Fowler 2019 Impressão Digital Cerâmica

Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory (2019) 26:1470–1512
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-019-09419-9
The Identity of Potters in Early States: Determining

the Age and Sex of Fingerprints on Early Bronze Age
Pottery from Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath, Israel
Kent D. Fowler 1,2,3 & Elizabeth Walker

1,2
& Haskel J. Greenfield
1,4
& Jon Ross
1,4
&
Aren M. Maeir 5
Published online: 20 May 2019

# Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2019
Abstract
The organization of craft production has long been a marker for broader social,
economic, and political changes that accompanied urbanism. The identity of pro-
ducers who comprised production groups, communities, or workshops is out of
reach using conventional archaeological data. There has been some success using
epidermal prints on artifacts to identify the age and sex of producers. However,
while age estimates are well developed, determining the sex of ancient potters is
complicated by similarities between the prints of adult women and adolescents of
either sex. Forensic research indicates that a combination of ridge breadth and
density would best identify the age and sex of individuals. To this end, we propose
an identification framework to classify fingerprints grounded in experimental and
forensic research. In this study, we classify 38 fingerprints on Early Bronze Age
(EB) III pottery from the early urban neighborhood at Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath, Israel.
Mean ridge breadth (MRB) and mean ridge density (MRD) are used to distinguish
the age and sex of prints after accounting for the shrinkage of calcareous fabrics
used to make four type of vessels. We apply a modified version of the Kamp et al.
(1999) regression equation to the MRB for each individual print. The MRD data are
correlated to comparable data from populations with appropriate ancestry to infer
sex. When the results are combined, our analyses indicate that two thirds of the
fingerprints were likely made by adult men and teenage boys and the remainder by
adult women and adolescent girls. This result suggests that men or women were not
exclusively making pottery at early urban centers in the Levant. This pattern
contrasts a fingerprint study of post-state urban pottery production during the EB
in northern Mesopotamia, which suggested women no longer made pottery after
cities and states were established in the region.
* Kent D. Fowler
Kent.Fowler@umanitoba.ca
Extended author information available on the last page of the article

The Identity of Potters in Early States: Determining the Age and... 1471
Keywords Ceramics . Fingerprints . Palaeodermatoglyphics . Epidermal ridge breadth .

Epidermal ridge density . Age and sex estimation . Early Bronze Age . Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath .
Israel . Levant
Introduction
Research on stylistic and technological variation have been widely used to infer the
production communities or social groups to which artisans belonged. But neither
approach can provide insight into the composition of the groups. One of the few
direct links between past potters and their identity is the fingerprints they left on
vessels and figurines during manufacturing (Åström and Erikson 1980).
Palaeodermatoglyphics—the study of ancient fingerprints—is a multidisciplinary
field combining archaeology and forensics that attempts to provide quantifiable
insights about the people that left behind their unique marks on ancient artifacts.
Identifying epidermal prints on pottery is significant for two reasons. First, prints
only occur on pottery that has not received surface treatments that would have
otherwise obliterated them, such as wiping, smoothing, burnishing, or polishing.
Only certain wares in certain traditions received such treatments. Prints may not be
rare, but well-preserved ones are rarely observed (e.g., Branigan et al. 2002).
Second, epidermal prints are consistently different in ridge breadth and ridge
density as a result of age and sexual dimorphism. As such, it is possible to use
fingerprints to infer the age and sex of past artisans.
In their seminal study, Kamp et al. (1999) produced a regression equation to
estimate the ages of individuals based upon the mean ridge breadth of their
fingerprints. The method has long been promised as a means to differentiate
between children and adult potters. However, ancient fingerprints have not been
widely studied and subsequent analyses have pointed to limitations in the Kamp
et al. approach. In particular, the rate of error spans 4.5 years and it cannot be used
to distinguish the sex of potters. Alternative methods may reduce the error range,
provide more accurate estimations of age, and allow sex and age estimations to be
made for single prints (Králík and Novotný 2003). New forensic methods have also
been developed to identify sex using fingerprints and palm prints, but they have not
yet been applied to the study of ancient ceramics (Králík and Novotný 2003; Floris
2012; Kanchan et al. 2013).
The study of fingerprints from ancient pottery assemblages can increase our under-
standing of the role of age and gender in the organization of past production systems.
Fingerprints can be used to reconstruct demographic (age and sex) data for a particular
craft. Such data can provide a more nuanced understanding of the way men, women,
adolescents, and children engaged in production processes within the context of
broader social, economic and political changes, such as those that accompany the
emergence of early states and urbanism.
In this study, we report the results of analyzing a collection of 38 fingerprints left
on four classes of Early Bronze (EB) III (c. 2850–2500 BCE) pottery from an urban
neighborhood at Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath in Israel. This sample is part of a larger assem-
blage of fingerprints that was selected for their high quality and consistency. Here,
we consider different methods that can provide insights for estimating the age and
1472 Fowler et al.
sex of past potters using ridge breadth and ridge density data from epidermal prints,
a range of factors that affect these methods, a novel framework to infer the age and
sex of ancient potters, and an application of the framework to infer the identity of
potters and the social context of ceramic production during a period of profound
social change in the Levant.
Regional Setting
Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath (Fig. 1) is located at the western edge of the shephelah (Judean
foothills) and overlooks the southern coastal plain of Israel (Maeir 2008; Maeir
2012; Maeir 2013; Greenfield et al. 2017). It was occupied intermittently from the
Chalcolithic (5th–4th mill. BCE) through to the twentieth century CE. During the
EB III, it was one of the paramount (fortified urban centers) sites in the regional
settlement system across the southern Levantine landscape. Excavations at the site
have demonstrated that the EB settlement existed across the entire “upper mound”
(c. 24 ha in area) at the site and was surrounded by a major fortification system with
a thick stone foundation. At the eastern end of the site, excavations have uncovered
the remains of a substantive EB III domestic neighborhood. All the material remains
within this stratum appear to be related to domestic household consumption of food
and other goods. The pottery remains used in this analysis derive from the final EB
III occupation in this neighborhood (i.e., Stratum E5) that was continuously occu-
pied over a 100-year period which dates to c. 2700–2600 BCE, based on strati-
graphic analysis and the pottery assemblage (Shai et al. 2014; Greenfield et al.
2016; Greenfield et al. 2017).
The EB II–III is the beginning of complex urban and burgeoning (and likely
secondary) state societies in the region. Settlement size and density increases
across the Levant resulting in a regional hierarchy with several levels, including
transitory settlements (camps and cave dwellings), small and large villages, and
fortified towns and cities dispersed between smaller sites (Uziel et al. 2014;
Levy-Reifer 2012, 2016; de Miroschedji 2009). It has been proposed that city-
states begin to emerge during the period, evidenced by the appearance of urban
centers, palaces (such as at Yarmuth) (de Miroschedji 2003), and various types of
administrative activities, as indicated by the use of glyptic devices (de
Miroschedji 2006; de Miroschedji 2009). However, it is not yet a literate world
(Shai and Uziel 2010). In addition to increased site sizes and settlement density,
there are clear indications of predetermined town planning attested by well-
defined housing blocks, street networks, industrial spaces, storage facilities, civic
buildings, and organized public spaces, at a variety of sites that are usually
fortified (e.g., Eshtaol, Qyriat Ata, Erani, Assawir, Beth Yerah, Ashkelon, and
Tel Megiddo East). At Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath during the EB II-III, the entire upper tell
is encircled by a massive fortification system (Shai et al. 2016), the site reaches
its maximum pre-Iron Age extent of 24 ha (Uziel and Maeir 2005, 2012), and
there is evidence for administrative activities in the form of glyptic devices (Shai
et al. 2014; Maeir et al. 2011). Thus, both the site itself and the regional
settlement pattern suggest that Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath is an urban center of a local
city-state during this period.
Fig. 1 Map of the region showing the location of Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath and other relevant EB sites, regions and
features in the Southern Levant
1474 Fowler et al.
Determining Age and Sex from Fingerprints on Pottery
Two different methods have been used for estimating the age and sex of prints found on
pottery. Ridge breadth has been used to estimate age and ridge density to estimate sex.
Age Determination
For age estimates, measures of the mean ridge breadth (MRB) of epidermal ridges
on fingers have most commonly been employed. Two measurement techniques for
MRB have been proposed. The first involves a measure individual ridge breadth,
whereby the distance from the center of one furrow to an adjacent furrow is
measured (Penrose 1968). The mean of all the individual ridge breadth measures
is then used to calculate MRB for a print. For the sake of comparison, we refer to
this as the mean of individual ridge breadth (MIRB). The second measurement
technique is far more commonly used. The mean of ridge-furrow pairs ridge breadth
(MPRB) measures prints perpendicularly across “multiple ridge breadths simulta-
neously, then dividing by the number of ridge-furrow pairs” (Kamp et al. 1999, p.
310) to establish and MRB value for a print (see Fig. 2).
Based upon MPRB measures of fingerprints from 107 individuals ranging in age
from just over 2 years old to adulthood, Kamp et al.’s (1999) influential study
generated a regression equation (here referred to as KA) to estimate the ages of
individuals:
KA : age ðmonthÞ ¼ 614 MRB ðmmÞ−112
They applied the equation to estimate the ages of individual prints on 26 figures and 31
vessels from Sinagua culture sites in northern Arizona. Among the limitations noted
earlier, the equation has a broad error range (± 2.25 years) at the 95% confidence
interval and it cannot be used to distinguish the sex of potters.
Králík and Novotný (2003) examined these two issues by testing seven other MRB
linear regression equations to estimate age. They applied the equations to modern prints
made by children and adults of mainly European ancestry. Their sample included 56
children and young adults aged between 5.92 and 19.33 years (13 boys and 43 girls),
and their adult sample included both professional (17 males and 13 females) and
amateur potters (23 males and 27 females) from 19 to 77 years of age. Their pottery
sample involved single vessels made by each individual, and the mean of all of the
prints on the vessel were used in calculating MRB for that individual. Importantly, they
observed that the number of prints measured on a vessel did not “increase the accuracy
of the age estimate,” but instead established the precision of the measures by defining
the variability of ridge breadth for multiple prints of the same individual (Králík and
Novotný 2003, p. 26). Thus, the MRB for an individual was both accurate and precise
even though measures were taken for multiple prints made by different digits. The
variability was not enough to skew the age estimate for a single individual but the
statistical bias identified through measures of multiple prints for each individual did
helpfully identify extreme values (outliers from the central tendency) for all individuals
of the same age.
Fig. 2 Finger regions and methods for ridge breadth and ridge density measurements
One of the linear regression equations (PM1) tested by Králík and Novotný (2003)
produced the best results:
PM1 : age ðyearsÞ ¼ 52:18087 MRB ðmmÞ−7:89682ðr ¼ 0:681; r2 ¼ 0:464; F ð1; 54Þ
¼ 46:702; p ¼ 0:0; standard error of estimate ¼ 2:381Þ
However, a modified version of the Kamp et al. equation (KAmod) produced estimates
that were not significantly different than the PM1 equation. This modified equation
considers a shrinkage rate of 7.5% based upon a pilot sample studied by Králík (2000)
and multiplies the ridge breadth by 1.08108:
1476 Fowler et al.
KAmod : age ðmonthÞ ¼ 614 1:08108 MRB ðmmÞ−112
The results produced a much lower mean (1.87 years) and median (1.71 years) absolute
error of age estimates than the original Kamp et al. equation. Additionally, in 91% of
cases, the absolute error was less than 4 years, and in 96.4% of cases, the error was less
than 5 years (Králík and Novotný 2003). Accounting for shrinking improves estimates
but does not significantly reduce the range of error of the age estimate. Thus, if we were
to work at a 95% confidence level, the absolute error would still be around ± 2.25 years.
In correlating their results, Králík and Novotný (2003, p. 23) noted that MRB values
below 0.39 mm belonged to children and early adolescents under 15 years of age, and
those over 0.52 mm were only of adult males. Mean ridge breadth values for adult and
adolescents of both sexes fell between these thresholds (Fig. 3a). However, ranges for
adult males and early adolescents span these thresholds. Adult male values extend from
0.42 to 0.56 mm, but prints over 0.52 mm in the sample were exclusively male. Králík and
Novotný’s conclusion for early adolescents is problematic. The sample of 33 early
adolescents (10–15 years) had values ranging from 0.36 to 0.48 mm and 17 late adoles-
cents (15–19 years) ranged between 0.39 to 0.49 mm. Most early adolescents (21, 64%)
had values over 0.39 mm with a minority between 0.35 and 0.39 mm (12, 36%). All but
one late adolescent MRB value (16, 94%) overlaps with early adolescents. Thus, adoles-
cents have a wide range of overlapping values (0.39–0.48 mm) and are not easily
distinguishable. Children’s values were all below 0.37 mm. Pubescence helps explain
the wide range of values Králík and Novotný obtained for individuals between 9 and
14 years of age; for some, the onset of puberty and accompanying growth spurt had
occurred between 9 and 12 years resulting in increased epidermal ridge breadth and
thereby muddling any clear correlation between age and ridge breadth for adolescents
and adults. In total, values between 0.37 and 0.52 mm are ambiguous. They belong to
early and late adolescent males and females, and adult males and females. Consequently,
as shown in Fig. 3a, it is only possible using MRB values to distinguish three age/sex
groups: pre-pubescent children (< 0.37 mm), adult males (> 0.52 mm), and a third
ambiguous group that includes all adolescents and adult women and men. Králík and
Novotný (2003, pp. 21–23, 25) further pointed out that MRB values over 0.42 mm
statistically correlate more strongly with adults of either sex. Nevertheless, as an interpre-
tive framework, it is only possible to accurately and definitively situate new MRB values
for individuals into one of the three age/sex categories.
Sex Determination
The second method is based upon the relationship between ridge density and sexual
dimorphism. This method involves measuring the number of ridges within a predefined
area, such as a 5-×-5-mm square, (Gungadin 2007) (Fig. 2). Ridge density (RD) is
calculated by dividing the number of ridges counted in a predefined area by the size of
the area (e.g., 25 or 6.25 mm2). A number of studies, summarized recently by Sanders
(2015), show that the epidermal ridge density of men spans 10.9–12.99, rarely going
over 15 ridges, whereas the ridge density of women spans 12.61–15.61 and rarely
going under 13 ridges. The advantage of the ridge density method is that a bi-modal
distribution of values can distinguish prints made by male and female potters. By
contrast, a unimodal distribution of values skewed positively (for one sex) should
Fig. 3 Summaries of earlier studies on age and sex determination using fingerprints: a the correlation between
mean ridge breadth (MRB) to age and sex based upon pair measurements from Králík and Novotný (2003); b
the correlation between mean ridge density and sex based upon the application of the law of probability to data
sets provided in Table 1 (Ridge density data relevant to study area and 95th percentile “thresholds”); c an
interpretive matrix involving six age/sex categories arrived at by combining > 90% probabilities for deter-
mining age and sex based upon ridge breadth and ridge density values. Actual values for ridge density can be
greater than 16 ridges/25 mm2, and values for MRBs can be less than 0.30 or greater than 0.75. Such values
would merely increase the probability of a single print falling into one of the six categories
indicate a co-presence of adult and child prints on pottery. A perceived drawback of this
method is that one cannot determine the sex of the individual who made a single print
because female and male ridge densities overlap (Sanders 2015). Rather, the method
1478 Fowler et al.
relies on large sample sizes where significant statistical differences in the ridge density
data set can be used to infer sex estimation for pottery assemblages.
Given the latter observation, the inference of sex from ridge density data is based
upon the probability of values falling within a range associated with males or females.
Existing forensic data sets span a range of populations, use different methods, and
measure one or a combination of the radial, ulnar, and proximal regions of finger tips
(Table 1; see Fig. 2 for regions), and all the forensic studies aim to identify sex from
individual prints. Each region of the fingerprint provides slightly different results.
Radial values tend to be highest and proximal area values the lowest, with ulnar
densities falling between the two. Most studies have measured ridge density from the
radial area, thereby correlating sex with the highest possible values.
It is rare to find studies that include measurements from all three areas of a print and
rarer still for studies to evaluate the probability that density values from different areas
will distinguish males or females. For example, in Dhall and Kapoor’s (2016) study of
prints from 246 adult women and 245 adult men from northern India, they first
determined that ridge density values from all areas of a print could be used to determine
sex with 97.2 and 97.6% accuracy for women and men, respectively. Dhall and Kapoor
confirmed that females have higher ridge density values than men. Women have a
greater than 90% probability of being identified with values > 14 ridges/25 mm2 and
men have the same probability of being identified with values < 14 ridges/25 mm2. This
analysis usefully shows that RD measures from all areas of a print correlate to sexual
dimorphism. However, the 14 ridges/25 mm2 “threshold” is specific to the Punjabi
population in northern India. Different thresholds occur for other populations (see
Table 1 (Ridge density data)). Population-specific ridge density value thresholds for
discriminating between male and female do not have cross-cultural value for inferring
sex from prints for an unknown population.
Thus, not all modern datasets are relevant for examining fingerprints at EB Tell eṣ-
Ṣâfi/Gath. As they are presently known, Neolithic and EB populations share greater
genetic relatedness to central Asian, East Africa, and European populations (Lazaridis
et al. 2016). Thus, there is no biological affinity between the EB population and certain
modern populations, such as Southeast Asians (Thais, Malaysians, Chinese) or African
Americans whose heritage is predominantly from populations in west and west-central
Africa (Eltis and Richardson 2010). Likewise, studies of Argentinian and Spanish
populations have extremely high values for men and women relative to all other
samples (Gutiérrez-Redomero et al. 2008; Gutiérrez-Redomero et al. 2013b), even
those of other Caucasian populations (Acree 1999), which is likely due to the re-
searcher’s use of a different measurement technique. Considering biological affinity
and studies that measured radial ridge density, we are left with a reduced population
reference sample that includes Caucasian Americans, Turkish, and Indian populations.
A standard trimmed mean analysis—a robust estimator of central tendency—was
conducted on this remaining data set to provide a better estimate than the mean when
sampling from asymmetric distributions (Yuen 1974). We removed the lowest and
highest 5% of the sample, in other words, the most extreme deviations from the mean.
This resulted in dropping the Caucasian American and several Indian sub-continental
data sets leaving us with five comparative populations (Table 1 (Ridge density data
relevant to study area and 95th percentile “thresholds”)). Following others in applying
the law of probability to their RD data, the same exercise was applied to this reduced
Table 1 Fingerprint ridge density of males and females in various populations
Population RD RD mean (radial area) Study
Male Female
Ridge density dataa

