Alessandro Ceccarelli
Alessandro studied a BA in Archaeological Sciences at University ‘Sapienza’ of Rome, Italy, and Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Spain, followed by a MA in History of Art and Archaeology (South Asia) at SOAS, University of London. After interrupting a PhD in Archaeology and Pottery Analysis at UCL, University College London, Alessandro is currently undertaking his PhD at University of Cambridge on the scientific and morpho-stylistic analysis of archaeological ceramic materials from South Asian sites (Indus Valley Civilisation).
Alessandro is also an accredited member of archaeological bodies, i.e. CIfA, and worked for European and English museums, such as the Victoria and Albert Museum (Assistant Lecturer, Learning Centre), British Museum (volunteer consultant, South Asian Department) and National Museum of Oriental Art “Tucci”, Rome (Department of Education).
Supervisors: Cameron Andrew Petrie, Patrick Quinn, and Charles French
Address: http://www.arch.cam.ac.uk/directory/ac2045/
Alessandro is also an accredited member of archaeological bodies, i.e. CIfA, and worked for European and English museums, such as the Victoria and Albert Museum (Assistant Lecturer, Learning Centre), British Museum (volunteer consultant, South Asian Department) and National Museum of Oriental Art “Tucci”, Rome (Department of Education).
Supervisors: Cameron Andrew Petrie, Patrick Quinn, and Charles French
Address: http://www.arch.cam.ac.uk/directory/ac2045/
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Papers by Alessandro Ceccarelli
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2017/12/20/1708800115.abstract
This open access article is distributed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License 4.0 (CC BY-NC-ND).
Abstract:
Do human societies from around the world exhibit similarities in the way that they are structured, and show commonalities in the ways that they have evolved? These are long-standing questions that have proven difficult to answer. To test between competing hypotheses, we constructed a massive repository of historical and archaeological information known as " Seshat: Global History Databank. " We systematically coded data on 414 societies from 30 regions around the world spanning the last 10,000 years. We were able to capture information on 51 variables reflecting nine characteristics of human societies, such as social scale, economy, features of gover-nance, and information systems. Our analyses revealed that these different characteristics show strong relationships with each other and that a single principal component captures around three-quarters of the observed variation. Furthermore, we found that different characteristics of social complexity are highly predictable across different world regions. These results suggest that key aspects of social organization are functionally related and do indeed coevolve in predictable ways. Our findings highlight the power of the sciences and humanities working together to rigorously test hypotheses about general rules that may have shaped human history. cultural evolution | sociopolitical complexity | comparative history | comparative archaeology | quantitative history
Conference Papers by Alessandro Ceccarelli
the majority were made to be broken. Thousands of fragments are found at sites occupied by prehistoric Jomon communities. The issue of ‘missing’ fragments is interesting since it indicates that broken-off portions were taken from one site and carried to another as if connecting the landscape, communities and ideas. The clay used in pottery vessels differs despite being find on one site, indicating the movement of the vessels as a carrier of information or change of the technology (e.g. an introduction of new temper) as a medium of pottery vessels production.
The methodology used to establish where clays used in the manufacture of the vessels and figurines came from in the landscape, is based on the use of a hand-held XRF machine which provides a detailed readout of the chemical composition of the clays used to make these fascinating objects. This in turn allows us to identify where the clays came from, and allows the testing of ideas about the movement of commodities in Jomon Japan, essential to a broader understanding of the nature of Jomon society. The case studies presented here are Tsukumo site, Okayama prefecture; and from the Chiba City: Daimon shell midden, Hayamakoshi site, Idosaku-minami site, Kasori shell midden, Kowasimizu site, Ookusadai-kofungun, Rokutsu shell midden, Sonnou shell midden, Tabeta shell midden, Tsukijidai shell midden, Uchino daiichi, Unarasuzu site.
Liliana Janik1, Emilie Green1 and Alessandro Ceccarelli1, with
Naoko Matsumoto2, Ryuzaburo Takahashi3 and Masato Nishino4
1University of Cambridge
2Okayama University
3Waseda University
4Chiba City Archaeology Centre
research can be used as a valuable tool to build stronger discussions related to material culture
patterning, especially concerning prehistoric social and technological theories.
Ethnoarchaeological research can be applied to several aspects of ceramic production, such as the
investigation of manufacturing techniques and technology, producers and craft specialisation, the
role of producers within societies, castes or sub-castes, the nature of producer identity and
religious affiliation, and the structure of regional and village-based ceramic production. This paper
presents an ethnoarchaeological study of the Kumhars potter caste in modern Haryana and Uttar
Pradesh, which was carried out as part of my PhD research into Indus Civilisation ceramic
traditions.
