Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
This paper comprises a survey of selected publications describing various kinds of design analyses applied to pottery from two regions of the world that are relatively well known archaeologically: the U.S. Southwest and the Near East. My purpose is simply to demonstrate some progress, some problems, and some potentialities of this form of archaeological analysis as it has been used in these two geographic areas where painted pottery makes up a large and significant proportion of the prehistoric record.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Patty Jo Watson (1977) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: