Society for American Archaeology

Strength Testing Archaeological Ceramics: A New Perspective

Author(s): Mark A. Neupert
Source: American Antiquity, Vol. 59, No. 4 (Oct., 1994), pp. 709-723
Published by: Society for American Archaeology
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 REPORTS 709

Periods.In Mogollon Variability,edited by C. Bensonand S. Upham, pp. 191-202. OccasionalPapers

No. 15. University Museum, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces.
Stoltman,J. B.
1987 PetrographicObservationson SelectedSherdsfrom Wind Mountain.Manuscripton file, Department
of Anthropology,University of Wisconsin,Madison.

ReceivedJanuary20, 1993; acceptedJanuary22, 1994

STRENGTH TESTING ARCHAEOLOGICAL CERAMICS:

A NEW PERSPECIIVE

MarkA. Neupert

The measurementof ceramicstrengthis an importantsourceof evidencefor assessingany potterytechnology.

However,the adoptionof strengthtestingwithincomprehensiveceramicanalysesin archaeologyhas beenhindered
by the absenceof a reliableformatfor testing archaeologicalspecimens.Thispaperpresentsresultsof research
undertakento developthe ball-on-three-balltest, whichmeasuresthe tensile strengthof archaeological,ethno-
graphic,and experimentalceramicsin biaxialflexure.Laboratoryexperimentsdemonstratethat the testproduces
reliableand accurateresultslargelyunaffectedby the irregularitiesof sherd-shapedspecimens.In an example
from the prehistoricSouthwest,strengthtests are used to investigatetechnologicalchange in the Cibola White
Waresequenceand the role of strengthin theformation of archaeologicalassemblages.It is suggestedthat the
developmentof a versatile,dependabletechniquecan helpto movestrengthtestingout of experimentallaboratories
and into mainstreamceramicanalyses.
La medidade resistenciade materialescerdmicoses una importantefuente de evidenciapara evaluarcualquier
tecnologiacerdmica.Sin embargo,la adopci6nde pruebasde resistenciadentrode un andlisis cerdmicocom-
prensivoen arqueologiaha sido impedidapor la ausencia de un formato confiablepara analizar especimenes
arqueol6gicos.Este articulopresentalos resultadosde una investigaci6nrealizadapara desarrollarla pruebade
bola-sobre-tres-bolas,la cual mide la resistenciatensorade cerdmicaarqueol6gica,etnogrdficay experimental
en flexi6n bidxica. Experimentosde laboratoriodemuestranque esta pruebaproduceresultadosconfiablesy
acertadosque no son afectadospor las irregularidades de especimenescurvoscomo son losfragmentoscerdmicos.
En un ejemplode la prehistoriadel suroestenorteamericano,pruebasde resistenciason utilizadaspara investigar
cambios tecnol6gicosen la secuenciade la cerdmicablanca Cibolay el rol de la resistenciaen la formaci6n de
conjuntosarqueol6gicos.Se sugierequeel desarrollode una tecnicaversdtily confiablepuedecontribuira movilizar
las pruebasde resistenciadel campo experimentalal campo del andlisiscerdmicode rutina.

In Ceramics for the Archaeologist, Anna 0. Shepard (1965:130) proposed that strength "is a
significant property that would be useful in comparative studies if it could be measured satisfac-
torily." Shepard argued that the strength characteristics of ancient pottery would supply information
useful for many research questions. In two general areas strength plays a dynamic part in ceramic
technology and thus broadens the range of topics to which it may apply. First, strength properties
are a product of most processes of ceramic manufacture, including clay and temper selection, forming,
drying, and firing (Grimshaw 1971). By providing information on production techniques, strength
measurements are a window for viewing past technological developments. Second, strength is an
important component of certain vessel-performance characteristics, such as durability. In this way,
strength measurements may pertain to intended vessel function, actual performance during use, use

MARKA. NEUPERT * University of Arizona,Laboratoryof TraditionalTechnology,Departmentof Anthro-

pology, Tucson, AZ 85721

AmericanAntiquity, 59(4), 1994, 709-723.

