Gloria London earned B.A.’s in Geography and Prehistory (1973) and an M.A. in the Archaeology of Eretz-Israel (1975) at Tel Aviv University. She studied petrography at the University of Southampton in the U.K. before going to Leiden University to work with H.J. Franken and potter J. Kalsbeek. There she learned to appreciate clay from the perspective of a potter. At the University of Arizona, London studied with W.A. Longacre and W.G. Dever, earning a PhD in 1985.
As the first of Longacre’s students to carry out ceramic ethnoarchaeological fieldwork in the Philippines, London lived among craft specialists in southern Luzon Island. To test her results, she began a long-term ethnoarchaeological project in Cyprus that continues to this day. Her purpose is to investigate the complexity of the ancient pottery industry and the role of female potters. Grants and fellowships (ASOR, Fulbright, NEH, and CAORC) enabled Gloria’s extensive research.
From 1969 through 1984, London joined excavations and surveys in Israel and later in Jordan (1989–2008). London began by drawing architectural plans, pottery, and scarabs. While working at Museum Ha’aretz (now Eretz Israel Museum) she carried out survey fieldwork and traveled with Bedouin in the Sinai desert (1972–1974). Their innate understanding of the desert fauna and flora led Gloria to understand the importance of local knowledge. Weariness with the accepted assessment of pottery, exclusively for chronological purposes, catapulted her to continue her studies in the U.K., Holland, and U.S. Her books deal with ancient ceramic technology and ethnoarchaeology.
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News
NEW BOOKS:
An Examination of the Stratigraphy and Neolithic-Iron Age from Tel Jezreel, Area A.
C. Whiting and G. London. AASOR 73. 2021.
Wine Jars and Jar Markers of Cyprus: The Ethnoarchaeology of Pitharia.
G. London, PB 188. SIMA. 2020.
The book can be found here.
Review by Sophocles Hadjisavvas in AJA.
NEW ARTICLES:
Ceramics and Ethnoarchaeology. Gloria London. Pp. 215–235 in: T&T Clark Handbook of Food in the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel, eds. J. Fu, C. Shafer-Elliott, and C. Meyers. London: T&T Clark. 2022.
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Education
Ph.D. Ancient Near Eastern Studies. University of Arizona 1985.
Dissertation: Decoding Designs: The Late Third Millennium B.C.
Pottery from Jebel Qa'aqir 1985.
M.A. Ancient Cultures of the Near East. Tel Aviv University 1976.
B.A. Prehistory. Tel Aviv University 1973.
B.A. Geography. Tel Aviv University 1973.
Philadelphia High School for Girls 1968.
Gratz College Hebrew High School, Philadelphia.
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Books
An Examination of the Stratigraphy and Neolithic-Iron Age from Tel Jezreel, Area A.
C. Whiting and G. London, 2021.
Wine Jars and Jar Markers of Cyprus: The Ethnoarchaeology of Pitharia.
G. London, PB 188. SIMA. 2020.
The book can be found here.
Review by Sophocles Hadjisavvas in AJA.
Ancient Cookware from the Levant: An Ethnoarchaeological Perspective.
G. London. Sheffield: Equinox. 2016.
Reviewed by Mara T. Horowitz. Ethnoarchaeology 11:1, 95-96, DOI: 10.1080/19442890.2019.1573291
Ancient Ammonites and Modern Arabs.
G. London and D. R. Clark. Author and Co-Editor. Amman: ACOR. 1997.
Traditional Pottery in Cyprus.
G. London. Mainz: Philipp von Zabern. 1989.
Decoding Designs: The Late Third Millennium B.C. Pottery from Jebel Qaaqir.
G. London, Ph.D. University of Arizona. 1985.
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Editorial Work
Editorial Board: Journal of Ethnoarchaeology, 2012 - current.
Leiden Journal of Pottery Studies, 2004 - 2012.
Editor, ASOR Archaeological Reports Series (ARS), 1996 - 2003.
Editorial Committee, The Biblical Archaeologist, 1993 - 1997.
Abstract preparation for Abstracts in Anthropology, 1981 - 1982.
Editorial Assistant, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 1980 - 1981.
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Projects
My Original Video on Traditional Pottery Making in Cyprus
Watch it here:
Women Potters of Cyprus
Bicommunial Event
Special Grant: U.S. Embassy in Cyprus Bicommunal Grant to conduct a 4-day Pottery Partners Workshop, 2001, at the Ledra Palace Hotel, Nicosia Buffer Zone, for modern Cypriot potters and children with Master Potter Maurice Grossman.
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Publications
Here is my
Google Scholar profile.
An Examination of the Stratigraphy and Neolithic-Iron Age from Tel Jezreel, Area A.
C. Whiting and G. London, 2021.
Neolithic-Iron Age Pottery from Area A at Tel Jezreel. Pp. 43-282 in: An Examination of the Stratigraphy and Neolithic-Iron Age from Tel Jezreel, Area A. C. Whiting and G. London. Annual of the American Schools of Overseas Research 73. 2021.
Ceramics and Ethnoarchaeology. In: T&T Clark Handbook to Food in the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel, eds. J. Fu, C. Shafer-Elliott, and C. Meyers. 2021.
One Potter: Multiple Clay Body Types. Pp. 355-367 in: Transitions, Urbanism, and Collapse in the Bronze Age. Essays in Honor of Suzanne Richard, eds. J. C. Long Jr. and W. G. Dever. Equinox. 2021a.