After providing a brief overview of the methods adopted and the five families of Kumhars potters
interviewed for this project, this paper will focus on the preliminary results of the ethnographic
study, touching upon (1) tools and resilience of manufacturing techniques; (2) regional network of
crafters; (3) vernacular knowledge of landscape and clay sources; and (4) the relevance of such
observations on archaeological interpretations.
Abstract: This paper aims to present preliminary results of technological ceramic analysis on pottery assemblages from archaeological sites in Uttar Pradesh, North-Western India. Such results are part of a current PhD research project which aims to trace phenomena of social continuity and change in Bronze Age North-Western India through a technological and compositional study of Indus Urban, Post-Urban and Post-Indus ceramic industries. In this study, morpho-stylistic and scientific analysis are used to explore not only ceramic production and distribution, but also cultural choices and relations between social groups at rural settlements, particularly considering the effect of Indus urban development and decline on village-size sites. Technological choices and the full trajectory of the chaîne opératoire for the production of ceramic artefacts during the Harappan, Late Harappan (c. 2500-1600 BC) and Protohistoric (PGW, possibly c. 1300/1200-500 BC) periods and their local varieties in NW Indian villages will be assessd; moreover, pottery will be used as a medium for understanding possible technological and social changes which may have taken place in the arouse of an abrupt weakening of the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) at c. 2200-2100 BC in NW India. After providing an overview of the broad research project and its methodology, achievements obtained so far in the field of South Asian pottery analysis will be presented; eventually, preliminary results of the current project will be proposed.
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2017/12/20/1708800115.abstract
This open access article is distributed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License 4.0 (CC BY-NC-ND).
Abstract:
Do human societies from around the world exhibit similarities in the way that they are structured, and show commonalities in the ways that they have evolved? These are long-standing questions that have proven difficult to answer. To test between competing hypotheses, we constructed a massive repository of historical and archaeological information known as " Seshat: Global History Databank. " We systematically coded data on 414 societies from 30 regions around the world spanning the last 10,000 years. We were able to capture information on 51 variables reflecting nine characteristics of human societies, such as social scale, economy, features of gover-nance, and information systems. Our analyses revealed that these different characteristics show strong relationships with each other and that a single principal component captures around three-quarters of the observed variation. Furthermore, we found that different characteristics of social complexity are highly predictable across different world regions. These results suggest that key aspects of social organization are functionally related and do indeed coevolve in predictable ways. Our findings highlight the power of the sciences and humanities working together to rigorously test hypotheses about general rules that may have shaped human history. cultural evolution | sociopolitical complexity | comparative history | comparative archaeology | quantitative history
the majority were made to be broken. Thousands of fragments are found at sites occupied by prehistoric Jomon communities. The issue of ‘missing’ fragments is interesting since it indicates that broken-off portions were taken from one site and carried to another as if connecting the landscape, communities and ideas. The clay used in pottery vessels differs despite being find on one site, indicating the movement of the vessels as a carrier of information or change of the technology (e.g. an introduction of new temper) as a medium of pottery vessels production.
The methodology used to establish where clays used in the manufacture of the vessels and figurines came from in the landscape, is based on the use of a hand-held XRF machine which provides a detailed readout of the chemical composition of the clays used to make these fascinating objects. This in turn allows us to identify where the clays came from, and allows the testing of ideas about the movement of commodities in Jomon Japan, essential to a broader understanding of the nature of Jomon society. The case studies presented here are Tsukumo site, Okayama prefecture; and from the Chiba City: Daimon shell midden, Hayamakoshi site, Idosaku-minami site, Kasori shell midden, Kowasimizu site, Ookusadai-kofungun, Rokutsu shell midden, Sonnou shell midden, Tabeta shell midden, Tsukijidai shell midden, Uchino daiichi, Unarasuzu site.
Liliana Janik1, Emilie Green1 and Alessandro Ceccarelli1, with
Naoko Matsumoto2, Ryuzaburo Takahashi3 and Masato Nishino4
1University of Cambridge
2Okayama University
3Waseda University
4Chiba City Archaeology Centre
research can be used as a valuable tool to build stronger discussions related to material culture
patterning, especially concerning prehistoric social and technological theories.
Ethnoarchaeological research can be applied to several aspects of ceramic production, such as the
investigation of manufacturing techniques and technology, producers and craft specialisation, the
role of producers within societies, castes or sub-castes, the nature of producer identity and
religious affiliation, and the structure of regional and village-based ceramic production. This paper
presents an ethnoarchaeological study of the Kumhars potter caste in modern Haryana and Uttar
Pradesh, which was carried out as part of my PhD research into Indus Civilisation ceramic
traditions.