African Americanc 10.90 12.61 Acree (1999)
Caucasian Americanc 11.14 13.32 Acree (1999)
Argentina 16.62 17.82 Gutérrez-Redomero et al. (2011)
Argentina 16.67 18.47 Gutiérrez-Redomero et al. (2013a)
Argentina 17.04 19.08 Gutiérrez-Redomero et al. (2013a)
Spanish 16.85 19.11 Gutérrez-Redomero et al. (2014)
Turkish 12.10 13.80 Oktem et al. (2015)
North Indianc 11.90 14.10 Kumar et al. (2013)
North Indianc 12.99 15.61 Kaur and Garg (2011)
North Indianc 13.56 16.12 Dhall and Kapoor (2016)
North Indianc 15.84 17.94 Krishan et al. (2013)
South Indianc 11.05 14.20 Nithin et al. (2011)
South Indianc 12.77 14.60 Gungadin (2007)
Central Thaisc 15.81 16.58 Suthiprapha et al. (2010)
Northeastern Thaisc 14.72 16.53 Promoponmaung and Nanakorn (2012)
Northeastern Thaisc 15.89 16.19 Nanakorn and Kutanan (2013)
Northeastern Thaisc 15.97 17.23 Soanboon et al. (2016)
Chinesec 11.73 14.15 Nayak et al. (2010)
Malaysianc 11.44 13.63 Nayak et al. (2010)
Ridge density data relevant to study area and 95th percentile “thresholds”b
Turkey 12.10 13.80 Oktem et al. (2015)
North Indianc 11.90 14.10 Kumar et al. (2013)
South Indianc 12.77 14.60 Gungadin (2007)
North Indianc 12.99 15.61 Kaur and Garg (2011)
95th percentile < 12.99 > 15.61
5th percentile < 12.10 > 13.80
a Ridge density data from the radial area provided in previous studies. The Argentinian and Spanish data sets
were excluded from the probability calculations (see text) because of their extraordinarily high values relative
to other Caucasian populations
b Populationsused in calculating ridge density “thresholds” most applicable to Early Bronze Age populations
in southwestern Asia
c Only data for radial region of print are provided
data set indicating there is a > 95% probability that mean ridge density values over
15.6/25mm2 belong to women and those below 12.99/25mm2 to men (see Fig. 3b).
Ridge density values > 12.99/25mm2 far more likely belong to women.
1480 Fowler et al.
Age/Sex Identification Matrix
Alone, ridge breadth and ridge density data provide statistically strong indications for
the age or sex of fingerprint-makers on past pottery objects. However, forensic
researchers have recommended that the size of fingerprints and ridge breadth should
also be considered in the sex determination of prints (Soanboon et al. 2016). Thus, an
unexplored strength of the experimental and forensic studies is when the likelihood for
age and sex identification is combined. To this end, we propose an identification matrix
as an interpretive framework that incorporates the generalized cut-offs for age based
upon ridge breadth data and the cut-offs for sex based upon ridge density data (Fig. 3c).
To bracket adolescents, we assume the onset of puberty, increased growth, and the
delay to reproductive competence would span the range of 7–14 years (Gluckman and
Hanson 2006, p. 10) and a median age of 10 distinguishes children from early
adolescents. Further, we also assume that biological adulthood has been reached by
the age of 20, when growth has largely ceased and most of the skeleton has ossified.
The position of ridge breadth and density values within the matrix improves the
estimate of age and sex determination for prints of unknown origin. Importantly, the
matrix resolves a significant interpretive problem in age estimations from ridge breadth.
It more clearly distinguishes adolescent and adult male and female prints, thus refining
the ambiguous adult/adolescent group, and allows prints to be classified into one of six
age/sex categories. While the matrix may provide a better means of estimating age and
sexual dimorphism from fingerprints, it does not resolve further issues that influence
the quality and accurate measurement of prints on pottery.
Factors Influencing Prints on Pottery
Apart from biological variability (age and sexual dimorphism) affecting ridge breadth
and density, several other factors have been identified that influence the characteristics
of fingerprints on pottery, including the ways fingers and palms were applied to the
surface during manufacture, pressure deformation, and clay shrinkage during drying
and firing (Králík and Novotný 2003).
Manufacturing Stages and the Application of Prints
The handling of vessels may well be the primary source of prints accruing on the
surface of pottery as they were stabilized or manipulated during manufacture. Epider-
mal prints can be applied to the surface of pottery objects during several stages of
manufacture: (1) while clay is in a plastic- or leather-hard state during shaping and (2)
plastic decoration; (3) during the application of decorative treatments once objects have
dried; and (4) during the post-firing treatments afforded objects.
Prints are most likely to occur when clay is in a plastic- or leather-hard state as an
object is being formed and its surface is finished prior to letting it dry. Shaping has
two primary steps that differ in their purpose and the tools and gestures used in
carrying them out. Primary shaping, or roughing out, is when potters fashion clay
into a hollow, rough, shape, while secondary shaping, or preforming, is when a
potter applies pressure during scraping and smoothing to give a vessel its final
geometric form. Roughing out and preforming do not have to be sequential
operations. Rather, potters can alternate between them. This is particularly impor-
tant for closed vessel forms. The interior can be finished as the vessel increases in
height because it may be difficult or impossible to finish the lower portions of the
interior though a narrow mouth once a vessel reaches its final height. If pottery
surfaces are finished in some manner, such as by wiping or smoothing, earlier prints
can be obliterated but new ones can be made by handling the object. It follows that
observable prints on objects that received some kind of finishing treatment must
have been applied after the treatment and prior to leaving objects to dry.
Depending on how an object is decorated, prints accrued during shaping can still be
retained and new prints can be applied onto surfaces while cutting motifs, during the
application of slips or paints, or by handling the object afterwards. Burnishing could
erase previously applied prints on the exterior of vessels, but if clay is still in a leather-
hard state, then prints can still be impressed and preserved on a smooth surface. Firing
would serve to preserve prints created during any of the previous stages unless they are
modified or obliterated through use or other post-depositional processes. After firing,
prints could also accumulate on objects as a result of certain treatments, such as
applying plaster, paint, or glazes (prior to a second firing), which offer a new plastic
surface that will retain a print after the treatment has dried. Such treatments could
obscure any prints that would have been applied in prior stages depending upon where
the prints were placed.
The techniques used to shape pottery, such as coiling or wheel throwing tech-
niques, will not necessarily determine whether prints appear on an object’s surface,
as most objects will be handled after shaping is complete. The size and shape of the
object may have a greater influence on where prints occur and the origin of the print
(fingers or palms). For instance, smaller objects can be grasped by their bottom and
a side when handling, but larger objects would be moved more effectively by
holding the lower body. Very large vessels (or sculpture) would be left to dry in
place and would be less likely to accumulate prints from handling when the object
was in a plastic- or leather-hard state. The quality and properties of prints can differ
based upon how pottery is handled. Králík and Novotný (2003, p. 26) recognized
this when they distinguished “touching,” “grip,” and “molding” fingerprints in their
study. Touching prints result from the placement of the central pad on fingers where
ridges are the finest, grip prints result from a large portion or the entire pad being
placed on the object, and molding prints result from touching fingertips and margins
on a surface. If we assume potters did not want to intentionally leave prints on their
objects, then each kind of print would occur at different steps and stages in the
manufacturing process: touching and modeling prints during steps where careful
manipulation of an object was required and grip prints would occur on the interior
when it was necessary to stabilize the object and on the exterior when moving them.
It must be remembered, however, that prints are easily wiped off before a vessel has
dried, so the presence of prints on pottery is one of chance and the attention a potter
cared to give them.
Pressure Deformation
Pressure deformation is the event that causes a print to be placed on a plastic clay
surface. The amount of pressure, softness of the epidermis, and the hardness of the
1482 Fowler et al.
clay impact the quality of prints (cf. Králík and Novotný 2003, p. 12). Prior to
measuring the prints identified on the pottery sherds, we established a modern
control sample of fingerprints from six individuals of known age and sex in order
to establish the consistency and reliability of both measurement methods and to
examine the effects of deformation pressure on the measurements. The volunteers
provided two sets of thumb and index fingerprints on plasticine to emulate different
plastic deformation stresses. Plasticine was used because it is homogeneous (has
same properties anywhere in the body) and isotropic (has the same properties in all
directions). Clays have the same properties, but pottery pastes may be anisotropic
(have different properties in different directions) due to the presence of tempering
material. One set of prints was pushed into the plasticine with light pressure and
another set with heavier pressure. Both sets of prints exceeded the plastic limit of
the plasticine causing permanent deformation. However, heavier pressure tends to
cause ridges to further deform the material resulting in the base and top of the ridge
to form a slight “umbrella shape” when viewed in cross section. When using the
individual ridge breadth measurement, this effect could act to overestimate the age
of individuals, as ridge breadth increases with age and broader ridges are associated
with adults. Measurements that use the number ridge-furrow pairs to calculate mean
ridge breadth should be less affected by deformation pressure because different
pressures do not increase the number of ridge-furrow pairs, just the ability of an
observer to clearly distinguish the number of pairs. Likewise, measurements of
ridge density should not be significantly affected by deformation processes caused
by different pressures, as deformation will not increase or decrease the number of
ridges observable in a given area. Multiple ridge density measurements on a print
(i.e., at radial, ulnar, and proximal areas on a print) serve to ensure the correct
number of ridges in a given area is being counted with precision. As noted above,
the mean of one large or multiple smaller areas of a print can allow age or sex
identification with a higher degree of accuracy.
Clay Shrinkage
Another obstacle for the estimation of age and sex of fingerprints on ancient pottery
is the shrinkage of clay during drying and firing (Králík and Novotný 2003). A
failure to account for shrinkage will skew age and sex estimates. Ridge breadth
decreases with shrinkage so age will be underestimated. Ridge density increases
with shrinkage so sex determination will be skewed toward females if shrinkage
rates are not considered. For instance, a recent study of prints on Neolithic “tokens”
from Turkey that did not consider shrinkage came to the conclusion that adult
females primarily made them (Bennison-Chapman and Hager 2018). Previous work
by Králík (2000) discussed how most clays have shrinkage rates from 0 to 20%.
However, clays will always shrink to some degree and fine kaolin clays can
experience up to 30% shrinkage (Rice 2015). In their assessment of different
MRB equations, Králík and Novotný (2003) used 7.5% shrinkage in their calcula-
tions. An experimental shrinkage study by Sanders (2015) established a fired
shrinkage range between 1.5 and 8.8% using clays from northern Syria. Consider-
ing the reduction in shrinkage as a result of “significant” grit inclusions, Sanders
(2015) estimated shrinkage from 2 to 6%.
Summary
In sum, previous research estimating the age and sex of fingerprints has demonstrated
that it is possible to provide age estimates using ridge breadth data and sex estimates
using ridge density data. Further attempts have been made to correlate sex and age to
ridge breadth ranges. However, forensic research strongly points toward the strength of
combining both measures, and previous experimental and forensic studies indicate that
an interpretive framework combining both breadth and density data would allow prints
to be classified with a high degree of confidence into six age/sex categories. This has
not been attempted in the study of ancient fingerprints even though ridge breadth and
density can be measured on the same prints. For archaeological pottery assemblages, it
is necessary to consider clay shrinkage to generate accurate measures of ridge breadth
and density. Further, attention to the location, application and quality of prints provides
further insights into when and in what ways prints were applied during the manufacture
of objects and informs sample selection. The main objective of fingerprint analyses,
however, is to provide alternative demographic data that can aid in answering questions
about who made pottery and the social context of production.
Methods and Analysis
Sample
Our sample consists of over 400 pottery sherds representing as many vessels. At this
point, we have identified 57 sherds from different vessels that have 150 complete or
partial fingerprint ridges. Of this set, we selected 18 sherds from as many vessels and
examined 38 of the clearest partial or whole prints resulting from the impression of
distal phalanxes on the interior and exterior of vessel surfaces at the plastic or leather-
hard stages of drying, or on plaster during the post-firing treatment of vessels (Table 2).
Within this subsample, prints occur primarily on body sherds from four classes of
vessels: two kinds of storage jars, holemouth cooking vessels, and a bowl (Uziel and
Maeir 2012a). All of these vessel types were made by coiling (Ross et al. 2018).
Data Collection
Sherds were both scanned at 600 dpi on a flatbed scanner and photographed on a flat
tabletop using a digital SLR camera set perpendicular to the print, which was centered
in the frame next to a metric scale in millimeters (cf. Králík and Novotný 2003, p. 16).
We also experimented with using high resolution cameras on the latest generation of
mobile phones. We found that the photographs from either type of camera produced
better images than the scans for the measurement of epidermal ridge breadths. Some of
the best images were captured with a Galaxy S8, 12-megapixel, 1.4-μm pixels, camera
with a f/1.7 lens, optical image stabilization, phase-detect auto focus, and auto HDR.
These images could be immediately transferred to the lab server in Winnipeg after
being taken in Israel. All photos were imported into Photoshop® and enhanced by
adjusting the image contrast and exposure. The adjusted images were then uploaded
into the program Macnification® and calibrated for measurement.
Table 2 Contextual and excavation data for fingerprint sample from Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath
1484
Anal ys is Square/ Locus Basket Stratum B u i l d i n g Definition Vessel class F a b r i c Location of print P r i n t Print features
No. unit No. type type
CTL 83A 19E83A05 19E83A017 E5c 16E83A10 Floor Jar Group 3 Exterior, base Relief In lime plaster
17-100 accumulation
CTL 73D 16E73D01 16E73D001 n/a Jar Group 3 Interior, body Surface Adjacent
17-101 to wiping
marks, wiping
not uniform
CTL 83C 19E83C01 19E83C007 n/a n/a Winter wash Holemouth Group 2 Exterior, upper body Surface Over wiping marks
17-116
CTL 83A E15AL03 E15AL009 E5a 94413 Floor Holemouth Group 2 Exterior, base Surface Over scrape marks,
17-119 accumulation no wiping
marks
CTL 73D-83B 74808 748129 E5a 74808 Occupational Jar Group 3 Exterior, body Surface Interior smoothed,
17-124 debris no wiping marks
CTL 93A 19E93A07 19E93A E7 n/a Probe Holemouth Group 2 Exterior, body Relief Over wiping marks
17-126 063
CTL 83C 17E83C02 17E83C022 E5B 74512 Occupational Jar Group 3 Exterior, body Surface Over wiping marks
17-133 debris
CTL 83A 19E83A08 19E83A100 E5C-E6 n/a Probe Jar Group 3 Interior, body Surface Over wiping marks
17-137
CTL 93A 18E93A01 18E93A008 n/a n/a Winter wash Holemouth Group 2 Interior, upper body Surface Over wiping marks
17-142
CTL 83B 19E83B03 19E83B016 E5c n/a Balk dismantle Holemouth Group 2 Interior, body Surface Over wiping marks
17-143
CTL 83B 19E83B03 19E83B052 E6 Probe Holemouth Group 2 Interior, upper body Surface No wiping
17-145 marks, surface
smoothed
Fowler et al.
Table 2 (continued)
Anal ys is Square/ Locus Basket Stratum B u i l d i n g Definition Vessel class F a b r i c Location of print P r i n t Print features
No. unit No. type type
CTL 83D 19E83D01 19E83D001 n/a n/a Winter wash Holemouth Group 2 Exterior, body Surface Over wiping marks
17-146
CTL 94105 941020 E4a n/a LB wall Wavy-handled Group 3 Interior, body Surface No wiping marks
17-148 jar
CTL 93B 114406 1144028 E5b 84309 Floor Wavy-handled Group 3 Interior, body at Surface Over wiping marks
17-149 accumulation jar handle
CTL 114808 1148024-1 Eb5 Holemouth Group 2 Interior, body Relief Over wiping marks
17-150
CTL 82D 144906 1449046 E5a 104311 Floor Wavy-handled Group 3 Exterior, lower body Relief No wiping
17-151 accumulation jar marks, surface
smoothed
CTL 83D E15AR10 E15AR096 E4-5 n/a Fill? Bowl Group 3 Interior, rim Surface Adjacent to
17-152 wiping marks
The Identity of Potters in Early States: Determining the Age and...
CTL 84C E15AS02 E15AS044 E4-5 n/a Fill Jar Group 3 Exterior, body Surface Over wiping marks
17-153
1485
1486 Fowler et al.
Location and Application of Prints
Fingerprints occur on both the exterior and interior surface of sherds in our sample
(Table 2). Our classification of prints rethought Králík and Novotný’s scheme, which
considered print quality and the area of the print that made the impression. Our
classification instead characterizes three ways that fingers were applied on vessels to
create epidermal prints (see Fig. 4):
Surface prints result from fingers being applied directly to the surface of the vessel
(Fig. 4 (2)). In our sample, surface prints occur on the clay paste and on plaster.
Fig. 4 Examples of fingerprint applications to vessels identified in the sample: 1, surface (A, D), relief
(C, E), and linear (B, F) on 17-126. The insets show the detail of each type of print enhanced for
clarity (2, 17-126:A; 3, 17-126:C; 4, 17-156). Inset 5 shows multiple and overlapping prints (17-129).
Scales are in millimeters
Relief prints are also applied directly to the surface of vessels, but potters had clay or
plaster on their fingers when doing so (Fig. 4 (3)). The result is a dab of clay or plaster
impressed on the surface with a clear impression of the print.
Linear prints are when print extends across the vessel surface (Fig. 4 (4)). This is the
only one of our three categories that implies a specific gesture. In these instances, wiping a
finger or thumb edge along the surface results in partial “extended” print that has the same
ridge and valley breadth and ridge density patterns as other surface or relief prints on the
same vessel. Such prints are distinctively different from patterns left by implements, such
as cloth, reeds or hard tools, used to finish vessel surfaces (Fig. 4 (1), arrow). While these
marks are distinguishable as fingerprints, they can be difficult to measure because the
sequence of ridges is short, often has gaps, or is muddled by adjacent and overlapping
touches and swipes. An example of a dense set of overlapping prints is shown in Fig. 4 (5).
For this study, we did not include measurements made on these prints.
Each type of print we examined could be classified as molding, touching, or grip
prints as defined by Králík and Novotný (2003), although our ability to distinguish
among them was not always clear. We could however discern when prints were
impressed on the vessels during manufacture and gain some insight into the actions
and gestures that formed them.
The prints shown on the large sherd in Fig. 4 occur on the interior of a holemouth jar
above and below the shoulder-lower body junction. All the prints occurred after the
interior surface was smoothed, which is shown by marks running horizontally around
the interior (Fig. 4 (1), arrow). The variety of print types in this case makes it most
likely that they were set after the interior was wiped and while manipulating the vessel
to smooth the exterior surface. Grip prints would occur on the exterior. Likewise,
impressions with prints on the interior shoulder of a jar (Fig. 5a) show that more force
was applied by fingers in this case. The oblique angle of four prints and the different
angle of the light touching print (possibly a thumb) suggest the vessel was leaning
against the hand while the surface was smoothed (Fig. 5b, black arrows). Touching
prints also occur at several places on the interior surface of the sherd and were not
applied in the same way (Fig. 5a, white arrows). The impressions were created while
stabilizing the vessel and the touch prints while adjusting it. In contrast, the extremely
clear partial relief prints on the base of a jar with lime plaster were placed after the
vessel had been fired and plastering was complete (Fig. 5b) (for sequence see Eliyahu-
Behar et al. 2017). These were set on the base while plaster was still on the hand of the
potter, presumably as they were moving the vessel. In all cases, secondary shaping and
post-firing treatments must have been performed prior to these prints being impressed
on the surface of vessels.
In sum, prints in this sample were visible on the interior or exterior surfaces of all
closed vessel forms (holemouth, jar, wavy-handled jar), and only on the interior of the
open bowl. Prints on the interior of vessels were placed on a smoothed surface or
adjacent to or into wiping marks. These prints must have been placed after scraping and
smoothing of the surface was finished. Prints on the exterior of vessels were also set
after that surface had been wiped or smoothed and must have occurred after the exterior
was finished. Considering the position and character of prints in addition to the size and
function of vessels in our sample (cooking, storage, and serving vessels), it is reason-
able to suggest that prints we observed on the interior surface resulted from gestures
used to stabilize vessels during shaping or while performing surface treatments.
1488 Fowler et al.
Fig. 5 Examples of prints resulting from vessel handling during manufacture. a Four indentations on a
segment of 17-101 left by pushing fingers into the interior of the upper shoulder of a storage jar while in a
plastic state. The downward-pointing black arrows show four fingerprints inside the impressions, and the
upward-pointing black arrow is the edge of print, possibly a thumb. The indentations would have resulted
from supporting and manipulating the vessel during surface finishing. The white arrows point to other partial
touch prints. b Two nearly complete relief prints (in plaster) on the base of a storage jar 17-100. The finger
edges can be seen where the plaster has worn away, leaving the prints incomplete. The prints must have been
applied while holding the bottom of the vessel during handling after the plaster was applied. The scales are
2 cm
Shrinkage
Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath is located in a geological transition zone where the calcareous, micro-
fossil rich, rendzina soils of the chalk-nari Shephelah (the Judean foothills) merge and
mix with the dark brown soils and Eolian loess of the coastal plain (Ben-Shlomo et al.
2009, p. 10; Ben-Shlomo 2012, p. 388). The coastal plain consists of quaternary soils
that are fairly homogeneous: coastal sands from sand dunes, calcareous sandstone from
kurkar ridges (conglomerate from lithified sand dunes), fine alluvial deposits, and dark-
brown soils from eolian wind-blown sediments (Ben-Shlomo 2012, pp. 386–389). The
site itself sits on a chalk mound of the Eocene formation. Around the mound, Pliocene
marl and rendzina soils are abundant and readily available, and löess-type clays toward
the south are less accessible (Ben-Shlomo et al. 2009, p. 10).
Petrographic analyses of the EB assemblage have identified two major fabric groups
represented in our EB III sample (Table 2; Fig. 6): clays derived from dark brown loess
soils (group 2) and clays derived from rendzina soils (group 3) (Ben-Shlomo et al.
2009; Ben-Shlomo 2012; and unpublished reports). Group 2 is coarse tempered with
abundant, poorly sorted calcareous inclusions up to 2 mm in length, and minor amounts
of limestone, calcite, nari (calcrete), and kurkar. Group 3 is the most common coarse
ware at Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath, which is characterized by naturally occurring rounded silt to
medium sand-sized chalk and limestone inclusions, angular grog temper, burned out
organics, and microfossils. In general, non-plastics vary in coarseness, frequency, and
sorting, depending on the vessel types (Ben-Shlomo 2012, pp. 395–396). The preser-
vation of calcite crystalline structures, the optical properties of the calcareous matrices,
and the frequency of thick gray cores are consistent with low-temperature open firing
regimes, under 750 °C (Quinn 2013, p. 191; London and Shuster 2011, p. 234; Reedy
2008). In sum, the fabric types vary by vessel function: group 2 is for cooking wares,
and group 3, the most common fabric type, is used for coarse ware jars and bowls.
The local marly or calcareous tempered clays used to make the EB pottery repre-
sented in our sample are poor at retaining water and tend to dry quickly (Ben-Shlomo
et al. 2009; Shai et al. 2014; Ross and Ben-Shlomo 2017). When hydrated, the clay
becomes sticky. The addition of calcareous materials, grog, and organics to these clay
bodies improves stiffness and workability and would further serve to decrease shrink-
age and improve resistance to mechanical (e.g., dropping) and thermal (e.g., cooking)
stresses, but calcareous materials can increase chances of spalling even at lower
temperatures (Reedy 2008, pp. 143–144). Some experiments have shown that this
effect can be controlled by keeping grit temper (which includes calcium-rich minerals)
to 20% or less of the total paste composition (i.e., the processed clay body) (Hoard et al.
1995; Kilikoglou et al. 1998; Tite et al. 2001).
Marly clays will undergo 2–6% linear shrinkage when fired (Peters and Iberg 1978;
Baccour et al. 2008; Athmania et al. 2010; Celik 2010). The inclusion of calcareous and
other gritty materials would only act to decrease shrinkage further because coarser clays
require less water to achieve a plastic state due to having less clay particles per volume
than fine clays and a less extensive pore (or capillary) system that water can move
through. As we explain next, to account for this particular shrinkage range for fabrics
that are sparsely (< 10%) or densely (< 30%) tempered with organics and/or grit, we
adjusted the MRB and mean ridge density (MRD) values sequentially from 2 to 6%.
Measures of Ridge Breadth and Density
In this study, two previously developed techniques of measurement were used to

