부산대학교 도서관

The inclusion of ceramic thin section data from multiple sites in the SEAD environmentalarchaeology database provides an opportunity for not only examining the distribution of organic temperin Sweden, but also for an analysis of the pros and cons of research using a large-scale data infrastructure.This paper uses an extract of over 40 years of semi-quantitative data, primarily collected at the now disbandedCeramics Research Laboratory in Lund, to examine the evidence for the use of organic tempersin Swedish pottery. These observations are interpreted in terms of the craft traditions in the region’s prehistory,discussed with respect to their potential implications, and put in the context of similar traditionsin Asia. The discussion points to a limited, selective transference of organic tempering technology fromthe east to Sweden. The experience of the authors in digitising and working with these data is then usedas the basis for a discussion on the challenges and potentials of using large-scale multi-site databases forsynthesis research. The conclusion is that the potential for creating and exploring new lines of enquiryinto the material outweighs the difficulties.