After providing a brief overview of the methods adopted and the five families of Kumhars potters
interviewed for this project, this paper will focus on the preliminary results of the ethnographic
study, touching upon (1) tools and resilience of manufacturing techniques; (2) regional network of
crafters; (3) vernacular knowledge of landscape and clay sources; and (4) the relevance of such
observations on archaeological interpretations.
Abstract: This paper aims to present preliminary results of technological ceramic analysis on pottery assemblages from archaeological sites in Uttar Pradesh, North-Western India. Such results are part of a current PhD research project which aims to trace phenomena of social continuity and change in Bronze Age North-Western India through a technological and compositional study of Indus Urban, Post-Urban and Post-Indus ceramic industries. In this study, morpho-stylistic and scientific analysis are used to explore not only ceramic production and distribution, but also cultural choices and relations between social groups at rural settlements, particularly considering the effect of Indus urban development and decline on village-size sites. Technological choices and the full trajectory of the chaîne opératoire for the production of ceramic artefacts during the Harappan, Late Harappan (c. 2500-1600 BC) and Protohistoric (PGW, possibly c. 1300/1200-500 BC) periods and their local varieties in NW Indian villages will be assessd; moreover, pottery will be used as a medium for understanding possible technological and social changes which may have taken place in the arouse of an abrupt weakening of the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) at c. 2200-2100 BC in NW India. After providing an overview of the broad research project and its methodology, achievements obtained so far in the field of South Asian pottery analysis will be presented; eventually, preliminary results of the current project will be proposed.
ACADEMIC
Archaeological Research in India
From Magdalene to the Indus Civilisation: Archaeological Research in India
For my PhD research, under the supervision of Dr Cameron Petrie, Prof Charly French and Dr Patrick Quinn, I am working on producers, crafts and technologies of the Indus Civilisation (2500–1900 BC) in northwest India.
Simply put, I spend a lot of time looking at fragments of ancient pottery. I use a range of technological and compositional techniques to study ancient ceramic industries, including various analytical procedures. I analyse ceramic powders and thin-sections taken from pottery sherds to investigate sources of materials used for manufacturing ceramic vessels; this also allows reconstruction of how the vessels were produced. Combining multiple analytical methods with traditional visual observations of the ancient pottery, I am investigating ceramic traditions to understand aspects of Indus communities and their behaviour.
The first part of my job actually begins in the field, more specifically in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, India. From excavations at Indus sites to the study of archives of archaeological material within India, I’ve had the opportunity to spend the past year working in India alongside a team of researchers jointly from both Cambridge and Indian universities.
then, I will take you back to the Indus Civilisation, providing an overview of my work here.
The Indus Civilisation (c. 2500-1600 BC) is the only urban and technologically sophisticated civilisation of the South Asian Bronze Age. Its sophistication is reflected in the level of development of its craft industries, which include ceramic manufacture. Indus pottery has been defined so far in terms of macroscopic analyses, and little is known about production, use, distribution, and cultural processes related to ceramic industries in North-Western India during the Indus Urban (c. 2500-1900 BC) and Post-Urban (c. 1900-1600 BC) phases. Even less is known about the emergence of new types of pottery that are believed to have followed the decline of the Indus tradition, such as Painted Grey Ware (PGW, c. 1600/1200-500 BC); in fact, the production and spread of the latter pottery type has been allegedly connected with the development of new social and cultural traits, frequently referred to as “Vedic Culture”.
My PhD research project aims to understand the technological choices and the full trajectory of the chaîne opératoire for the production, use, and distribution of Indus ceramics and their possible relationship with Protohistoric pottery such as Painted Grey Ware in North-Western India. In this paper I will describe the range of analyses for identifying functional and material aspects of ceramic technologies as an integral and active part of social reproduction, change, and evolution: geochemical and mineralogical analyses, including thin-section petrography; X-Ray fluorescence spectroscopy; X-ray diffraction; and SEM coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy.
Where : The Lydia & Manfred Gorvy Lecture Theatre, Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
3D Models available here: https://sketchfab.com/archaeo-india
Alessandro Ceccarelli will present the possible applications of digital technologies to the Archaeology of India.
He will explore the benefits of digital photography and 3D Modelling in documenting and promoting South Asian Art and Archaeology. Several new digitalised objects from a number of popular European collections will be presented and their uses in Museums and academic education will be examined.
3D Models available here: https://sketchfab.com/archaeo-india
http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/6073/gallery-talk-india-past-and-future-digitising-objects-1621016868/