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Craft specialization, a concomitant of evolving social complexity, is regarded as a process of regulating variety in extractive or productive activities. A trial model for the evolution of specialization in pottery production is presented, together with test implications for the archaeological recognition of specialized production. Emphasis is on standardization vs. variability or diversity in decorative, technological, and formal pottery attributes. A partial test of the model is made using ceramic data from the Maya site of Barton Ramie, Belize. Specialization is hypothesized to begin in "elite" goods, which are also more elaborated, while "utilitarian" goods are more standardized.
Rice et al. (Mon,) studied this question.