Pot luck: adventures in archaeology

371 Pages·1997·2.52 MB·English

by  Florence Cline Lister

title: Pot Luck : Adventures in Archaeology
author: Lister, Florence Cline.
publisher: University of New Mexico
isbn10 | asin: 082631760X
print isbn13: 9780826317605
ebook isbn13: 9780585187822
language: English
Lister, Florence Cline, Women
archaeologists--Southwest, New--
subject Biography, Indian pottery--Southwest, New-
-Analysis, Pottery, Ancient--Africa--
Analysis, Pottery, Ancient--Spain--Analysis.
publication date: 1997
lcc: E78.S7L62 1997eb
ddc: 930.1/092
Lister, Florence Cline, Women
archaeologists--Southwest, New--
subject: Biography, Indian pottery--Southwest, New-
-Analysis, Pottery, Ancient--Africa--
Analysis, Pottery, Ancient--Spain--Analysis.
Page i
Pot Luck
Page ii
Page iii
Pot Luck
Adventures in Archaeology
Florence C. Lister
University of New Mexico Press
Albuquerque
Page iv
© 1997 by the University of New Mexico Press.
All Rights Reserved. Second paperbound printing, 1997.
Library of Congress
Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lister, Florence Cline.
Pot luck : adventures in archaeology
/ Florence C. Lister. 1st ed.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-8263-1760-X
1. Lister, Florence Cline.
2. Women archaeologistsSouthwest,
NewBiography.
3. Indian potterySouthwest, NewAnalysis.
4. Pottery, AncientAfricaAnalysis.
5. Pottery, AncientSpainAnalysis. I. Title.
E78.S7L62 1997
930.1'092dc20
[B]
96-10006
CIP
Page v
My paean of
joy and thanksgiving
for Bob, Frank, and Gary,
and the potters of the world
Page vii
Contents
Foreword ix
Preface xi
How It Began 1
M for Mesoamerica 15
At Home in the Southwest 47
Off to Africa 61
With a Spanish Accent 87
About Bob 165
Index 181
Page ix
Foreword
In their foreword to Hidden Scholars: Women Anthropologists and the
Native American Southwest, Nathalie and Richard Woodbury observe
that in the past many women were "too often a part of the background
of southwestern studies" and rarely gained the prominence of their
male counterparts. Florence Lister always has been reticent to take her
place among the women and men who have contributed to a better
understanding of human history, but this book helps to set the record
straight.
Though her contributions are reflected in a long string of books,
monographs, and articles, this book differs from earlier works in two
significant ways. First, she is the sole author, a role she would not
have chosen, but which was caused by the untimely death of Bob, her
cherished husband and long-time collaborator. Second, this is a
"behind-the-scenes" book that not only gives the reader an
understanding of scientific inquiry, but also a good sense of the
serendipity that often characterizes good analytical research.
The book has other strong merits. Through a variety of exquisitely
drawn vignettes, Florence ably conveys the importance of ceramic
studies to anthropology. Her effectiveness in doing so comes from
having been deeply involved in essentially every task associated with
producing, using, and studying pottery. This is a woman who, among
other things, has washed potsherds, analyzed paste and temper,
thrown and fired pots, cooked frijoles in ollas, and compared notes on
maiolica production centers with the small set of world experts on that
subject (of which she is a leading member). She also rather
effortlessly helps us to see how ceramics can serve as