Some of the previous studies about ceramics in Sri Lanka

Ceramics has been a vital study area in archaeology from its first periods of antiquarianism. Gradually it became a systematic study area with the development of chronological methods and classification approaches. Sir Flinders Petri and his contemporary scientist had identified the place of ceramics in subject, but the pioneers as H.C.P. Bell and his successors in Sri Lankan archaeological context were not highly concern about the value of ceramics as an artifact to reveal the past. However some other scientists in various fields of natural sciences gave their contribution to the development of the ceramic studies in both archaeological and ethnological sections. In here we like to consider about the works which done by the scientists and researchers who belonging into the both fields.

Established caste system is a major starting point for vary of study field in Sri Lanka, so do for ceramic studies. Some of the first studies about the caste were based on historical resources as Tennent (1860), and some are with the caste system in their contemporary society as Robert Knox (1681), A.C. Lawrie (1896) and A.K. Kumaraswami (1908). Knox lived intact with the castes and got to know the status of potters in Kandyan social hierarchy. Potter villages in central province and their general service bond with elites and religious places as tenants can found in Lawrie's (1896,441,476). Kumaraswami is a leading character, who distributed his wide and deep knowledge through a large span of research areas of this country. Latter Kandyan and early 20th century societal groups of potters, who known in Sinhalese as ‘badahalaya' or ‘kumbala', was in their service of feudal system by that time, hence they were become rich source to Kumaraswami. In his ‘Medieval Sinhalese arts' (1908), a vivid explanation comes about ceramics with a vernacular related utilitarian approach, including shape and size data, which still regards as one of first masterpieces of ceramic studies in Sri Lanka. In 1970s' and forth, Deborah Winslow, an American anthropologist, conducted her researches to study the world and national influences on economic change among rural pottery makers in Sri Lanka by selecting a model village called Walangama, in Kurunagala district of North Western province, which inhabits by potters who became caste and primary occupation (Winslow, 2002,155) can regard as one of the most recent study on potters caste and ceramics. Village was took by her as a part of regional system and analyzed the regional social systems of deities, marriage and weekly markets of potters (ibid, 162). Further her consideration was on economical behaviors of potters with the government interventions as from department of small industries department and new changes of it with the main political and social changes as 1977 - the open economy policy and Mahavali development projects (Winslow, 1999, 16-17). Her works cannot consider among archaeological studies, but it is the first ethnological research conducted in a long period of time (and still) about ceramics and potters in a selected region.

In the mid 20th century, P.E.P. Deraniyagala fans the fame of the path of archaeology in Sri Lanka by his school of natural scientific approach. His excavations in pre and proto historic sites as Bellanbandipalassa, Inner city of Anuradhapura, Pomparippu, etc., revealed new knowledge in to the subject. Ceramics found from the inner city was considered first time for establish a ceramic typology by analyzing their Physical and mechanical properties as paste and temper composition (ASCAR, 1957,26) however not a success due to errors in the method used for soil layer recording. An attempt to identify the vessel functions by its associating archaeological context can see from his report of Pomparippu excavation, in it he further tried to describe about shapes of ceramics by using geometric terms as ‘ovaloid without upper portion', (ibid, 19) but alike his previous ceramic studies, it was ended prematurely without a definite assessment.

Sri Lankan young scholars has exposed to new concepts of world archaeology and transmission of new knowledge with experienced foreign scholars can see from the mid of the last century and some researchers belonging to first group made an effort to find new aspect about ceramics. Gunasekara, Prematilleke and Silva (1971), identified the form of the vessels as an important factor to create a typology and based on some of current vernacular names and historical and folk sources for some extent. Classification grounded by them on ethnographic analogy of ceramic was subsequently drew some archaeologists for continue and develop it into an archaeological use in their works, as Prematilleke (1982), Ratnayake (1982); both are directors of Central Cultural Fund projects at Alahana pirivena and Jetavanaramaya respectively.

Siran Deraniyagala identified that classification of ceramic by that time in Sri Lanka is totally not found the requirements of archaeological explanations. After his short survey at Kollan Kanatta in 1971, he opt to get familiar with ceramics on ethnographic base and select Anna Shepard's (1954) methods as a systematic base. This was put in action for analyze the results of Citadel excavation of 1969, Bellan Bandi Palassa excavation of 1970 (both in 1972) and the survey done by himself with W.G. Solheim (1972) to investigate South-East Asian prehistoric presence in Sri Lanka. In all these, he suggested using the variables such as paste texture, surface luster and surface color in archaeological classification of ceramics, for the first time in Sri Lankan archaeological field and later he published a review of it (1984).

At the end of 1980s' another study was done by J. Bouzek and M. Kuna presented their results concerning the development of pottery, which were obtained during excavations at Anuradhapura Abhayagiriya. This study was focuses on the development of the vessels forms (Schenk, 2001,59). Another archaeological site based study on the ceramics excavated from ancient urban mound at Akurugoda, Tissamaharamaya was done by H. Schnek (Schenk,2001).

Most recently in the last decade another archaeological observation was took place in the Tissamaharamaya region, which was widely differing from the many of previous site base studies, distinctly inaugurated within a regional approach, in Lower Kirindi Oya basin done by Raj Somadeva and others. Pottery remains recovered from this survey and excavations are consecutively analyzed with the data recorded from ethnographic surveys of the region by R.B. Dissanayake (2005). Pottery shreds are classified along with considering its functions, functional attributes and manufacturing technologies (Dissanayake, 2005). Collaborative work of Nimal de Silva and Dissanayake (2008) sent forth the ceramic studies of Sri Lanka by preparing a catalogue of ancient pottery from Sri Lanka (Silva & Dissanayake, 2008).

All aforementioned researches can regard as the milestones of ceramic archaeological studies of Sri Lanka, but beside to these, there are many other studies done by many researchers, both professionals as same as the apprentice archaeologists, who gave their contribution to fame the path of the archaeology by going through various aspects and approaches. Archaeology is a dynamic subject, working collaborative with all other major disciplines; consequently we can create paths to dark corners of the unknown past. Since the emergence of the ceramics to the world and to Sri Lankan history, it possesses a vital value in the attempts of revealing the past, so can use efficiently in future studies.