calculate MRB: the MPRB and the MIRB. We observed that the MIRB measurements,
while tending to produce more precise results, particularly with clear prints, are quite
time consuming. Further analysis on a larger sample would be needed to demonstrate
whether this technique provides a considerable improvement in both precision and
accuracy to warrant preferring this painstaking measurement technique over the MPRB
1490 Fowler et al.
Fig. 6 The fabric types represented in the fingerprint sample. a Group 2 is a local clay derived from dark
brown loess soils that is coarse tempered with abundant, poorly sorted calcareous inclusions and minor
amounts of limestone, calcite, nari (calcrete), and kurkar (conglomerate from lithified sand dunes). b Group 3
is a local marl clay characterized by rounded silt to medium sand-sized chalk and limestone inclusions, burned
out organics, angular grog temper, and microfossils
measures. In this paper, we only report the results of the MPRB measurements, and the
inferences made from them.
The KA formula was applied to the MPRB measurements to estimate age (age
(month) = 614 × MRB (mm) − 112). For the archaeological sample, we modified the
equation to account for the particular linear shrinkage range (2–6%) experienced by
marly clays when fired. We refer to this as the KAmod2 equation so as not to confuse it
with Králík and Novotný’s (2003) KAmod formula:
KAmod2 : age ðmonthÞ ¼ 614 MRB ðmmÞ−112 ðshrinkage : 0:02 or 0:06Þ
Ridge breadth values decrease due to linear shrinkage (the ridge-furrow breadth
narrows), so our calculation increased the values by 2 and 6%. To test the appropri-
ateness of this calculation, we also multiplied our values by 7.5%. Our results were
only up to 3 months different from Králík and Novotný’s (2003) KAmod formula,
which multiplied MRB by 1.08108 at the 7.5% shrinkage rate.
To calculate MRD values, the number of ridges in 25 mm2 area was counted for
more than one area of the print if possible, and the mean of all the measures were used
to calculate the mean for a print. For partial prints, a 6.25-mm2 area was used to
measure ridge density and the count was doubled so the mean values for all prints
reference the same surface area. Ridge density values increase due to linear shrinkage
(more per surface area), so our calculations divided the density values by 2 and 6% for
the archaeological sample.
The shrinkage corrections produce a series of MRB and MRD midpoints for each
print. The Kamp et al. error range of ± 2.25 years was then applied to each midpoint to
arrive at a total error range for each print adjusted for clay shrinkage. The resulting
mean values for 2 and 6% shrinkage are given in Table 3. The two prints in our sample
impressed on plaster did not experience linear shrinkage (17-100:A, B). The MRB or
MRD values for these prints are presented in Table 3 and Figs. 7, 8, 9, and 10 with the
same values at both shrinkage rates.
It is necessary to note that ridge breadth and ridge density data could not be taken
for all prints (Table 3). Ridge breadth data could not be taken for five prints (Table 3:
17-101:A, 17-126:A, 17-133:F, 17-143:C, 17-143:D), and ridge density data could
not be taken for two prints (Table 3: 17-145:D, 17-146:D). This is because ridge
breadth calculations are based upon ridge-furrow pairs across a line length where a
minimum of three pairs was used. In contrast, ridge density could be measured for
prints where the number of ridges was apparent in a 6.25- or 25-mm2 area, but ridge
breadth could not be measured with accuracy. As such, MRB analyses are based
upon 33 prints, and the MRD analysis includes data for 36 prints.
Results
Inferring Age and Sex Using Ridge Breadth
The MRB values at both the 2 and 6% shrinkage rates could be definitively placed
in one of the three age/sex categories, including adult male, adult/adolescent, and
child (Table 3; Fig. 7). The values range from 0.36 to 0.71 at 2% shrinkage and 0.38
to 0.73 at 6% shrinkage (Table 3). At 2% linear shrinkage, more than half the
sample are adult males (n = 18, 55%), with slightly fewer adult/adolescents (n = 14,
42%), and one print appears to belong to a child although the error range extends
into the adult/adolescent category (Table 4). At 6% linear shrinkage, the MRB and
corresponding age values increase. This results in a significant shift in the number
of adult males to two-thirds of the sample (n = 22, 67%) and adult/adolescents to
less than a third of the sample (n = 10, 30%). The shift in the possible child print
makes it as probable that it was made by an early adolescent as a pre-pubescent
Table 3 Application of KAmod2 regression equation and ridge density equation (see text) to the sample of prints
1492
Catalog No. Print Mean ridge breadth Ridge density Matrix age/mean ridge
No. breadth ridge density
sex interpretation
Observed 2% shrinkage 6% shrinkage Observed 2% 6% Notes 2 % 6 %

shrinkage shrinkage shrinkage shrinkage
MRB Est. age Est. MRB Est. age Est. MRB Est. age Est. RD Est. RD Est. RD Est.
(years) sex (years) sex (years) sex sex sex sex
CTL17-100 A 0.4882 15.65 AA 0.4882 15.65 AA 0.4882 15.65 AA 11.00 M 11.00 M 11.00 M 25 mm2 AM/ADM AM/ADM
B 0.4598 14.19 AA 0.4598 14.19 AA 0.4598 14.19 AA 12.00 M 12.00 M 12.00 M 25 mm2 AM/ADM AM/ADM
CTL17-101 A 14.00 F 13.72 F 13.16 F 6.25 mm2 Fa Fa
A C 0.4528 13.83 AA 0.4618 14.30 AA 0.4799 15.22 AA 16.00 F 15.68 F 15.04 F 25 mm2 AF/ADF AF/ADF
D 0.3950 10.88 AA 0.4029 11.28 AA 0.4187 12.09 AA 16.00 F 15.68 F 15.04 F 6.25 mm2 AF/ADF AF/ADF
E 0.4900 15.74 AA 0.4998 16.24 AA 0.5194 17.24 AA 14.00 F 13.72 F 13.16 F 6.25 mm2 AF/ADF AF
CTL17-116 A 0.5117 16.85 AA 0.5219 17.37 AM 0.5424 18.42 AM 12.00 M 11.76 M 11.28 M 6.25 mm2 AM/ADM AM
CTL17-119 A 0.5138 16.95 AA 0.5240 17.48 AM 0.5446 18.53 AM 10.00 M 9.80 M 9.40 M 6.25 mm2 AM AM
B 0.4533 13.86 AA 0.4624 14.33 AA 0.4805 15.25 AA 8.00 M 7.84 M 7.52 M 6.25 mm2 AM/ADM AM/ADM
CTL17-124 A 0.5320 17.89 AM 0.5426 18.43 AM 0.5639 19.52 AM 14.00 F 13.72 F 13.16 F 6.25 mm2 AF AF
B 0.5133 16.93 AA 0.5236 17.46 AM 0.5441 18.51 AM 12.00 M 11.76 M 11.28 M 6.25 mm2 AM AM
C 0.4963 16.06 AA 0.5062 16.57 AA 0.5260 17.58 AM 16.00 F 15.68 F 15.04 F 6.25 mm2 AF/ADF AF
CTL17-126 A 12.00 M 11.76 M 11.16 M 6.25 mm2 Ma Ma
C 0.6138 22.07 AM 0.6260 22.70 AM 0.6506 23.95 AM 10.00 M 9.80 M 9.40 M 6.25 mm2 AM AM
E 0.6513 23.99 AM 0.6643 24.66 AM 0.6903 25.99 AM 12.00 M 11.76 M 11.28 M 6.25 mm2 AM AM
CTL17-133 A 0.5850 20.60 AM 0.5967 21.20 AM 0.6201 22.40 AM 12.00 M 11.76 M 11.28 M 6.25 mm2 AM AM
B 0.6038 21.56 AM 0.6158 22.18 AM 0.6400 23.41 AM 12.00 M 11.76 M 11.28 M 6.25 mm2 AM AM
Fowler et al.
Table 3 (continued)
sex interpretation

