. .............. .... ......... .... ........... ........ .. ... ....... .... ....... . .. ... .... ....... .. ... .... .. .... ............ ............ ................... .. ... . ....... ... ... ..... ... ............ . ... .. ... .. ... ..... ........... -X . .. ... X.: ........... .. ... ... ..... ....


-X~~~~~~~~~~~ Plate 12 Charging the lower part of the oven Plate 13 'Open artefacts':.basin.

c p t n ......

capacity have distorted the relative quantities indicated up till now. If a kiln with a modest

capacity is ... .... X-X

yield is minimal (Plate 12). This explains why these artefacts are being produced less and less and are being replaced by small and minute 'glazed artefacts'. Tourism and the increased general welfare have created a market for these objects which nowadays can also be bought in the shops in town. The old wholesalers, no longer finding the merchandise sought for, are tumning to the potters of Assemini who are still able to supply these goods: today distance no longer poses a problem (Figure 2).

In this context it should be noted that the falling into disuse of traditional products is not necessarily caused by the introduction on the market of technologically more advanced products or of substitutes. The true causes of these phenomena are to be found in the socio- economic context. At Oristano, for example, it was the potters who stopped offering the products which had become economically less attractive for them to manufacture. The customers, who are therefore forced to have recourse to other products, become available thanks to the changed situation, get used to them, and forget about the advantages of the old products (Annis 1984).

Relationship between raw materials, manufacturing techniques and artefacts

In collaboration with the Department of Pottery Technology of the University of Leyden, research is presently being directed to establishing the relations between the properties of the raw materials, the manufacturing techniques and the final products (Franken 1983; Jacobs 1983). As the basic clay of Oristano reaches its point of water saturation too quickly, it tends to lose its cohesion and is also rather short. To improve its workability on the wheel the clay must be corrected. The addition of fat clay reduces these two effects, but does not cancel them. The clay-body thuls obtained must be thrown rapidly because while being worked on the


wheel it is constantly on the verge of saturation. Moreover, as the clay tends to tear easily, the pots have to be shaped by pressing the clay between the knuckles and pushing it up rather than pulling it (Plate 7). This has its consequences on the size and the shape of the pots: we do not fmd particularly large vases in the repertory, the widening of the belly is gradual and restricted, and the neck of the waterjars is rather short. The handles however, which are thrown because they cannot be pulled, are widely curved. The addition of fat clay also helps to reduce the permeability of the finished product but the high drying shrinkage of this clay imposes restrictions in this respect.

To sum up, we have a raw material whose workability (Hamer 1977: 319) is conditioned by various factors, all of which impose limitations on the potter. When at the end of the 1940s the clay-pits were exhausted and the potters had to move to another area (Figure 3) where suitable clay was scarce and of poor quality, the largest shapes were indeed no longer produced and the others were proportionally reduced. Later, when the quarries were abandoned, there gradually came an end to the production of large ordinary pots.

Conclusion

We conclude with a few considerations regarding the traces of. this industry that can be identified by means of archaeological methods and, on the other hand, the existing relationship between the pattern of these traces and the environmental conditions, both physical and socio-economic, which caused them (Stiles 1977: 90-4).

The long-lasting practice of digging the clay from the area Terra Cungiali caused a considerable lowering of the groundlevel in that region, which is at present largely built over. But this physical trace only assumes archaeological significance in the light of the toponym. The workshops however bear traces that are more readily identified. The pits for mixing the clay with water, the holes into which the wheel was fitted, the stones with the socket for the wheel's axle, the large stone mortars for grinding flint and galena (Plate 6) and finally the kilns. Rather surprising however is the scarcity at Oristano ,of sherds in the yards of the workshops. The kiln wasters which cannot be sold or used, are immediately taken away.

The row of workshops close to the large communal kilns and the existence of the toponyms Vasai and Via Figoli indicate a narrow organizational form, suggesting efficiency in the production and a large scale of output. In the more recent quarter of Sant'Efisio, on the other hand, we find the pattern of separate home-workshops. This change in the spatial distribution of the workshops and in their typology corresponds with the abolition of the strict institution of the Guild in 1864 and the ensuing greater freedom for individual initiative and with the improvement of the economic and demographic situation, both caused by the reforms of the new Piedmontese govemment (Boscolo et a. 1962: 126-255). Techniques, equiprnent, artefacts, production, distribution and clientele do not change because in Sardinia the type of economy and the way of life remained essentially the same.

After the fifties the mode of production becomes more and more that of individual workshops: this is reflected by a casual topographical situation and a haphazard lay-out: of the workshops; variety in technology and artefacts: personal production for a personal c[ientele. The latter ranges from an agro-pastoral and middle-class island clientele to the Japanese and American trading firms. We note the same variety and disorientation as we observe in modem

2 5 4 LIM. Beatrice Annis

Sardinian society, unbalanced by the events of the past thirty years in every respect: from the territory and the landscape to the way of life and mentality of its people.

27.ili.1985 Archeologisch Centrum University of Leiden

Acknowledgements

Ai vasai di Oristano devo grande riconoscenza per la loro cordialita, pazienza, generosita. The graphic and photographic documentation of the research was taken care of by my colleague Herman Geertman (Univ. of Leiden). Financial support was provided by the UJniversity of Groningen; the Netherlands Organization for the Advancement of Pure Research (Z.W.O.); the University of Leiden. The present article was translated from the Italian by Susan Mellor.

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Abstract

Annis, M. Beatrice

Resistance and Change: pottery manufacture in Sardinia

From the 1950s an irreversible process has uprooted and transformed the traditional pastoral and agricultural society of Sardinia. Pursuing an essentially archaeological enquiry the paper explores the extent to which the changes are reflected in the island's pottery industry and seeks, through accurate definition of phenomena and their interaction, to contribute to the theory of dynamic processes that govern ceramic production.

resistance and change: pottery manufacture in sardinia · resistance and change 243 of...

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