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THE URUK BEVEL-RIM BOWL: NEW INSIGHTS ON TECHNOLOGY, MULTI-FUNCTION AND DISPERSAL

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 January 2025

Jill Goulder
Jill Goulder*
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology University of London
*
jill@jgoulder.com
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Abstract

Interpretation of the function and role of the Mesopotamian – and peri-Mesopotamian – bevel-rim bowl (BRB) is enriched by recent residue analysis methods. A promising theme of secondary and even alternative primary uses of the BRB in the Uruk periphery during the fourth millennium B.C. is emerging. I make the case for such uses hinging not on its general utility as a small rough bowl (where it would compete with a range of conical cups) but on its pivotal characteristics: a sophisticated system of rapid, low skilled, production line manufacture of containers with specific features (notably thick walls for heat retention), and with an elegant technology-transfer concept of a single BRB as a portable manufacturing template and mould, notably suited to mobile groups. The BRB’s novel ‘system’ suggests it was initially devised for one specific purpose – as I argue, for large-scale baking of leavened bread, perhaps for commensal feasting events. But the renowned BRB discard stacks or stockpiles (perhaps from single-use commensality events or seasonal batch BRB manufacture) lent them readily to secondary use, notably in the Uruk periphery, where their original cultural resonance may have been diluted. The BRB’s virtues of speed and ease of manufacture might well then have encouraged production for more general purposes and new needs, including culinary – an evolution potentially detectable through morphology. The residue analysis to date additionally suggests a specific functional factor in the adoption of BRBs for secondary and eventually primary use: their heat retentive capabilities, making them specifically valuable as ‘thermal paint-pots’ for meltable materials such as bitumen, beeswax and animal fats. These materials could be heated in a larger vessel and decanted into thermally efficient BRBs for use, perhaps with a form of paintbrush, for coating, in a wide range of industrial and other uses.

وعاء أوروك المشطوف الحواف: رؤى جديدة حول التكنولوجيا والوظائف المتعددة والتوزيع

جل جولدر

تم إثراء تفسير وظيفة ودور الوعاء المشطوف الحواف (BRB) في بلاد ما بين النهرين وحواليها من خلال طرق حديثة الظهورفي تحليل البقايا تبشر بنتائج جيدة في الاستخدامات الثانوية وحتى البديلة لـ BRB في محيط أوروك خلال الألفية الرابعة قبل الميلاد. إنني أدافع عن مثل هذه الاستخدامات نظرا لخصائصها الجوهرية: فهي تمثل نظام متطور لتصنيع خطوط إنتاج سريعة ومنخفضة المهارة لحاويات ذات ميزات محددة (لا سيما الجدران السميكة للاحتفاظ بالحرارة)، وتمثل مفهوم أنيق لنقل التكنولوجيا حيث يمكن استخدام وعاء واحد مشطوف الحواف BRB بمثابة قالب تصنيع متنقل ومناسب يستخدم من قبل مجموعات عمل متنقلة. ويشير “النظام” الجديد لـ BRB إلى أنه قد تم تصميمه في البداية لغرض واحد محدد - كما اعتقد، وهو لخبز الخبز المخمر على نطاق واسع ربما لمناسبات الولائم الجماعية. لكن أكوام BRB المهملة أو أكوام من BRB بعد الاستخدام الجماعي في مناسبة موسمية جعلتها سهلة للاستخدام الثانوي او انها قد صنعت بالجملة لمثل هذه المناسبات ، لا سيما في المنطق المحيطة بأوروك، حيث ربما قد خفّ صداها الثقافي الأصلي. ربما كانت مزايا السرعة وسهولة التصنيع التي يتمتع بها BRB قد شجعت الإنتاج لأغراض أكثر عمومية واحتياجات جديدة، بما في ذلك الطهي - وهو تطور يمكن اكتشافه من خلال الشكل. بالإضافة إلى ذلك، يشير تحليل البقايا حتى الآن إلى وجود عامل وظيفي محدد في اعتماد BRBs للاستخدام الثانوي والأولي في نهاية المطاف: مثلا قدراتها على الاحتفاظ بالحرارة مما يجعلها ذات قيمة على وجه التحديد باعتبارها “أوعية طلاء حرارية” للمواد القابلة للذوبان مثل البيتومين وشمع العسل والدهون الحيوانية. يمكن تسخين هذه المواد في وعاء أكبر وصبها في BRBs ذات الكفاءة الحرارية لاستخدامها، ربما مع شكل من أشكال فرشاة الرسم، في مجموعة واسعة من الاستخدامات الصناعية وغيرها.

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Research Article
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IRAQ , First View , pp. 1 - 15
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© The British Institute for the Study of Iraq 2025

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