On the Argument From Ceramics to History: A Challenge Based on Evidence From Medieval Nubia [and Comments and Reply]

The assumption that major changes in pottery closely reflect change in other areas of culture has been widely accepted by prehistorians, but it has seldom been tested against independent historical or ethnographic evidence. It is here suggested, on the basis of dated pottery types and of independently dated historical developments, that there is not necessarily a close connection between the two. The evidence for this conclusion is derived from historically dated archaeological contexts in ancient and medieval Nubia.