Neolithic fingerprints spotted on fragment of miniature pot

By Roy Towers

We are conducting at the moment an intensive re-examination of the miniature pots from the Ness, which are such a distinctive and exciting element in our vast ceramic assemblage. Previous work on this distinct assemblage was completed last year by one of our UHI Archaeology Institute students Jonni McCoy, but we wished to add to her study.

We call them miniature pots rather than thumb pots because they were not all made by simply pressing thumbs into clay. In fact, many are beautifully fashioned and have carefully incised and applied decoration in imitation of their big brothers. 

This morning, I examined a small piece from a broken miniature pot from Trench X, which had temporarily been misplaced and excluded from Jonni’s study. It has a flat base and the wall of the pot rises at a slight outward angle from the base. To our delight, the exterior wall of the pot has two very distinct fingerprints impressed into the clay, the surviving marks of the potter 5,000 years ago. These are the first fingerprints found on miniature pots and appear relatively large suggesting they were created by an adult. 

Continuing work at the Ness of Brodgar is full of surprises. We will tell you if we find more fingerprints on our pots, and these new ones will be sent for examination to our fingerprint expert in Canada, Professor Kent Fowler at the University of Manitoba.