Abstract:
This is an analytical study of ancient pottery recovered from the Lower Kirindi oya Basin
(LKB) in Hambantota district of the Southern Province. In the period between 1999 and
2002, an area of 300 km2 around the Tissamaharama town were surveyed as a part of a
project designed to research urban origins of Southern Sri Lanka. 128 hitherto unknown
archaeological sites comprising a dense surface scattering of ancient potsherds have
been discovered as a result of the survey. Eight locations among them were selected for
excavation Present study is based on an assamblage of archaeological pottery obtained
through excavations.
This paper seeks to present the new typological classification, which derived from the
analysis. The methodology of the new classification can be discussed under two
headings i.e., the practical aspect interpretative approach of the analysis.
The data derived from an ethnographic survey conducted in the lower Kirindi Oya basin
was used assuming the probable vessel function and their technology. Identification of
the shape of a vessel was considered as the major requirement for interpretation. The
physical appearance of vessel including surface treatment and the design elaborated
might have been inspired by the potter’s psyche and with number of other factors. This
leads us to understand the significance of having a polythetic approach in typological
classification considering both aspects of utilitarian and collective social psychology and
their governing factors, of pottery manufacture in the past.
