Fellow HISTARCH members, especially those who may be attending the SHA
meetings in Williamsburg. The SHA was founded 40 years ago in Dallas where
62 archaeologists met to form the organization. Back then dues were $10.00
and one could attend a high proportion of the papers being presented. The
latest SHA Newsletter says that over 700 abstracts have been submitted for
the 2007 meetings. With up to ten concurrent sessions, it is impossible to
do anything but sample the great range of papers presented. Only a small
proportion of those papers will probably be published; perhaps this is a
blessing.
This year Amy and I are going to try something different. We have
written our paper and have it ready to email to those who would like a
copy. Our paper will be part of the Ceramics in America session organized
by Robert Hunter. In stead of having a 20-minute speed read of the paper,
we intend to have a brief summary and then use our 20 minutes to engage the
audience in a discussion of the topics covered in the paper. If you are
interested in a copy of the paper please send me an email at
[log in to unmask] and I will email a copy to you . The abstract
is presented below. Thank you.
War and Pots:
The Impact of Economics and Politics on Ceramic Consumption Patterns
Society for Historical Archaeology meeting, Williamsburg, Va., January 2007
Ceramics in America (forthcoming 2008)
George L. Miller, URS Corporation, and Amy C. Earls, Ceramics in America
Abstract
For far too long, the study of ceramics has been focused on the
history of the potters who produced the wares, as well as
connoisseurship, chronology, and ceramic technology. Changes in
ceramic ware types and styles have been described as a byproduct of
the fashion system, the results of social emulation, and changes
brought about by consumer demand. Was the industrial revolution
being driven by a consumer revolution? Evidence from the nineteenth
century suggests that oversupply and falling prices were the drivers
for changing consumption patterns. Very little has been done to
document changing consumption patterns based on quantified data.
To address questions of changing consumption patterns, we have
pulled the information on teas, plates, and bowls from 101 invoices
dating from 1806 to 1886 for ceramics sold by New York importers and
jobbers to country merchants. The resulting changes have been put
into the contexts of wars, embargos, deflation, and inflation to gain
new perspectives on the forces affecting changing consumption
patterns. In the words of the last Clinton presidential campaign,
“It’s the economy, stupid.”
George L. Miller
URS Corporation
437 High Street
Burlington, New Jersey 08016
Amy C. Earls
Ceramics in America
P.O. Box 121
Florence, New Jersey 08518
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