Experimental ceramics firing in archaeology: current studies

Purpose. The article presents a survey of current tendencies in experimental ceramics firing. This research method is used for studying and explaining archaeological information concerning firing technique and technology in the past.Results. Experimental ceramics firing is considered as an interdisciplinary method involving cognitive, informational and analytical opportunities of archaeology, ethnography, and natural sciences. Archaeological contexts submit certain tasks of experimental firing in each case of study. These tasks interconnected within frames of experimental projects are: 1 - reconstruction of firing devices and their working processes based upon archaeological remains; 2 - examination of technical and technological potentials of different types of firing devices; 3 - examination of ceramic pastes thermic behavior for the identification of archaeological potteries firing qualities; 4 - reconstruction of specific firing technologies (for example, “smudging”). Simple firing devices exploited in traditional pots-making and modeling in the experiments are a bonfire, pit, one-chambered and primitive two-chamber kiln. Ceramics firing is considered as three-staged process. Preparing, essential and final stages have their specific technological features. Most important features of the essential stage providing crucial transformation of clay matter are thermal and atmosphere profiles. In general, ceramics firing is a complicated process involving different factors and conditions.Conclusion. Experimental firing researches combined with traditional firings observations show that characteristics and properties of archaeological ceramics even determined analytically do not always provide sure information for judgments about type of firing device and thermal regimes. Our interpretations of archaeological evidence of ceramics firing have to be more flexible and variable.