Copyright? 1994 by the Society for AmericanArchaeology

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710 AMERICANANTIQUITY [Vol. 59, No. 4, 1994]

life, and formation processes. The sensitivity of vessel strength to production processes and its
influence in systemic context make it a strategic source of information on the diverse behaviors
found in any pottery system.
For years archaeologists have recognized the potential of ceramic strength testing and successfully
applied strength data to many areas of interest. Researchers have considered strength in studies of
technological change (Rice 1984, 1987; Schiffer and Skibo 1987), vessel performance and function
(Schiffer et al. 1994; Steponaitis 1984), shifts in subsistence strategies (Braun 1983; Hally 1986),
the identification of craft specialization (Arnold 1985; Bronitsky 1986a), formation processes (Niel-
sen 1991; Skibo et al. 1989), and contemporaneous pottery variation within a settlement or across
a region (Bronitsky 1986b; Kingery 1982; Simon and Coghlan 1989; Windes 1977).
In a search for lower-level principles regarding the determinants of ceramic strength, researchers
have undertaken numerous experimental studies (Bronitsky 1989; Bronitsky and Hamer 1986;
Feathers 1989; Fournier 1989; Mabry et al. 1988; Schiffer et al. 1994; Shepard 1965; Skibo et al.
1989). Using flat rectangular briquettes or bars, usually required by traditional test formats in
materials science, archaeologists have determined how specific variables, such as temper type and
quality (Bronitsky and Hamer 1986; Feathers 1989; Skibo et al. 1989), firing temperature (Mabry
et al. 1988), and surface treatment (Fournier 1989), affect ceramic strength. However, since sherds
are rarely flat and rectangular, a more appropriate technique is needed to test actual pottery samples
from archaeological, ethnographic, and experimental sources.
This paper introduces to archaeology the ball-on-three-ball tester, an apparatus designed to mea-
sure the strength in biaxial flexure of irregularly shaped, curved ceramic specimens. The ball-on-
three-ball tester overcomes limitations of traditional strength tests and represents an advance over
the Moh's hardness tests often used to characterize prehistoric pottery. With the application of strict
sampling strategies to control for strength loss and sherd morphology, this technique can facilitate
the analysis of archaeological ceramics. Today, Shepard's (1965:138) recommendation that strength
testing "may be expected to find a place in any comprehensive study of pottery" has become much
more feasible.

STRENGTH TESTING IN BIAXIAL FLEXURE

The biaxial flexure format is a natural choice for testing pottery for several reasons. First, it is an
shaped specimens such as sherds. Second,
accurate technique designed specifically for irregularly shaped
the format stresses the sample in a manner more similar to real-world situations than traditional
uniaxial bend tests (Giovan and Sines 1979:515). Essentially, the biaxial test involves loading a
specimen on opposite sides with radially symmetricalforces bending forces (Marshall 1980:551). In the
biaxial format, tensile stress is primary, but secondary stresses include compressive, torsional, and
tangential tensile. In general, biaxial flexure provides a more conservative estimate of ceramic
strength than traditional bend tests.
Materials scientists have developed several formats for determining the tensile strength of ceramics
in biaxial flexure. Tests using various jigs, including the ring-on-ring and piston-on-three-ball testers,
have been undertaken to assess the reliability of strength measurements in the biaxial flexure format
(Chao and Shetty 1991; Glandus 1986; Kirstein and Woolley 1967; Marshall 1980; Ritter et al.
1980; Shetty et al. 1980; Wachtman et al. 1972). The ball-on-three-ball format is uncommon in
materials research, but nevertheless follows the principles demonstrated by other biaxial flexure
tests (Scholten 1993).

Equipment
The ball-on-three-ball test supports the specimen on three equally spaced steel balls concentric
with the load, which is applied at the center of the specimen by an opposing steel ball at a constant
rate (Figure l a-b). For these experiments, l/2' balls were fixed atop 1/2"steel columns placed 1/2" from
the center load point. To accommodate large specimens, the support balls can be placed at three
distances (1/2, lf, 1 1/2") from the load point, and balls of varying size can be used. The support and
loading balls are affixed to two steel plates clamped to a standard compression cage, which is attached

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 REPORTS 711

?
@
**._ Steel
/ '-'-'-
\ S upport Bolls

? /
\0ptionaol
%Mounts

b
Figure 1. Ball-on-three-ball tester: (a) schematic plan of base plate, where 1/2"-diametersteel support balls
are placed ?/2"from the center load point (optional mounts also allow placement at 1" and 11/2" from the center);
(b) cross section during testing.

to a mechanically driven test stand (a Dillon Universal Tester Model LW). The testing jig was
designed by the author and fabricated at the University of Arizona Instrument Shop.'

