Au-delà du village. La fabrication de la poterie et la transmission des connaissances à la fin du Néolithique : les données de la Sardaigne

In this paper we will analyse the shaping techniques used on material documented in Early Eneolithic deposits (second half of the 4th millennium cal. BC) in southern and south-western Sardinia. The choice of sites focuses on three settlements. Two of these, situated in the Cagliari hinterland (Su Coddu/Cannelles and Terramaini) shared the same pool of local natural resources. The third village, far from the first two, may nonetheless have had contact with the others regarding the supply of ochre, deposits of which can be found on the nearby island of San Pietro. The methodological approach adopted is based on the identification of macro-traces and superficial microstructures in transversal fractures. The results obtained demonstrate a high degree of standardisation in relation to the methods used and tools that were employed in manufacture. The existence of a high level of homogeneity in the structural processes of manufacture, which coexist with low variability of auxiliary techniques, is also discussed. Together with this savoir-faire, shared by all members of the community, a variability of an individual nature is also noticeable, which could be connected to minor technical factors that don’t require substantial modifications to the chaîne opératoire, such as the size of tools, types of actions, supports and hand movements. With regards to this, we propose that a socialisation and standardisation of technical knowledge was made possible by close social interactions. In the same way, some individual variations with respect to standard models may have been realised with a certain degree of flexibility. In turn, the dissemination of technical knowledge over vast areas is seen to be extremely homogeneous, without strong technical variations of a territorial nature.