C 0.5519 18.91 AM 0.5630 19.47 AM 0.5850 20.60 AM 12.00 M 11.76 M 11.28 M 25 mm2 AM AM
D 0.6933 26.14 AM 0.7072 26.85 AM 0.7349 28.27 AM 10.00 M 9.80 M 9.40 M 6.25 mm2 AM AM
F 14.00 F 13.72 F 13.16 F 6.25 mm2 Fa Fa
CTL17-137 A 0.5667 19.66 AM 0.5780 20.24 AM 0.6007 21.40 AM 14.00 F 13.72 F 13.16 F 6.25 mm2 AF AF
B 0.5650 19.58 AM 0.5763 20.15 AM 0.5989 21.31 AM 12.00 M 11.76 M 11.28 M 6.25 mm2 AM AM
CTL17-142 A 0.3570 8.93 CH 0.3641 9.30 CH 0.3784 10.03 EA 12.00 M 11.76 M 11.28 M 25 mm2 CHM AM/ADM
The Identity of Potters in Early States: Determining the Age and...
CTL17-143 A 0.4953 16.01 AA 0.5052 16.52 AA 0.5251 17.53 AM 11.00 M 10.78 M 10.34 M 25 mm2 AM/ADM AM
B 0.5100 16.76 AA 0.5202 17.28 AM 0.5406 18.33 AM 11.00 M 10.78 M 10.34 M 25 mm2 AM AM
C 7.00 M 6.86 M 6.58 M 25 mm2 Ma Ma
D 9.00 M 8.82 M 8.46 M 25 mm2 Ma Ma
CTL17-145 D 0.4940 15.94 AA 0.5039 16.45 AA 0.5236 17.46 AM AM/ADMa AMa
CTL17-146 D 0.6263 22.71 AM 0.6388 23.35 AM 0.6638 24.63 AM AMa AMa
CTL17-148 A 0.3895 10.60 EA 0.3973 11.00 AA 0.4129 11.79 AA 16.00 F 15.68 F 15.04 F 6.25 mm2 AF/ADF AF/ADF
B 0.4878 15.62 AA 0.4975 16.12 AA 0.5170 17.12 AA 11.00 M 10.78 M 10.34 M 25 mm2 AM/ADM AM
CTL17-149 A 0.5399 18.29 AM 0.5507 18.85 AM 0.5723 19.95 AM 12.00 M 11.76 M 11.28 M 25 mm2 AM AM
CTL17-151 A 0.5314 17.86 AM 0.5420 18.40 AM 0.5633 19.49 AM 14.00 F 13.72 F 13.16 F 25 mm2 AF AF
1493
Table 3 (continued)
1494
sex interpretation