Advantages
In the testing of archaeological materials, the ball-on-three-ball technique has several distinct
advantages over traditional strength testing formats.
1. In many of the jigs employed in previous strength tests (e.g., three-point or four-point benders,
drop weight impacters), only flat specimens can rest fully and evenly upon the support bars or
rings-a requisite for reliable results. When curved samples are used in more traditional uniaxial
test jigs, the specimen contacts the support and loading bars at only a few points, resulting in the
uneven distribution of stresses and, sometimes, erroneous strength measurements.
By contrast, the three support balls placed at equal distances (Figure la) provide a platform upon
which curved specimens are firmly in contact with each support point (Ritter et al. 1980). In addition,
use of a loading ball instead of a piston or bar ensures full contact with the load point. Thus, the
application of load to the specimen is constant and the resulting stresses are more predictable.
2. In traditional bend tests, edge flaws from cutting or forming the specimen can cause premature
failure (Ritter et al. 1980). When a sherd or tile is tested in a uniaxial flexure format, cracks often

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712 AMERICANANTIQUITY [Vol. 59, No. 4, 1994]

initiate along the edges and propagate into and across the specimen. If this occurs, the test is actually
measuring the strength of the weakest area of the sample, the edge. Crack initiation must occur in
the interior of the sample to obtain accurate strength measurements. Since edge flaws depend largely
on techniques of sample preparation, researchers often spend long hours polishing specimen edges
in hopes of reducing edge-flaw failure.
In the biaxial test, stresses are bounded by the support balls, and crack initiation occurs under
the loading point. Ritter et al. (1980:419) found that specimen shape (square vs. circle) had no effect
on the stress distribution within the supports, and that the stresses at the edge of the specimen never
exceed about 30 percent of the maximum stress in the center. Thus, it is expected that premature
failure caused by irregular edge shape and uncontrolled edge flaws will not affect the strength
measurement. As a result, more accurate results are obtained and considerable time is saved in
specimen preparation.
3. Drop weight or pendulum impact testers repeatedly pound a test specimen until cracks appear
or the specimen fails, resulting in a measure of impact strength (Bronitsky 1986b; Bronitsky and
Hamer 1986; Mabry et al. 1988). Impact strength is based on several properties including specimen
toughness and strength. For instance, the force required for a specimen to fail after cracks have
initiated (as in Bronitsky and Hamer 1986) is a measure of toughness. Toughness or "work of
fracture" is the amount of energy needed to propagate a crack after it has started (West 1992), and
has a complex relationship with the property of strength. The buildup of flaws with each successive
impact reduces the utility of this approach for measuring true tensile strength.
In contrast, the ball-on-three-ball test increases the load on a sample at a constant rate until the
specimen fails, thus consistently measuring the amount of energynergy needed for crack initiation. Deg-
radation from successive impacts is avoided, and a maximum tensile strength is measured apart
from toughness. Other bending formats have proved useful for measuring toughness or work of
fracture (Feathers 1989; West 1992), and future experiments may prove the biaxial-flexure approach
applicable in this area as well. To summarize, the ball-on-three-ball format should increase the
reliability of strength measurements of archaeological ceramics by reducing irregular stresses, pre-
mature specimen failure, and specimen degradation through multiple impacts. This format also
greatly simplifies sample preparation by eliminating the effects of edge flaws. Essentially, the biaxial-
flexure test is easier to perform and provides more useful data than the three-point or four-point
bend test (Giovan and Sines 1979).

LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS: TESTING THE TESTER

The numerous experiments from materials science discussed above testify to the validity of the
biaxial flexure approach for testing samples of standard shapes, i.e., flat squares and circles. However,
to assess the appropriateness of using sherd-shaped samples in a domain traditionally restricted to
flat tiles, a test was needed to assess measurement error introduced by the use of irregular specimens.
An experimental design was developed to test the ability of the ball-on-three-ball technique to
overcome morphological variability expected in archaeological assemblages.
The experimental design rests on the premise that a tightly controlled, uniform manufacturing
process produces pottery with many standardized characteristics, including strength. Most pots, if
uniformly formed and fired, will be equally strong throughout, but many pots vary in wall thickness,
resulting in stronger or weaker areas. Therefore, if two sherds of different thicknesses were taken
from the same pot, their strengths would vary directly with thickness.
These principles suggest an appropriate experiment to evaluate the tester. By standardizing the
manufacturing process (clay, temper, forming, drying, and firing) and allowing thickness to vary,
one would expect a strong correlation between specimen strength and thickness, with any other
variation being caused by tile curvature, irregular tile outline, edge flaws, or inconsistencies in the
testing apparatus. Therefore, in this experiment, the correlation between thickness and load will be
considered to reflect the reliability of the ball-on-three-ball tester in measuring strength of sherd-
shaped assemblages. A strong correlation indicates low experimental error.

