The Ugly Duckling: Understanding the Making of an Early Copper Age Atypical Ceramic Vessel from the Great Hungarian Plain

The present study focuses on an Early Copper Age (4500–4000/3900 cal BC) atypical ceramic bowl from Tiszagyenda-Vágott-halom (Eastern Hungary). At first glance, the bowl was strikingly different from the other well-executed, often richly decorated bowls known from the site. Although such vessels can be found sporadically in other Early Copper Age sites, they have never been studied to see exactly how they differ from typical pottery. The aim of the present study is to understand the ideas, intentions, decisions, knowledge, and skills of the potter who made this vessel by reconstructing the chaîne opératoire of the making of the bowl. Technological and stylistic analyses suggest that the atypical pot was probably made by a beginner potter. The stylistic elements (form and decoration) are common in the pottery repertoire of the site and are not considered exceptional, apart from the quality of the execution. The deviation from the usual pottery-making techniques, however, suggests that the potter had probably not acquired all the pottery-making traditions of the community.