CTL17-153 A 0.3942 10.83 AA 0.4021 11.24 AA 0.4178 12.04 AA 13.00 F 12.74 M 12.22 M 25 mm2 AM/ADM AM/ADM
B 0.3941 10.83 AA 0.4019 11.23 AA 0.4177 12.04 AA 16.00 F 15.68 F 15.04 F 6.25 mm2 AF/ADF AF/ADF
C 0.4950 15.99 AA 0.5049 16.50 AA 0.5247 17.51 AM 16.00 F 15.68 F 15.04 F 6.25 mm2 AF/ADF AF
AA, adult/adolescent; AD, adolescent; AM, adult male; EA, early adolescent; CH, child; F, female; M, male
a Based upon ridge density measure only
Fowler et al.
Fig. 7 Distribution of MRB values at 2 and 6% shrinkage
child. Thus, we cannot confidently say that children’s prints are represented in this
sample.
One question of interest is whether the prints of multiple individuals are represented
on a single sherd. To explore this, we examined the vessels of origin in clusters of MRB
values. These clusters are most evident in the adult/adolescent category (see Fig. 7 for
examples). The clusters show four patterns:
Fig. 8 Box plots of the male and female ridge density values against the reference sample
1496 Fowler et al.
Fig. 9 Proportion of male to female prints at the 2 and 6% shrinkage rates based on ridge density data
Fig. 10 Cross-plot of mean ridge breadth and ridge density data in the identification matrix
Table 4 Summary of age/sex categories from ridge breadth analysis of prints
Age/sex category 2% shrinkage 6% shrinkage
N % total N % total
Adult male 18 55 22 67
Adult/adolescent 14 42 10 30
Child/early Adolescent 1 3 1 3
Total 33 100 33 100
1. Individuals of different ages occur on the same vessel. In three cases the age
difference is quite pronounced (148:A, 11–12 years, 148:B, 16–17 years; 101:D,
11–12 years, 101:E, 16–17 years; 153:A, B 11–12 years, 153:C 17–18 years.
Otherwise, age values overlap when considering the ± 2.25-year error range (e.g.,
100:A, B; 101:C–E; 119:A, B).
2. Individuals of different age and sex occur on the same vessel (e.g., 153:A, 153:B,
and 153:C).
3. Individuals of the same age/sex occur on different vessels (e.g., 100:B, 101:C,
119:C).
4. Multiple prints on the same vessel can have almost exactly the same MRB and,
thus, corresponding age values (e.g., 137:A, B; 153:A, B).
We can be quite certain that some vessels have only the prints of people in the same age
and age/sex category. For some vessels, it is highly likely the same individual produced
more than one print and the slight differences in age are a result of the variation
introduced by measuring different fingers (e.g., Fig. 5a, b). In other instances, individ-
uals of different ages and age/sex categories left prints on the same vessel. In any case,
pottery-making does not always appear to have been a solitary craft and multiple
individuals could have handled EB III pottery during manufacture.
It is impossible to rule out that the same individuals left prints on multiple vessels.
However, as we are analyzing pottery that spans a 100-year period, this is unlikely and
difficult to determine with any confidence at this stage in our analyses. Nevertheless,
this question is worth exploring in future studies where very fine chronological control
can be considered.
Inferring Sex Using Ridge Density
The value of ridge density data is that it can help infer a print-maker’s sex from a single
value when compared against a distribution of values known to be associated with
either sex. In the first instance, the prints in this sample span density values from 7 to 16
ridges/25 mm2 (Table 5; Fig. 8). Those values below 13/25 mm2 have a 95%
probability of being male. One group of values from the EB prints fall below this
line, clearly associating them with males. The higher values span 13–16 mm2, thus
associating them with females. Six of the values reach the 95% confidence threshold of
15.6 ridges/25mm2 (100:C, D; 124:C; 148:A; 153:B, C) at 2% shrinkage and none at
6% shrinkage. When plotted, the proportions of male and female prints show the
1498 Fowler et al.
Table 5 Summary of sex categories from ridge density analysis of prints
Ridge density 2% shrinkage 6% shrinkage Sex
N % N %
7 1 3 1 3 Males
8 1 3 2 6
9 1 3 3 8
10 3 8 3 8
11 4 11 13 36
12 13 36 2 6
Subtotal 23 64 24 67
13 1 3 6 17 Females
14 6 17 0 0
15 0 0 6 17
16 6 17 0 0
Subtotal 13 36 12 33
Total 36 100 36 100
difference between these bimodal patterns (Fig. 9). The six values at 13.16 ridges/
25mm2 after accounting for 6% shrinkage is only marginally above the threshold for
identifying females. Nevertheless, because none of the six prints fall strictly below 13/
25 mm2 there is a strong statistical likelihood for a respective 67:33 ratio of male to
female prints at both the 2% and 6% shrinkage rates. This is why it is important to
consider both ridge breadth and ridge density data when interpreting prints, as there is a
low probability that these six prints could belong to males if they have correspondingly
high ridge breadth values.
Identification Matrix
The identification matrix provides a means for more robust interpretation of fingerprint
data because it compares both ridge breadth and ridge density data from archaeological
prints against a corpus of empirical data from forensic and experimental studies. It is
possible to refine interpretations by situating breadth and density data within six
possible age/sex categories. Further, it is also possible to correlate the results of both
methods of analysis to test whether the respective age and/or sex interpretations are
supported.
For the reasons outlined earlier, ridge breadth and ridge density data could not be
taken for all prints. Thus, age/sex data using MRB are available for 33 prints, and MRD
data for 36 prints. Thus, four categories given in Table 6 are inferred only from MRD
data: female, male, adult male, and adult/adolescent male. This comparison allows us to
discuss two sets of results: those that fall into a definitive age, sex, or age/sex combined
category, and those that fall within a non-definitive category, such as adult/adolescent
female. Table 6 provides the correlation inferences for each fingerprint in the total
Table 6 Inferred age/sex categories based upon MRB and RD data for 2 and 6% shrinkage rates
2% shrinkage 6% shrinkage
N % category % total sample N % category % total sample
All age/sex categories

Adult female 3 7.9 7.9 6 15.8 15.8
Adult/adolescent female 7 18.4 18.4 4 10.5 10.5
Adult male 12 31.6 31.6 16 42.1 42.1
Adult malea 1 2.6 2.6 2 5.3 5.3
Adult/adolescent male 8 21.1 21.1 5 13.2 13.2
Adult/adolescent malea 1 2.6 2.6
Child/early adolescent male 1 2.6 2.6
Femalea 2 5.3 5.3 2 5.3 5.3
Malea 3 7.9 7.9 3 7.9 7.9
Total 38 100.00 100.0 38 100.0 100.0
Definitive categories
Age
Adult 16 48.5 42.1 24 72.7 63.2
Adult/adolescent 16 48.5 42.1 9 27.3 23.7
Children/early adolescent 1 3.0 2.6
Total 33 100.0 86.8 33 100.0 86.8
Sex
Male 26 68.4 68.4 26 68.4 68.4
Female 12 31.6 31.6 12 31.6 31.6
Total 38 100.0 100.0 38 100.0 100.0
Age and sex
Adult female 3 9.1 7.9 6 18.2 15.8
Adult male 13 39.4 34.2 18 54.5 47.4
Child/early adolescent 1 3.0 2.6
Total 33 100.0 86.8 33 100.0 86.8
Non-specific categories
Child/early adolescent male 1 6.3 2.6
Non-specific total 16 42.1 42.1 9 100.0 23.7
a Based upon ridge density data only
sample of 38 prints, and Fig. 10 illustrates the MRB and MRD data considering
shrinkage for the 33 prints that have both data points.
Age can be inferred for 86.8% of the sample at each respective shrinkage rate.
Adults occur in the same proportion as adult/adolescents at 2% shrinkage (48.5%) but
1500 Fowler et al.
dominate the age categories (72.7%) at 6% shrinkage. Higher shrinkage increases MRB
values and decreases MRD values resulting in an overall increase in the number of
adults. The child/early adolescent print therefore shifts from being questionable at 2%
shrinkage to a greater probability of being made by an adolescent at 6% shrinkage. At
either rate, adults and older adolescents were the primary handlers of EB III pottery.
All prints in the sample could be identified to sex. The classification is not altered
with a change in shrinkage rate. Males (68.4%) outnumber females (31.6%), and at a
68:32 ratio, the matrix results are very close to the 67:33 ratio arrived at independently
in the MRD analysis (Table 5).
When age and sex are combined, a significant proportion of the sample could be
definitively identified (86.8%). At either shrinkage rate, adult males (39.4%, 54.5%)
and adult/adolescent males (24.2%, 12.1%) compose the majority of age/sex categories
relative to adult females (9.1%, 18.2%) and adult/adolescent females (21.2%, 12.1%).
No children could be definitively identified. These data suggest that men and teenage
boys (66.7%, 60.5%) handled pottery more regularly than women and teenage girls
(26.3%, 26.3%).
The non-definitive categories make up 42.1 and 23.7% of the combined data at the
respective 2 and 6% shrinkage rates. In these categories, the identification of adult/
adolescent females (18.4 to 10.5%) and adult/adolescent males (23.7 to 13.2%)
dropped significantly in the overall sample when the higher shrinkage rate is accounted.
Here, again, we see the effect of a higher shrinkage rate resulting in an increase in more
definitively identified adults. There are limits to this effect, however. For instance, an
individual with an MRB of 0.446 at 2% shrinkage would be confidently classified as an
adult/adolescent (11.4–(13.5)–15.9 years) in our scheme, and shrinkage would need to
be increased more than seven times (an extraordinarily high 15%) to change this
classification to the adult male category (MRB = 0.523, 15.2–(17.4)–19.7 years).
Therefore, the observed increase in adults appears to be separating out late adolescents
from adults that are obscured in MRB analyses. Following from the definitive age/sex
identifications above, the proportions of non-definitive age/sex categories further
supports the idea that a greater proportion of teenage boys and adult men practiced
the craft relative to teenage girls and adult women.
The Application of Prints During Manufacturing
Combining our observations of print locations, manufacturing traces on sherds, and our
age/sex estimates of prints, we can infer when the prints were impressed on the surface
of vessels and who handled vessels during manufacture.
As described earlier, prints can accrue on vessels at four stages of manufacture:
during shaping, plastic decoration, post-drying decorative treatments (slips, washes,
burnishing, polishing, etc.), and during post-firing treatments (glazing, plastering,
resins, etc.). Since the vessels we examined are undecorated, we can be sure that prints
were not set during the stage of plastic decoration when the clay was still wet or leather
hard. Further, there would be little reason to touch drying vessels and it is unlikely that
these prints were set during that stage. Consequently, prints were placed on this sample
of vessels at two stages of manufacture: when the clay was in a plastic state during
shaping and when applying lime-plastering during the post-firing stage. Inferring when
prints were placed during plastering requires no elaboration as the prints were set in
Fig. 11 The location and age/sex of prints on each representative of the four vessels classes examined in thisb
study. Maximum age ranges are provided in brackets. Reference numbers of sherds examined are located
under the stylized forms. The exterior of vessels is depicted on the left-hand side of the diagram and the
interior on the right-hand side. A, adult; AD, adolescent; CH, child; M, male; F, female
plaster. However, when prints were left during shaping requires a closer examination of
prints and manufacturing traces.
In coil building, potters apply pressure from the interior and exterior of vessels
through thinning and smoothing (using their hands and various tools) to give vessels
their final form. Prints on the interior surface can result from handling vessels while
wiping or smoothing the exterior surface. Prints on the exterior surface could occur
while supporting the vessel to thin and smooth the interior surface or when handling
them after preforming was complete and they were moved for drying. Thus, all the
prints in our sample were set during the preforming operations or after those were
completed. However, wavy-handled jars provide a different sequence. We observed
numerous prints in the curved areas of handles and on the interior body where handles
were applied after the interior and exterior had been wiped. This means that handles
were applied after the preform had reached its final shape.
Our next question is who made the prints during these operations. The above
analysis indicates that the vessels in our sample were handled by adult and adolescent
males, adult women and possibly adolescent females. Figure 11 correlates print
locations and age and sex data for each vessel in our sample. The bowl (17-152) was
only handled by a man, but it is difficult to determine whether the print was set during
the preforming stage of after it was complete. Both men and teenage males left prints
on the interior and exterior of holemouth cooking jars, so we can infer that both were
involved in preforming and handling vessels after they had been completely shaped.
One holemouth (17-142) strongly suggests that younger males alone were also in-
volved in fashioning cooking ware. Female prints do not occur on this class of vessel.
By contrast, jars have prints of adult and adolescent males and females on the
exterior and interior. The base of lime-plastered jar (17-100) only has the prints of an
adult or adolescent male. Adult male prints and an adult or adolescent female print
occur on the middle to lower exterior of different jars (17-133, 153), suggesting that
males and females both handled the vessels after the surface was finished. A range of
prints occur on the inside of jars: one vessel has prints of adult or adolescent females
(17-101), one has prints from a male and an adult or adolescent female (17-124), and
one has a print of only an adult male (17-146). It appears that multiple individuals could
be involved in the preforming and moving of the larger jars, but only two male prints
occur on the interior of jars whereas they were dominant the exterior prints in our
sample. Women or adolescent girls may have been more involved in producing this
class of vessel.
A different situation again is represented by wavy-handled jars. Only a single female
print occurs on the lower body of the exterior (17-151), but both adult or adolescent
male and female prints occur on the interior of two vessels (17-137, 148), and one has
only an adult male print (17-149). For this class, the interior prints are more evenly split
between males and females.
The occurrence of multiple interior prints indicates that the hands of men, women
and adolescents were inside the vessels during preforming. As mentioned earlier, we
1502 Fowler et al.
EXTERIOR BOWLS INTERIOR