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 REPORTS 713

Experimental Procedures
All tests were conducted at the Laboratory of Traditional Technology (LTT) of the University of
Arizona. As many steps as possible conformed to American Society for Testing and Materials
(ASTM) guidelines for the piston-on-ring format (ASTM 1978). The ASTM establishes standard
methods for testing techniques and materials preparation to promote comparability of results
throughout the materials science community.

Sample Preparation
Two groups of laboratory-manufactured test tiles were processed: one made of a red ball clay,
and the other of Westwood EM210, a white clay-both untempered (see Appendix A for clay
compositions). Use of two clays increases our confidence in the test if consistent results are produced.
To simulate sherd morphology, specimen size and shape were varied when the tiles were cut from
rolled slabs of moist clay. The samples were air dried for three days then placed in a drying oven
at 89?C for four hours prior to firing. During drying, the specimens were allowed to warp slightly
to simulate variability introduced by minor sherd curvature. The samples were then fired in a
Paragon electric kiln controlled by an Orton Coneputer. The red ball clay tiles were fired at 900?C
and the Westwood EM210 at 850?C, both with a 30-minute soak in an oxidizing atmosphere. Both
groups were heated rapidly and allowed to cool slowly. Sample sizes were 52 (red ball clay) and 53
(EM2 10).
Specimen size was limited to a range testable in a l/2"radius support format. The spacing of the
three balls dictates some limits to specimen variation. If specimen thickness approaches the distance
between support balls or specimen overhang is great, extremely high stresses may result. It is
necessary to maintain a constant support spacing to ensure comparability of results.

Testing Procedures
1. The test specimen was centered on the three support balls, concave side down.
2. Load was applied at a constant rate of .25 mm/sec, which is significantly faster than in
traditional materials testing (1 mm/min), which perhaps better replicates real-world stresses to which
vessels are subjected.
3. Maximum load at failure (in pounds) was recorded digitally by a peak load indicator, which
was reset manually for each sample.
4. Thickness measurements were taken on all sample fragments at the point of failure, with the
mean of these representing sample thickness.

Results
The correlations between thickness (t) and maximum load (P) at failure were extremely high for
both clays (for EM210, r2 = .98, and for ball clay, r2 = .95). These results were obtained by squaring
the thickness values and applying a linear-regression model (Figures 2 and 3). The power transfor-
mation of thickness is suggested in the Modulus of Rupture formula of Kirstein and Woolley (1967),
which indicates a P/t2 relationship (Appendix B). However, a power regression model may be applied
to the untransformed data, resulting in correlations within .01 of the linear-regression values. These
strong correlations demonstrate that variation introduced by measurement error and sherd shape
is minimal. It appears that the ball-on-three-ball jig is suitable for testing irregularly shaped samples
and should yield results with minimal experimental error.

DATA MANIPULATION
Strength data recovered in these tests can be organized and manipulated in different ways. Ap-
proaches to interpretation largely depend upon sample attributes and research questions, and range
from calculating strength curves to basic comparisons of the distributions of raw data.

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714 AMERICANANTIQUITY [Vol. 59, No. 4, 19941

150 -
D /

o/

100- /

oJ l / l
50- 0

0
0 4 6 8 9 10

THICK
Figure 2. Load (kg) by thickness (mm)-P/t2, for red ball clay samples, r2 = .95. X-axis values were scaled
by a power of two to obtain the plot.

Strength Curves
By plotting the load withstood (P) and thickness (t) for each specimen, a strength curve can be
created for a pooled sample. The slope or strength curve of any sample is a product of the strength
properties of the material and testing geometry (Figures 2 and 3 are examples). It should then be
useful to compare strength curves between samples. Differences in intercept and slope indicate
overall differences in strength between clays and may provide some insights into the strength
behaviors of particular ceramic materials.
Although not directly applicable to archaeological specimens, the modulus of rupture formula
provides a model for understanding the stresses involved in the ball-on-three-ball test (Appendix
B). The first part of the formula describes the relation between load and specimen thickness, where
load (P) is multiplied by a constant then divided by thickness (t) squared times a constant. Thus,
when plotting the load-to-thickness correlation, it is appropriate to square the thickness data and
apply a linear-regression model.
To compare the strengths of samples of significantly different thicknesses, the linear regression
model with thickness squared (y ==a + b[x * x]) can be used to predict sample strength at a given
thickness. For example, given a thickness of 6 mm, the red ball clay (a = -25.443, b = 3.782)
withstands 111 lb (50.3 kg), while the EM210 (a = -12.468, b = 2.197) only 67 lb (30.4 kg) of
load. Clearly, the accuracy of this method depends upon the reliability of the regression model, but
it should prove useful for standardizing strength measures between samples with strong load-to-
thickness correlations.
It may be possible to assess the level of production control or standardization for assemblages
using the load-to-thickness correlations. In the above experiment, specimens produced in a highly
standardized process have strong load-to-thickness correlations. It is likely that as the level of control
over salient aspects of pottery production improves, the increasing standardization of strength will

