The History and Invention of Pottery

Of all the kinds of artifacts which may be found at archaeological sites, ceramics--objects made from fired clay--are surely one of the most useful. Ceramic artifacts are extremely durable and may last thousands of years virtually unchanged from the date of manufacture. And, ceramic artifacts, unlike stone tools, are completely person-made, shaped of clay and purposely fired. Clay figurines are known from the earliest human occupations; but clay vessels, pottery vessels used for storing, cooking and serving food, and carrying water were first manufactured in China at least 20,000 years ago. Yuchanyan and Xianrendong Caves Recently redated ceramic sherds from the Paleolithic/Neolithic cave site of Xianrendong in the Yangtse Basin of central China in Jiangxi province hold the earliest established dates, at 19,200-20,900 cal BP years ago. These pots were bag-shaped and coarse-pasted, made of local clay with inclusions of quartz and feldspar, with plain or simply decorated walls. The second oldest pottery in the world is from Hunan Province, at the karst cave of Yuchanyan. In sediments dated between 15,430 and 18,300 calendar years before the present (cal BP) were found sherds from at least two pots. One was partially constructed, and it was a wide-mouthed jar with a pointed bottom that looks very much like the Incipient Jomon pot illustrated in the photograph and about 5,000 years younger. The Yuchanyan sherds are thick (up to 2 cm) and coarsely pasted, and decorated with cord-marks on the interior and exterior walls. The Kamino Site in Japan The next earliest sherds are from the Kamino site in southwestern Japan. This site has a stone tool assemblage which appears to classify it as late Paleolithic, called Pre-ceramic in Japanese archaeology to separate it from the Lower Paleolithic cultures of Europe and the mainland. At the Kamino site in addition to a handful of potsherds were found micro blades, wedge-shaped microcores, spearheads and other artifacts similar to assemblages at Pre-ceramic sites in Japan dated between 14,000 and 16,000 years before the present (BP). This layer is stratigraphically below a securely dated Initial Jomon culture occupation of 12,000 BP. The ceramic sherds are not decorated and are very small and fragmentary. Recent thermoluminescence dating of the sherds themselves returned a 13,000-12,000 BP date. Jomon Culture Sites Ceramic sherds are also found, also in small quantities, but with a bean-impression decoration, in a half-dozen sites of the Mikoshiba-Chojukado sites of southwestern Japan, also dated to the late Pre-ceramic period. These pots are bag-shaped but somewhat pointed at the bottom, and sites with these sherds include the Odaiyamamoto and Ushirono sites, and Senpukuji Cave. Like those of the Kamino site, these sherds are also quite rare, suggesting that although the technology was known to the Late Pre-ceramic cultures, it just was not terribly useful to their nomadic lifestyle. In contrast, ceramics were very useful indeed to the Jomon peoples. In Japanese, the word Jomon means cord-mark, as in cord-marked decoration on pottery. The Jomon tradition is the name given to hunter-gatherer cultures in Japan from about 13,000 to 2500 BP, when migrating populations from the mainland brought full-time wet rice agriculture. For the entire ten millennia, the Jomon peoples used ceramic vessels for storage and cooking. Incipient Jomon ceramics are identified by patterns of lines applied onto a bag-shaped vessel. Later, as on the mainland, highly decorated vessels were also manufactured by the Jomon peoples. By 10,000 BP, the use of ceramics is found throughout mainland China, and by 5,000 BP ceramic vessels are found throughout the world, both independently invented in the Americas or spread by diffusion into the middle eastern Neolithic cultures. Porcelain and High-Fired Ceramics The first high-fired glazed ceramics were produced in China, during the  Shang  (1700-1027 BC) dynasty period. At sites such as Yinxu and Erligang, high-fired ceramics appear in the 13th-17th centuries BC. These pots were made from a local clay, washed with wood ash and fired in kilns to temperatures of between 1200 and 1225 degrees Centigrade to produce a high fired lime-based glaze. Shang and Zhou dynasty potters continued to refine the technique, testing different clays and washes, eventually leading to the development of true porcelain. See Yin, Rehren and Zheng 2011. By the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), the first mass pottery manufacturing kilns were begun at the imperial  Jingdezhen  site, and the beginning of export trade of Chinese porcelain to the rest of the world opened up.   Sources Boaretto E, Wu X, Yuan J, Bar-Yosef O, Chu V, Pan Y, Liu K, Cohen D, Jiao T, Li S et al. 2009. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal and bone collagen associated with early pottery at Yuchanyan Cave, Hunan Province, China. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106(24):9595-9600. Chi Z, and Hung H-C. 2008. The Neolithic of Southern China–Origin, Development, and Dispersal. Asian Perspectives 47(2):299-329. Cui J, Rehren T, Lei Y, Cheng X, Jiang J, and Wu X. 2010. Western technical traditions of pottery making in Tang Dynasty China: chemical evidence from the Liquanfang Kiln site, Xian city. Journal of Archaeological Science 37(7):1502-1509. Cui JF, Lei Y, Jin ZB, Huang BL, and Wu XH. 2009. Lead Isotope Analysis Of Tang Sancai Pottery Glazes From Gongyi Kiln, Henan Province And Huangbao Kiln, Shaanxi Province. Archaeometry 52(4):597-604. Demeter F, Sayavongkhamdy T, Patole-Edoumba E, Coupey A-S, Bacon A-M, De Vos J, Tougard C, Bouasisengpaseuth B, Sichanthongtip P, and Duringer P. 2009. Tam Hang Rockshelter: Preliminary Study of a Prehistoric Site in Northern Laos. Asian Perspectives 48(2):291-308. Liu L, Chen X, and Li B. 2007. Non-state crafts in the early Chinese state: an archaeological view from the Erlitou hinterland. Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association 27:93-102. Lu TL-D. 2011. Early pottery in south China. Asian Perspectives 49(1):1-42. Mà ©ry S, Anderson P, Inizan M-L, Lechevallier, Monique, and Pelegrin J. 2007. A pottery workshop with flint tools on blades knapped with copper at Nausharo (Indus Journal of Archaeological Science 34:1098-1116.civilisation, ca. 2500 BC). Prendergast ME, Yuan J, and Bar-Yosef O. 2009. Resource intensification in the Late Upper Paleolithic: a view from southern China. Journal of Archaeological Science 36(4):1027-1037. Shennan SJ, and Wilkinson JR. 2001. Ceramic Style Change and Neutral Evolution: A Case Study from Neolithic Europe. American Antiquity 66(4):5477-5594. Wang W-M, Ding J-L, Shu J-W, and Chen W. 2010. Exploration of early rice farming in China. Quaternary International 227(1):22-28. Yang X-Y, Kadereit A, Wagner GA, Wagner I, and Zhang J-Z. 2005. TL and IRSL dating of Jiahu relics and sediments: clue of 7th millennium BC civilization in central China. Journal of Archaeological Science 32(7):1045-1051. Yin M, Rehren T, and Zheng J. 2011. The earliest high-fired glazed ceramics in China: the composition of the proto-porcelain from Zhejiang during the Shang and Zhou periods (c. 1700-221 BC). Journal of Archaeological Science 38(9):2352-2365.

The Pay Gap Narrowed Between Men And Women - 2050 Words

Has the Pay Gap Narrowed Between Men and Women in the United States? For many years in the United States, women have been faced with equality issues. Men were regarded as superior, which made women feel inferior and insignificant. One place this has occurred is the workplace. This type of inequality dates backs centuries and comes from the common belief that since men were the breadwinners, women should take care of the home and children. As a result, men were believed to be more efficient in their careers. This is also known as systemic discrimination (Kennedy et al., 2008). When women were given the right to vote, they began to progress and take their place in the workforce. As they increased in numbers, there became a need to for fair†¦show more content†¦Take law enforcement, for instance, where the police officers were solely male. If a male and female police officer passes boot camp and accepts all the risks associated with the job, shouldn’t they both be paid equal wages at the start of the job? Are gender differences a signifi cant factor in determining starting salaries? It is my belief that a woman is a person just like a man, and if they’re able to get the job done efficiently and effectively, they should be paid accordingly. Equal pay for equal work is an important issue. How gender influences pay is an interesting topic to explore given the laws in place to prevent pay inequality. The bigger issue is why employers are allowing this discrimination to continue in the 21st century. A Review of the Literature In the United States, the income disparity between men and women is often referred to as the â€Å"gender wage gap† (Meng, 2004). The U.S. Census Bureau collects data to compare the median wages of males and females. Generally the gender wage gap is expressed as a percentage of male to female earnings of full-time workers. Historically, â€Å"female employees earned significantly less than male employees for similar work† (Pagan, 2008). According to Teichgraeber (2004) the â€Å"the wage gap between men and women is narrower

Sociology Is The Study Of Individuals In Groups In A...