AM (19-23)
17-152
HOLEMOUTH JARS
ADM or AM (17-21)
AM (18-21)
CHM or AM/ADM (17-20)

AM/ADM (9-12)
AM (23-29) AM/ADM (17-20)

AM (17-21) AM (18-21)
AM (25-28)
M
M
17-116 17-119 17-126 17-143 17-142 17-145 17-150

ADM or AM (14-18)
AM (18-21)
STORAGE JARS
AM (23-27)
AF/ADF (14-18) AF/ADF or AF

AM (21-25)
AF/ADF (11-14) AF/ADF (11-14) (17-20)
AM (23-26)
AF/ADF or AF M
AM (20-23)
Plaster (16-20)
AM (27-31)
F
17-100 17-133 17-153 17-101 17-124 17-146

AM/ADM (16-18)
AM/ADM (14-16)
WAVY-HANDLED JARS
AM (19-22)
AF (20-24)
AM (20-24)
AF/ADF (11-14)
AM/ADM (16-19)
AF (18-21)
17-151 17-137 17-148 17-149

could be identifying prints of the same individual in instances where the age and sex
estimations for different prints overlap, but in other cases there are co-occurring prints
of different age and sex. Since the prints of different individuals could not occur
simultaneously, different hands must have instead been placed on the inside of pots
at different times. There are two most likely scenarios to explain the multiple prints.
First, certain prints were placed when shaping vessels and others accrued during
handling them after shaping was complete, either to inspect the vessels or to move
them to a drying location. Second, prints of different individuals could occur on the
interior surface when one individual took over the task of exterior finishing from
another. Such a transfer would add flexibility to the work schedule and could also
reflect the training of novice potters. It is most tempting to infer the training of younger
potters in the cases where there are younger and older prints on the interior of jars (17-
101, 124, 148). Further, the tendency of older prints on exteriors and younger prints on
the interiors of holemouth and storage jars points to possibilities for investigating the
training of potters, particularly if vessels can be found that have prints on both exterior
and interior surfaces. In either scenario, it is quite difficult to distinguish whether the
handling of vessels was done by males or females of different ages during the
preforming stage and after it was completed. What we can conclude with some
certainty is that all of the vessels with multiple prints show that older adolescent or
adult females or males worked alongside younger members of the same or different sex
during the shaping stage of manufacture.
Discussion and Conclusions
Since we limited our study to fingerprints with exceptional preservation quality, our
sample was small. It is not large enough to serve as an accurate representation of the
entire pottery industry during the later EB III period (Stratum E5) at Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath.
A larger sample size would likely allow us decrease margins of error in age and sex
estimates (Králík and Novotný 2003) and further allow us to explore trends observed in
our analysis. Moreover, since deformed or faint prints were omitted from the study,
there may be a preservation bias that favors the less skilled potters, whereby highly
skilled potters treated the surfaces to obscure the presence of their prints. Alternatively,
the preservation bias could just be a consequence of mainly examining storage and
cooking wares. Future research with improved population reference samples for ridge
density analysis, as epidermal prints can vary among populations, are necessary to
examine the relationship between the age and sex of prints found on pottery used for
different functions. The latter would contribute toward understanding whether men and
women made different kinds of pottery, such as those used for cooking, storage, or
serving, or they played different roles in the production process.
Even with our limited sample, certain trends are apparent (Table 7): male prints
occur on the only bowl in our sample and are exclusively found on holemouth cooking
vessels, whereas female prints are more prevalent on jars. This distribution of prints
across vessel classes presents interesting questions that would necessarily require
establishing whether prints occur on vessels across the entire repertoire; for instance,
we have not yet identified prints on platters. Did males exclusively make cooking
vessels and bowls, and both males and females make all jars? Irrespective of sample
1504 Fowler et al.
Table 7 Definitive sex of prints on vessel classes (see Table 6)
Sex Vessel class Total
Bowl Holemouth Jar Wavy-handled jar
N % class N % class N % class N % class N % class
Summary of sex of prints on vessel classes

2% shrinkage
Female 10 52.6 2 50.0 12 31.6
Male 1 100.0 14 100.0 9 47.4 2 50.0 26 68.4
Total 1 100.0 14 100.0 19 100.0 4 100.0 38 100.0
6% shrinkage
Female 10 52.6 2 50.0 12 31.6
Male 1 100.0 14 100.0 9 47.4 2 50.0 26 68.4
Total 1 100.0 14 100.0 19 100.0 4 100.0 38 100.0
Age/sex categories of prints on vessel classes
2% shrinkage
Female
AF 2 10.5 1 25.0 3 7.9
AF/ADF 6 31.6 1 25.0 7 18.4
Fa 2 10.5 0.0 2 5.3
Female total 10 52.6 2 50.0 12 31.6
Male
AM 1 100.0 4 28.6 6 31.6 1 25.0 12 31.6
AMa 1 7.1 1 2.6
Ma 3 21.4 3 7.9
AM/ADM 4 28.6 3 15.8 1 25.0 8 21.1
AM/ADMa 1 7.1 1 2.6
CHM 1 7.1 1 2.6
Male total 1 100.0 14 100.0 9 47.4 2 50.0 26 68.4
Total at 2% 1 100.0 14 100.0 19 100.0 4 100.0 38 100.0
6% shrinkage
Female
AF 5 26.3 1 25.0 6 15.8
AF/ADF 3 15.8 1 25.0 4 10.5
Fa 2 10.5 2 5.3
Female total 10 52.6 2 50.0 12 31.6
Male 0.0 0.0
AM 1 100.0 7 50.0 6 31.6 2 50.0 16 42.1
AMa 2 14.3 2 5.3
AM/ADM 2 14.3 3 15.8 5 13.2
Ma 3 21.4 3 7.9
Male total 1 100.0 14 100.0 9 47.4 2 50.0 26 68.4
Total at 6% 1 100.0 14 100.0 19 100.0 4 100.0 38 100.0
A, adult; AD, adolescent; CH, child; F, female; M, male