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 REPORTS 715

150 -

o9

100 - oE

0 /

50- -

0 7 10 12

THICK
Figure 3. Load (kg) by thickness (mm)-P/t2, for Westwood EM210 samples, r2 = .98. X-axis values were
scaled by a power of two to obtain the plot.

be reflected in the load-to-thickness correlations. However, this process is extremely complex and
requires further investigation, perhaps through ethnoarchaeological studies.

Raw Distributions
In many cases, thickness variation within an assemblage may be small. In such a case it may not
be appropriate to plot strength curves. Instead, the distribution of load and thickness measurements
should be plotted and compared. Box plots can be used effectively to examine differences in strength
between groups through time, across a region, or within a site.
The EM2 10 and red ball clay experimental tiles were used to demonstrate a comparative analysis
of an archaeological assemblage with restricted thickness variation. Specimens between 5 and 6.5
mm were selected, N = 14 for EM2 10 and N = 11 for red ball clay. First, box-and-whisker plots
were made for load and thickness (Figures 4 and 5). Box plots present these data in a format
amenable to visual interpretation. In the box, the horizontal line indicates location of the sample
median, the box outlines and whisker extent locate sample quartiles. Outliers are indicated through
asterisks or circles. Figure 4 clearly shows that the red ball clay samples (median = 42.63 kg) are
stronger than the EM210 (median = 24.26 kg). Not surprisingly, Figure 5 shows little difference in
sample thickness between the clay groups.
To compare these groups statistically, nonparametric methods should be used. Many archaeo-
logical assemblages will not meet the assumptions of randomness, normal distribution, and sample
size required by parametric techniques, and in this kind of analysis, nonparametric tests are equally
strong. A Mann-Whitney U-test, or a Kruskall-Wallis if more than three groups are compared, can
be used to test for location, nonparametrically determining the statistical significance of these
differences. For load, the Mann-Whitney U-test determined a significant difference in sample location

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716 AMERICANANTIQUITY [Vol. 59, No. 4, 1994]

70 -

60 -

50 -

0j -
40

30 -

20 -

10 t
ba em

TYPE
Figure 4. Box-and-whisker plot of load (kg) for EM210 (em) and red ball clay (ba). Center line locates sample
median, whereas box outlines and whisker extent locate sample quartiles.

7 -

6-

5-

4
ba em
TYPE

Figure 5. Box-and-whisker plot of thickness (mm) for EM210 (em) and red ball clay (ba). Center line locates
sample median, while box outlines and whisker extent locate sample quartiles.

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 REPORTS 717

(U = 140.5; df = 1; p = .0005). While for thickness, the test failed to reject the null hypothesis of
no significant difference (U = 80.5; df= 1; p = .85).

ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Testing the strength of archaeological sherds may provide additional lines of evidence for solving
many archaeological puzzles. However, three problems inherent in testing archaeological sherds
must be considered: use alteration, formation processes, and morphology.

Use Alteration
The wear and tear of use may reduce ceramic strength, particularly through thermal exposure.
Thermal shock is an important factor in strength loss of whole vessels (Bronitsky 1986b; Bronitsky
and Hamer 1986; Schiffer and Skibo 1989; Steponaitis 1984), but long-term thermal cycling may
be much more important to strength loss in discarded sherds than discrete thermal shock events
(Schiffer et al. 1994; Skibo 1992). Vessel attrition caused by abrasion may also reduce ceramic
strength (Skibo 1992). Water storage vessels may experience strength loss as a result of carbonate
leaching (Maggetti 1982), while vessels with organic coatings may see an increase in strength as a
result of pore cementation (Schiffer et al. 1994).

