Reconstructing change in firing technology during the Final Neolithic–Early Bronze Age transition in Phaistos, Crete,

ChangesinfiringpracticehavebeensuggestedasrepresentingarevolutioninceramictechnologyatthebeginningoftheBronze AgeinCrete.Theintroductionofkilnstructureshasbeenheldresponsibleforsuchachange,perhapsbynewcomerstotheisland, along with other innovative technologies. However, these hypotheses were often based on limited analytical data and mostly on macroscopicexamination.Thispaperre-examinesthesuggestionofatransformationinfiringtechnologyatthebeginningofthe BronzeAgebypresentinganalysesoftherichceramicassemblagefromthesiteofPhaistosinSouth-CentralCrete,whichoffers a rare, good stratigraphic sequence from the end of the Final Neolithic into the Early Bronze Age. Here, firing technology is reconstructedbymacroscopicexamination ofcolouracrossvesselbreaks,bySEMexaminationandFT-IR analysis.Thisallows the reconstruction of temperature ranges and firing rates over the phases considered and a re-assessment of changes in firing technology, revealing a more multi-faceted pattern of change. Finally, changes in firing procedure are contextualised in the overall ceramic operational sequence, revealing a complex, stepped picture of change in ceramic production over the transition from the Final Neolithic