Tradition and innovation in pottery forming technology: wheel-throwing at Middle Minoan Knossos

This paper examines ceramic evidence from Middle Minoan Knossos in an attempt to chart the introduction and development of wheel-throwing technology in Minoan pottery. The technique of wheel-throwing comes into its own in Middle Minoan I B, coeval with the construction of the first palaces and a number of other major changes. Although there are some indications that there could have been some degree of internal evolution towards this point, it also appears that outside contacts with the Near East may have contributed to the innovation process. The main aim is to elucidate the dynamics of choice that led to the adoption and subsequent development of the wheel-throwing innovation. Whilst the use of the wheel is generally considered as a technical development, it is argued here that, in the initial stages, its adoption by certain Minoan potters was as much influenced by socio-political as by technical factors.