Formation Processes
Similarly, natural processes within the depositional context influence measured remnant strength
(Schiffer 1987). Physicochemical processes likely to cause changes in the properties of ancient
ceramics include freeze-thaw cycles (Skibo et al. 1989), salt erosion (O'Brien 1990), the actions of
bacteria and plants, and the alkalinity or acidity of the soil (Bronitsky 1986a). Variations in de-
such as soil salinity, alkalinity, and moisture content, may affect strength
positional environmenvironments,
through the cementation or leaching of pores (Maggetti 1982). Studies that have investigated com-
positional changes in sherds during deposition (e.g., Freeth 1967; Heimann and Maggetti 1981)
have determined that ancient ceramics that show no physical deterioration have a subsurface com-
that
position corresponding to the sherd's composition at the time of deposition (Franklin and Vitali
1985). At this time, however, the amount of mechanical degradation caused by natural processes
is largely unknown.

Sherd Morphology
Sherd morphology may also influence test results. First, higher curvature will increase the strength
of the specimen in this test format, with greater curvature resulting in a decrease in tensile stress
while compressive stress increases. The above experiments illustrated that minor variability in shape
and curvature has little effect, but the experiment does not simulate the variability seen in some
archaeological assemblages. Additionally, irregular parts of vessels such as rims, handles, spouts,
and legs will create problems through variations in thickness, curvature, and forming techniques.

Designing a Sampling Strategy

Presently, the precise effects of cultural and noncultural processes on ceramic strength are poorly
known and there is a need for experimental and ethnoarchaeological studies to address these issues.
The application of rigorous criteria for selecting specimens can help to reduce the variation and
overall degradation introduced by such processes. The problem of remnant or residual strength
(sensu Steponaitis 1984) still remains, but a thoughtful sampling strategy may lessen its effect.
To improve estimates of original vessel strength, it is suggested that sherds be from noncooking
vessels, unweathered and unworn (i.e., with good surface condition), from similar depositional
contexts within a given site, targeting protected environments and excluding sherds from the present-
day ground surface or thermal features. Refitting studies are recommended, as testing multiple
sherds from single vessels will artificially increase the apparent level of strength standardization.

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718 AMERICANANTIQUITY [Vol. 59, No. 4, 1994]

In selecting sherds for analysis, one should also control for vessel part. Sherds from certain vessel
parts are excluded (e.g., rims, necks, handles, and spouts) in order to improve the quality of strength
data. Generic body sherds will give the most reliable strength data. It is also recommended that
sherds with consistent curvatures be tested.
This selection strategy may be altered to address different research questions. For example, cooking
vessels may be selected to investigate the effects of thermal shock on strength or sherds from the
present-day ground surface may be compared to buried sherds to determine the effects of weathering.
Nevertheless, to investigate differences in original ceramic strength the proposed selection strategy
is recommended.

AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXAMPLE
The first comprehensive application of biaxial strength testing was conducted as part of the recent
Transwestern Pipeline Expansion Project in northern New Mexico and Arizona (Neupert 1993).
Over 750 sherds from 12 wares and numerous types were tested from a dozen sites across the
northern Southwest. This analysis demonstrated the utility of strength data for addressing (1) reasons
for and rates of technological change, (2) regional technological variability and the sharing of tech-
nological knowledge between geographically separate communities, and (3) the masking of tech-
nologically distinct performance groups by stylistic typologies. Strength data also proved useful in
targeting samples for chemical characterization studies.
An informative example involves the investigation of technological changes in Cibola White Ware
during the period from A.D. 700 to 1200. Cibola White Ware has a wide distribution across much
of the Southwest, ranging from the northern San Juan Basin tothe upper Gila River drainages in
the south, and from the White Mountains east to the Acoma-Laguna area. Cibola White Ware is
generally distinguished from other whitewares by the presence of sherd temper, or a combination
of sherd and sand temper, along with black mineral paint. However, earlier types are predominantly
sand tempered (Goetze and Mills 1993a). This change from sand to sherd temper in the Cibola
White Ware sequence was observed within the Transwester assemblages.
Archaeologists have long hypothesized about the reasons for technological change in archaeological
ceramics, and Shepard (1965:130) suggests that "In the study of a ceramic sequence it is pertinent
to ask if there was consistent improvement in the technical quality of pottery." To approach the
question of tempering changes and their impact on "technical quality," 365 sherds from seven sites
in the San Juan Basin and upper Puerco River drainages were tested. Without the ability to determine
precisely the production loci of each sherd, a regional or ware-level approach is most appropriate.
Therefore, sherds from the different sites are pooled by stylistic type. The classifications and date
ranges are based on recent descriptions in the literature (see Geozte and Mills 1993a, 1993b). The
sampling strategy outlined above was followed, and every sherd that fulfilled the requirements and
could be typed with confidence was tested. Minimum specimen size, as determined by the test jig,
drastically reduced the number of testable sherds still further.
In general, strength increases steadily throughout the Cibola White Ware sequence (Figure 6), an
unsurprising trend given the shift from sand to sherd temper. Clearly, crushed sherds, with their
rougher surfaces, form a stronger body than water-worn sand, an effect several archaeologists have
discussed (Braun 1983; Bronitsky and Hamer 1986: Shepard 1965; West 1992). However, with the
chronological control this assemblage provides, the rate of change in strength can be observed. In
this case, the technological shift is a steady improvement taking place over several generations of
potters.
Several other factors could be influencing this strength increase, including changes in wall thickness,
clay composition, and firing techniques. Thickness shows only a slight increase, .5 mm, over the
same period, thus making a small contribution to the strength change. Clay chemistry does not
appear to play a role, for composititional analysis conducted by Zedenio et al. (1993) demonstrated
no noticeable changes in clay source utilization throughout the sequence. Unfortunately, the exact
firing technology used by the Cibola potters in the study area remains unknown, leaving this area
of influence problematic. In the final assessment, it seems very likely that temper selection is a
significant contributor to the strength change.

