EVOLUTION OF “PRIKAMSKAYA BOWLS” IN THE MIDDLE AGES

Abstract

Medieval ceramics has distinct characteristic features distinguishing it from the ceramics of the boundary synchronous cultures. The most common form of ware was sculpted squat vessels, or bowls, with a rounded body, convex walls, trochlear neck and outwardly bent straight crown. This form was the most stable one which preserved throughout the Middle Ages. However, the distinctive features of the “Prikamskaya bowls” in the period of Lomovatovo culture of 5th-11th centuries were a round bottom, use of coarse material, “scratches” left by the processing of household dishes, crowns decorated with tucks, and predominance of corded and combed ornamentation in the decoration of ware and ritual utensils, the most typical element of which was “horseshoes”. A flattened or flat bottom, smoothing of the surface with exceptionally soft material, predominance of combed ornamentation with the use of relief molded elements, and presence of looped handles are typical of the bowls of the subsequent Rodanovo culture. However, such general characteristics as the composition of moulding compounds with the predominance of crushed shell admixtures, a manual moulding technique, fire roasting, and preservation of the low shape of the bowls can indicate the continuity of the pottery traditions of Lomovatovo and Rodanovo cultures.