a Based upon ridge density data only
size, we cannot ignore the demographic profile resulting from this fingerprint analysis
as it provides important preliminary insights into understanding the organization and
social context of EB ceramic production.
First, these age and sex data provide an alternative means of investigating labor
organization during production. One lesson from pottery ethnoarchaeology is that
pottery-making, like other crafts, is a social activity and potters do not work in isolation
(Stark 2003). For this reason, discussions of production arrangements typically view
roles in a hierarchical fashion (Wendrich 2012). Regardless if the roles are informal or
formal, or if pottery is made for household use or for others—that is, in the general
sense, that production may be “nonspecialized or “specialized” (Costin 2007)—several
people can take on tasks in pottery manufacture, such as helping gather clay or fuel,
preparing clay, decorating vessels, or tending a firing. “Potters,” “apprentices,” and
“assistants” all have different duties and a decreasing amount of responsibility in the
manufacturing process. Tasks can be spread out through the different stages of manu-
facture, but potters are assumed to direct the process and be the primary makers.
Vessels with multiple prints in our sample show that males and females of
different ages, and adult men and women, all left prints on different kinds of jars
while they were being shaped, before they had dried, and during post-firing
treatments. If the roles of these individuals were not interchangeable among youn-
ger and older potters during shaping, then potters and others, which would include
assistants or apprentices, were all handling vessels over the short time span it would
have taken to shape them and finish their surfaces. Considering that the vessels in
our sample were coiled (Ross et al. 2018), and others during the EB could be made
using a combination of coiling and rotary devices (Roux and Courty 1998; Roux
and de Miroschedji 2009), there could be multiple hands involved in primary and
secondary shaping. The use of tournettes presents a manufacturing context that is an
intimate and close setting (see Fig. 12), whereby two people could share the duties
of shaping vessels, particularly when one individual is shaping and another provid-
ing rotative kinetic energy via the tournette. Such a synergy of tasks and techniques
in wheel-shaping has been contrasted with the series of techniques carried out by
(usually) single individuals when hand-building pottery (Roux and Corbetta 1989).
However, when learning coiling, teachers may choose to leave novices on their own
to reproduce what has been observed, or they can take a more direct and intimate
approach, guiding a novice’s hands through the gestures and motor skills required
to fashion an object (e.g., Gosselain 2002; Wallaert-Pêtre 2001). Alternatively,
novices can be assigned certain independent tasks during the learning process, such
as executing plastic decoration techniques or surface finishing vessels made by their
teachers (e.g., Fowler 2008). Regardless if pottery is hand-built or made on a wheel,
finishing techniques, decoration techniques, or post-firing treatments can be done
by the same or different individuals. Our assessment indicates that most fingerprints
(except the ones on plaster) must have been applied to this sample of pottery during
or after the process of surface finishing. While adult and young men more often
performed these tasks, they were also done by adult and young women when
making jars. This does not allow us to infer for each vessel precisely who was
responsible for the steps in shaping vessels, but our data do indicate that men and
women, adult or younger, alone or together, were involved in the shaping stage.
This was the “labor force” used to make EB III pottery, and, on the face of it, we
1506 Fowler et al.
Fig. 12 A male potter and his wife using a tournette to make pottery in northern Pakistan (2000). In such a
context (cf. Roux and Daniela 1989), there are many opportunities for potters, assistants, and apprentices to
handle pottery prior to and during the surface finishing of vessels before they have completely dried
would assume that older individuals had more experience and were directing the
efforts of the younger print-makers.
A second point follows from the relationship between teenagers and adults during
manufacture. When the definitive and non-specific age and sex data presented above
are considered, it would be reasonable to suggest that a greater proportion of teenage
boys were learning to be potters and practiced the craft when adults, whereas fewer
teenage girls continued to make pottery into adulthood. More prints would need to be
examined to test this trend in our data, but these results strongly suggest that fingerprint
data can provide insights into ancient learning practices.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, our analysis shows that prints of males and
females both occur on EB III pottery. The majority of potters during the EB III are
definitively adult males. Although adult and adolescent females make-up a smaller
proportion of individuals, their presence indicates that pottery production was not
restricted to one gender during the EB III and production was organized with adoles-
cent cooperative labor. We cannot say with confidence that pre-pubescent children were
involved in manufacture.
Significantly, this finding strikingly contrasts a study by Sanders (2015) on finger-
prints from EB levels at Tell Leilan in Syria. In examining 106 prints on 101 vessels
spanning a period of some 2300 years (4100–1726 BCE), Sanders found that both male
and female prints occur on the same vessel types prior to the rise of the state mid-third
millennium BCE, but only the prints of men were identified in the post-state Leilan
ceramic assemblage. Thus, prior to urbanism and the rise of the state in northern
Mesopotamia, both men and women made pottery. However, in the post-state urban
society women ceased making pottery. According to Sanders, this marks a profound
change in production arrangements, whereby pottery for domestic use was no longer
made at a household level and pottery was instead made by men, possibly in private or
state-sponsored workshops.
Sanders’ (2015) results are insightful, but they do raise two problems. One issue
involves the theoretical distribution of ridge density frequencies. A bimodal pattern
with low and high ridge densities indicates males (low densities) and females (high
densities) both left prints on pottery. A low or high unimodal pattern suggests only men
or women made the prints. However, since ridge densities for males and females
overlap, a unimodal pattern may still include prints from either sex. Because the
number of possible male or female prints is small in a unimodal distribution skewed
either low or high, the frequency distribution renders them invisible in the overall
pattern. There is no accounting for the probability of prints being male or female.
Therefore, the modality of ridge density distributions is suggestive but not definitive
evidence that males exclusively produced prints on EB pottery at Tell Leilan. Second,
given that the method used by Sanders does not distinguish the age of potters, there is
no means of using ridge density and ridge breadth data to corroborate each other, as we
have attempted to here. As such, it is unknown whether adolescents had comparable
roles in ceramic production that is suggested by our analysis. This problem, and the
difficulty in distinguishing between adult females and adolescents, still presents a
considerable challenge for monitoring gendered divisions of craft production.
Specialization, at least in the general sense that people made things for use by
others beyond their own household, is a key feature associated with the develop-
ment of early urban centers throughout the Near East, and has long been associated
with the rise of states elsewhere (Hagstrum 1985; Benco 1988; Clark and Parry
1990; Costin 1991; Wailes 1996; Clark and Houston 1998; Schortman and Urban
2004; Patterson 2005; Hardy 2006; Costin 2007; Flad and Hruby 2007). Ethno-
graphic evidence from the Near East and North Africa further suggests that men
tend to become heavily involved in pottery production when it becomes a special-
ized and profitable commercial craft (see David and Kramer 2001, pp. 303–358).
Our fingerprint data suggest that pottery manufacture in early states was not
dominated by male specialists. Based on these data, we propose the intriguing
possibility that men, women and teenagers in EB III society produced pottery alone
or together at a time when crafts specialization is considered a regular feature of
state societies in the Levant (Blackman et al. 1993; Roux and de Miroschedji 2009).
Our data are more similar to the pre-state pattern identified by Sanders but may
indicate a move toward the post-state pattern of pottery production in northern
Mesopotamia after 2600 BCE. The early urban centers and burgeoning states in the
Levant were organized differently than those in northern Mesopotamia and this
study points to the variety of ways production could be organized. Future studies,
and a re-examination of the Tell Leilan prints using both ridge breadth and ridge
density data, would productively clarify whether there are different demographic
patterns in the organization of pottery production during the emergence of urbanism
and state level societies in the Near East.
Acknowledgments The authors thank the staff and many volunteers on the Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath Archaeological
Project. KF and EW would like to thank the volunteers who provided prints for the pilot study that assessed
the methods. Special thanks must be extended to Shira Albaz for her unstinting patience and efforts in
cataloging Area E pottery and sharing data on the Early Bronze typology for the Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath assemblage.
Infrastructure and funding for the research was through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
of Canada (410-2009-1303 to HG and 895-2011-1005 to HG and AM), The University of Manitoba, St. Paul’s
College, Bar-Ilan University, and a University of Manitoba Undergraduate Research Award to EW.
1508 Fowler et al.
Data and Materials Availability All data are available in the main text or the supplementary materials.
Author Contributions KF designed the study; KF and EW conducted the data collection and analysis; JR
collected sherds for study and provided the specific typology, fabric, and contextual data provided in Table 2;
and HG and AM directed the excavations, provided the ceramics for analysis, and placed the results in broader
cultural and chronological context; all authors contributed to writing the final paper.
Compliance with Ethical Standards
Competing Interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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institutional affiliations.
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Affiliations
Kent D. Fowler 1,2,3 & Elizabeth Walker 1,2 & Haskel J. Greenfield 1,4 & Jon Ross 1,4 &
Aren M. Maeir 5
1
Department of Anthropology and Ceramic Technology Laboratory, The University of Manitoba,
Winnipeg, Canada
2
St. John’s College, The University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
3
Department of Anthropology, The University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
4
St. Paul’s College, Near Eastern Biblical Archaelogy Laboratory, The University of Manitoba, Winnipeg,
Canada
5
The Institute of Archaeology, The Martin (Szusz) Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology,
Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel

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Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory (2019) 26:1470–1512

The Identity of Potters in Early States: Determining

Kent D. Fowler 1,2,3 & Elizabeth Walker

Published online: 20 May 2019

Extended author information available on the last page of the article

Keywords Ceramics . Fingerprints . Palaeodermatoglyphics . Epidermal ridge breadth .

Determining Age and Sex from Fingerprints on Pottery

KA : age ðmonthÞ ¼ 614 MRB ðmmÞ−112

KAmod : age ðmonthÞ ¼ 614 1:08108 MRB ðmmÞ−112

Table 1 Fingerprint ridge density of males and females in various populations

Population RD RD mean (radial area) Study

Ridge density dataa

Age/Sex Identification Matrix

Factors Influencing Prints on Pottery

Manufacturing Stages and the Application of Prints

Methods and Analysis

Location and Application of Prints

Measures of Ridge Breadth and Density

In this study, two previously developed techniques of measurement were used to

KAmod2 : age ðmonthÞ ¼ 614 MRB ðmmÞ−112 ðshrinkage : 0:02 or 0:06Þ

Inferring Age and Sex Using Ridge Breadth

Observed 2% shrinkage 6% shrinkage Observed 2% 6% Notes 2 % 6 %

Observed 2% shrinkage 6% shrinkage Observed 2% 6% Notes 2 % 6 %

Observed 2% shrinkage 6% shrinkage Observed 2% 6% Notes 2 % 6 %

Fig. 7 Distribution of MRB values at 2 and 6% shrinkage

Table 4 Summary of age/sex categories from ridge breadth analysis of prints

Age/sex category 2% shrinkage 6% shrinkage

Inferring Sex Using Ridge Density

Table 5 Summary of sex categories from ridge density analysis of prints

Ridge density 2% shrinkage 6% shrinkage Sex

N % category % total sample N % category % total sample

All age/sex categories

a Based upon ridge density data only

The Application of Prints During Manufacturing

EXTERIOR BOWLS INTERIOR

CHM or AM/ADM (17-20)

AM (23-29) AM/ADM (17-20)

17-116 17-119 17-126 17-143 17-142 17-145 17-150

AF/ADF (14-18) AF/ADF or AF

17-100 17-133 17-153 17-101 17-124 17-146

17-151 17-137 17-148 17-149

Discussion and Conclusions

Table 7 Definitive sex of prints on vessel classes (see Table 6)

Sex Vessel class Total

Bowl Holemouth Jar Wavy-handled jar

N % class N % class N % class N % class N % class

Summary of sex of prints on vessel classes

A, adult; AD, adolescent; CH, child; F, female; M, male

Compliance with Ethical Standards

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