Shiung Chung-Ching
Earthenware with Incised Geometric Decoration in the Moluccas, Indonesia:
Its Origin, Evolution, and Possible Socio-cultural Meanings
ABSTRACT
Earthenware production appeared in the Moluccas, Indonesia since the beginning of the Neolithic period around 3,500 BP. Although red-slip is the most popular cultural trait of earthenware in the early Neolithic period, geometric incision can also be observed from PA1 of the Banda Islands. This research aims to explore and compare first the population change of red-slipped and geometrically incised pottery. It then attempts to link the thriving yet constraint trends of incised geometric earthenware with the processes of social complexity in the later Metal Age.