Sociology is the study of individuals in groups in a systematic way. It is an intricate set of styles and approaches trying to perceive society. (Burgess and Murcott, 2001). As a result, many perceptions have arisen over the last centuries. Many methodologies have been debated and discussed. Challenging these assumptions will in turn, cause for quantitative and qualitative based research on the struggle to gain a firm grip on how society works. As a result, there are different sociological perspectives that hold valued theories in society. In this essay three perspectives will be assessed. How society operates in the view of these perspectives. Also, scrutinizing theories on the subject ‘crime and deviance’ aiming to outline how each†¦show more content†¦Marx’s argues that laws are passed by state government, reflecting the interests of ruling class ideology, rather an authoritarian consensus. 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Logo Design and Corporate Identity †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Logo Design and Corporate Identity. Answer: Introduction: The 2 elements I used mainly are letters and shapes. Letters used indicate the name of the restaurant and are placed at the bottom of the logo. Shapes were used to show the figure of a person holding a cup. This figure is a representation of a customer which gives viewers a sense of comfort. Shapes and curves were used to create the key objects in the map which include the cup, hands, and other parts of the main figure. Two principles of design considered in the logo are unity and emphasis. The elements of the logo from the logo art to the letters are organized in a manner that evokes a feeling of harmony between the elements which shows the completeness of the logo. Based on how the logo elements are connected especially the link between the person holding the cup and the coffee, viewers can perceive the unity of the logo. The logo incorporates emphasis as it uses contrasting colors which make one area to stand out from the rest. For example, the text on the logo has an orange color while the background has a white color. The contrast between the two makes the text stand out in the logo. Also, the cup has a dark brown color and is displayed against a bright orange background and is adjacent to an element with a light brown color. The color contrast between these elements embodies the emphasis aspect of design which is used to grab viewers attention (Lidwell, 2010). Color Theory The logo incorporates different colors which are defining factor in human response. The colors are meant to infer a meaning of the logo. The colors used in the logo include brown, and orange. Each of these colors has an implication on the design as they play an instrumental role in enhancing specific logo elements and convey the overall message of the logo (Chapman, 2010). Based on the logo design, bright colors are used to grab viewers attention while dark colors reinforce visibility of the logo elements. The main colors used carry different connotations which convey the meaning of the logo to the target audience. Different shades of the orange color are used to highlight different elements in the logo. A light shade of orange is used for the text color and a slightly dark shade is used for clothing on the main figure on the logo. Orange color which is seen the color of communication. In this context, it represents the uniqueness of beverages sold at the restaurant. It also indicates affordability which could be the perception that the designer wants the audience to have. A white color to highlight the steam from the cup. It contrasts the light brown background which make the steam more visible. In the logo design, white color is associated with simplicity (Agoston, 2013). The white background makes the logo elements stand out. Different shades of brown are used to highlight different logo elements including cup, hair, and color skin. The color brown is considered to a friendly color that relates to comfort hence convey the service offered. The color combination in this logo design creates a contrasting outlook which makes the elements more visible. These associations also give the logo a unique meaning which aligns with the brand identity. The color choice is perfect and has an overall impact on the design particularly influencing interaction between shapes and text elements in the logo. Propottions AMD Ratios The foremost principle considered in the logo design is the size of the logo elements (Ad, 2012). The text indicating the name of the restaurant has a large font and is easily readable. Proportions of the logo elements are large enough to be visible. Within the bounds of the elements, there is space allocated which enhances the design. For example, the text element is separated from the logo art by a narrow white spacing. Looking at the text, it is apparent that it is united with the other logo elements despite the space. The couple of letters in the text have less space between them which is a good idea as it keeps them together. Also, the size of the letters balances the design. The letter size used is the best text proportion, where both the logo art and text can be of equal importance. The logo design aligns with the rule of thirds. When divided into three sections horizontally and vertically, lines highlight key visual elements in the logo. When rule of thirds grid are used, the logo is indicated to have an asymmetrical appearance which enables it to feel balanced. The logo also aligns with golden ratio. The bottom of the main figure in the logo is an arc. The hair outline is also created by two separate arcs with different radii and a midpoint is visible. Since the curves are almost circular, circles can be used to create the logo. Reference List Ad, G., Adr, V., Pascu, N. E. (2012). Logo design and the corporate identity.Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences,51, 650-654. Agoston, G. A. (2013).Color theory and its application in art and design(Vol. 19). Springer. Chapman, C. (2010). Color theory for designers, part 1: The meaning of color.Smashing Magazine. Kaukab Yaseen. (2015, Nov 2). Illustrator Tutorial | Coffee Cup Illustration. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oksaqp9zzCU Lidwell, W., Holden, K., Butler, J. (2010). Universal principles of design: 125 ways to enhance usability, influence perception, increase appeal make better decisions, and teach through design.Beverly, MA: Rockport Publishers.