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Impressed Ware Culture

 

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impressed ware


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[Ar]

Distinctive pottery used by the first farmers of the western Mediterranean from the east coast of Italy to southern Spain in the period 5000–3500 bc. The pottery is usually dark‐surfaced and is extensively decorated with impressions made with the serrated edge of cardium shells. Such ceramics are sometimes referred to as cardial ware. Other methods of decoration include impressions made with the fingers, sticks, and other tools. The pottery forms are generally simple and include bowls and open‐mouthed storage vessels. Stentinello ware in Sicily and Ghar Dalam ware in Malta represent specialized versions of impressed ware.

2 Early style of ceramics found in North Africa, perhaps originating in the Sahara or Sudan region.

3 The term is sometimes used in a very general sense with reference to the highly decorated wares of the later Neolithic in the British Isles and northern Europe; the predominance of various kinds of cord impressions on these wares means that they are better referred to as part of the very widespread corded ware tradition of the 3rd and early 2nd millennium bc.

Subjects: Archaeology

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impressed ware
in The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (2) Length: 181 words

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