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 REPORTS 719

250 -

200 -
0 * *
X

150 - * *

0 *
_j
100 -

50- T

0 I I I I I
775. 875. 975. 1025. 1063. 1088.
DATE
Figure6. Box-and-whiskerplot for Cibola White Ware Black-on-whitevarieties,orderedby mediandate of
type. Asterisks and circles locate outliers.

Regardless of the precise contributions of every technical variable, Cibola potters enhanced ce-
ramic strength by about 70 period from A.D. 700 to 1200. The reasons for this
"improvement in technical quality" are likely related to important strength-based performance
characteristics. Both producers and consumers of Cibola White Ware may have valued durability,
serviceability, and transportability, and in these areas increased strength should serve to extend
vessel use life, broaden vessel function, and facilitate the expansion of trade and exchange networks.
Thus, the efforts of Cibola potters in increasing ceramic strength probably resulted in enhanced
vessel performance in key areas of ceramic technology.
The technological change in Cibola White Ware also has important implications for the formation
of the archaeological record. As Cibola White Ware vessels increased in strength, two processes
may have occurred. First, given consistent use practices, vessel use life would lengthen (Deal 1983),
thus introducing fewer broken pots to the archaeological record. Second, once pots had been dis-
carded, the stronger ones would better withstand various reductive formation processes including
trampling (Nielsen 1991), producing fewer and thus larger sherds. These processes may result in an
underrepresentation in the number of later, stronger sherds in the excavated assemblages. On the
other hand, however, larger sherds from stronger vessels would be easier to identify by type.
In the Cibola case, during the period from A.D. 700 to 1200 (Table 1), strength increases by 70.6
percent, going from 54.5 lb median load for White Mound Black-on-white to 93.0 lb for Puerco
Black-on-white. This increase should be reflected in the size of the excavated sherds. Since there
was only a slight increase in wall thickness, calculating mean sherd weight by type should provide
an adequate measure of sherd size, which increases by 61 percent over the same period, starting at
10 g for White Mound Black-on-white and ending at 16.1 g for Puerco Black-on-white. A Spearman
rank correlation coefficient of sherd strength and weight paired by type shows a significant positive
association (r = .83; p = .02). The size measurements are taken from the Cibola White Ware
assemblages of the upper Puerco River basin sites (over 3,500 typed Cibola White Ware sherds), a
subregion within the project area. Although the depositional context of these sherds is uncontrolled,
the results suggest that strength plays a major role in the formation of ceramic assemblages. This
clearly has serious implications for inferences based on numbers of sherds (Orton 1993). For example,

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720 AMERICANANTIQUITY [Vol. 59, No. 4, 1994]

Table 1. Changesin SherdStrengthand Size Throughoutthe

Cibola White WareSequence.

Assemblages from Upper

Cibola White Ware Tested Sherds Puerco River Sites
Sequence from All Sites Mean
Mean
Median Median Thick- Mean
Date Load ness Weight
(A.D.)a Type N (lbs) N (mm) (gm)
775 White Mound 20 54.5 601 4.6 10.0
875 Kiatuthlanna 18 63.5 44 4.9 7.3
975 Red Mesa 68 74.5 266 5.0 11.6
1025 Escavada 92 78.0 582 5.1 13.8
1063 Gallup 123 83.0 1,649 5.3 13.1
1088 Puerco 44 93.0 366 5.0 16.1
a From Goetze and Mills 1993b.

since the stronger, later vessels may last longer and produce fewer sherds upon breakage, a seriation
based on the number of sherds by type in the Cibola sequence may result in site dates that are older
than the actual date of site use.

