Fragile Biography

This book is the first comprehensive synthesis of the life cycle of
ceramics and of refuse management in ancient Palestine during the later
Roman, Byzantine and Early Islamic periods (4th to 11th centuries CE).






The study sheds light on selected material culture-related behavioral
practices of the people who produced, used and manipulated ceramics
during late antique and early medieval times. The research presents the
local picture of pottery use-life, including prime use, reuse, repair,
recycling and disposal. The reuse, repair and recycling of pottery
reflect a plethora of behavioral practices, some common to the greater
Mediterranean and Near Eastern world and some unique to the discussed
region and periods. Similarly, the discussion of refuse




disposal, while using selected case studies, has shown that attitudes
towards the residues of people's activity were basically similar in
different regions and periods, though the ways in which refuse was
managed was often dictated by specific cultural and regional
circumstances. Finally, a first attempt has been made in this study to
partially unveil the mental rationale behind the above-mentioned
practices.





The conclusion is that mere pragmatism motivated the rather frequent
reuse, repair and recycling of pottery, though it also showed that this
tendency became more dominant - in historical Palestine and probably
elsewhere - in Late Antiquity and later.