CONCLUSIONS
With the development of the biaxial flexure approach, a reliable technique for testing the strength
of archaeological ceramics is now available. Therefore, the adoption of strength testing by archae-
ologists should now allow strength data to be used to answer many other research questions. Strength
data may have broad relevance in archaeological research and so should be considered during any
comprehensive ceramic analysis. To facilitate this end, the ball-on-three-ball format overcomes
problems hindering the testing of archaeological samples. The ball-on-three-ball biaxial flexure test
is not only easier to use than traditional three-point or four-point benders, but also supplies more
accurate and appropriate data. To provide interpretive flexibility, two approaches for comparative
analyses of strength data are given that accommodate the limitations of archaeological assemblages.
Additionally, problems inherent in testing archaeological materials have been addressed and a
sampling strategy proposed to respond to these limitations. An example from the American South-
west demonstrates the utility of strength data for investigating changes in prehistoric ceramic tech-
nology and the influence of strength on the formation of the archaeological record. The advances
discussed in this paper should stimulate the adoption of strength testing by other ceramic analysts,
for strength data provide an additional line of evidence with broad applicability for archaeological
inquiry.

Acknowledgments. A grant from the Research Corporation provided funds for the universal test stand and
other equipment. Funds to fabricate the ball-on-three-ball adapter were provided by a grant to Michael B. Schiffer
from the National Science Foundation (BNS 89-0179).
I thank Michael Schiffer and James Skibo for their ideas, criticisms, and encouragement, and Brian Fabes
and W. David Kingery for their advice on the materials-science aspects of this project. Barbara Mills provided
the opportunity to work on the Transwestem assemblages. In addition, J. Jefferson Reid, William Longacre,
David Killick, Charles Bollong, Maria Nieves Zedeno, Sharon Manship, and several American Antiquity referees
supplied helpful comments and suggestions. Figure 1 was drafted by Barbara Montgomery.

APPENDIX A
The red ball clay used in this experiment was prepared at the Laboratory of Technology by Steven
West using the following recipe:
One part Lincoln fire clay
One part talc

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 REPORTS 721

One part ball clay (OM4)

Six parts red art clay
Westwood EM2 10 is a white, premoistened commercial clay with a very fine texture. The recipe
is proprietary information, but basic compositional data have been published by Vaz Pinto et al.
(1987:130).

APPENDIX B

For controlled laboratory experiments with standardized test specimens, a materials-science ap-
proach using the modulus of rupture formula (MOR) of Kirstein and Woolley can be used. The
MOR equation is designed to standardize strength results between different-sized specimens and
testing setups, thus providing an intrinsic strength for each specimen.
For calculating MOR, Kirstein and Woolley (1967) proposed a special application of Bassali's
(1957) solution for symmetric bending of a thin rigid elastic plate supported at several points (Shetty
et al. 1980). The maximum tensile stress at the center of the lower face is given by:

3P(1 + v)[ a (1 -v){ b2{a2

O'max= 47rt2 [ +2 n +
I ) 2a2R

Where P is load, t is specimen thickness, a is radius of the circle of support points, b is the radius
of the region of uniform loading at the center (b = t/3 [Shetty et al. 1980]), R is the radius of the
specimen, and v Poisson's ratio (.25 for low fired-ceramics).
However, this formula is commonly used when several support points are employed, and in the
piston-on-three-ball test, nonuniform loading leads to uncertainty in the stresses produced in the
specimen, rendering results from the MOR formula suspect (Ritter et al. 1980). Nevertheless, the
three-point support format is useful for assessing relative strength and standardization, where precise
knowledge of fracture stress is not critical (Ritter et al. 1980; Shetty et al. 1980).

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NOTE
1 As in bend tests, a test stand is needed to apply the ball-on-three-ball technique. At the Laboratory of
Traditional Technology we are fortunate to have our own. However, most universities have universal test stands,
usually in materials science or mechanical engineering departments. Following the design of the Figure la-b,
the ball-on-three-ball jig can be fabricated inexpensively in most campus tool shops (ours cost around $200).

Received May 8, 1992; accepted April 7, 1994

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