The Pot Detective, Pitharia, and Traditional Pottery at CAARI. Pp. 157-170 in: All Things Cypriot: Studies on Ancient Environment, Technology, and Society in Honor of Stuart Swiny, eds. W. Crist and Z. Chovanec. American Schools of Overseas Research Archaeological Reports 28. CAARI Monographs 06.
ASOR. 2021b.
Wine Jars and Jar Markers of Cyprus: The Ethnoarchaeology of Pitharia.
G. London, PB 188. SIMA. 2020.
The book can be found here.
Review by Sophocles Hadjisavvas in AJA
Quantitative analysis of sherds from Rujm Salim. With M. den Nijs. Pp. 341-347 in Madaba Plains Project 8: The 2002 Season at Tall al-Umayri and Subsequent Studies, eds. L. G. Herr, D. R. Douglas, and L. T. Geraty. Riverside, CA: La Sierra University/Center for Near Eastern Archaeology and Eisenbrauns: University Park, PA. 2019.
Ancient Technologies of Daily Life.
Pp. 446-455 in: Behind the Scenes of the Old Testament: Cultural, Social, and Historical Contexts of Ancient Israel, eds. J. S. Greer, J. W. Hilber, and J. H. Walton. Baker Academic. 2018a
Cypriot Wheel-thrown Copies of Traditional Handmade Pottery: The Ethnoarchaeological Record.
Pp. 225-238 in: Implementing Meanings. The Power of the Copy between Past, Present and Future. An Overview from the Ancient Near East, ed. S. di Paola. Altertumskunde des Vorderen Orients Band 19. Munster: Ugarit-Verlag. 2018b.
Marks on incised rims and handles excavated at Tall al-Umayri, 2000. Pp. 351-363 in: The 2000 Season at Tall al-Umayri and Subsequent Studies (Madaba Plains Project 7), eds. L. G. Herr, D. R. Douglas, and L.T. Geraty. Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns. 2017.
Ancient Cookware from the Levant: An Ethnoarchaeological Perspective. Sheffield: Equinox. 2016.
Reviewed by Mara T. Horowitz. Ethnoarchaeology 11:1, 95-96, DOI: 10.1080/19442890.2019.1573291
Heritage Collection of Traditional Pottery in Ayios Demetrios, Cyprus.
With Father Dometios. Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Heritage and Archaeology Studies 3/3: 207-233. 2015a.DOI: 10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.3.3.0207.
Appendix ID: Manufacturing Technique of Late Third Millennium BCE Flat-bottomed Pots. Pp. 253-277 in Excavations at The Early Bronze IV Sites of Jebel Qaaqir and Beer Resisim, ed. W. G. Dever. Lake Winona, Indiana: Eisenbrauns. 2014. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004370159_022
Organization of Pottery Production in the Iron Age: Evidence from Tell Hesban and Tell al-Umayri. With R. D. Shuster.
Pp. 36-61 in Exploring the Narrative: Jerusalem and Jordan in the Bronze and Iron Ages (Papers in Honour of Margreet Steiner), eds. E. van der Steen, J. Boertien and N. Mulder-Hymans.
Series: Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies 583. London/New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark. 2013.
Ceramic technology based on chemical, mineralogical and
morphological analyses. With R. D. Shuster. Pp. 597-763 in Ceramic Finds: A Typological and Technological Study
of the Pottery Remains from Tell Hesban and Vicinity. Hesban 11, eds. J. Sauer and L. Herr. Berrien Springs, Michigan:
Andrews University. 2012.
A Ceremonial Center for the Living and the Dead. Near Eastern Archaeology 74/4: 216-225. 2011a.
Late Second Millennium BC Feasting at an Ancient Ceremonial Centre in Jordan.
Levant 43/1: 15-37. 2011b.
Calcite: A Hard Habit to Break. With R. D. Shuster. Pp. 233-246 in Life in
Early Bronze Age Communities:
Papers in Honor of Walter Rast and R. Thomas Schaub, ed. M. S. Chesson. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. 2011a.
Organizational Aspects of Pottery Production in Central Jordan. With R. D. Shuster. Pp. 135-155
in The Madaba Plains Project: Forty Years of Archaeological Research into Jordan's Past, eds. D. R. Clark,
L. G. Herr, O. S. LaBianca, and R. W. Younker. London: Equinox. 2011b.
Feasting in the Late Second Millennium B.C.E. at Tall al-`Umayri. Studies in the History and Archaeology of
Jordan 10: 899-916. 2009.
Timeless pottery traditions and organization of the ceramics
industry in ancient Jordan and Israel: A case study from Tall Hisban and
Tel Jezreel. With R. D. Shuster. Leiden Journal of Pottery Studies 25: 47-61. 2009.
Fe(male) Potters as the Personification of Individuals, Places,
and Things as Known from Ethnoarchaeological Studies. Pp. 155-180 in The World of Women in the
Ancient and Classical Near East, ed. B. A. Nakhai. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars. 2008.
Henk Franken and the Study of Pottery. With A. van As. Pp. 1-10 in Sacred and Sweet:
Studies on the Material Culture of Tell Deir ‘Alla and Tell Abu Sarbut, eds.
M.J. Steiner and E.J. van der Steen. Leuven: Peeters. 2008.
Comparisons of compositional analyses of Iron Age ceramics from
two sites in Jordan. With R. D. Shuster, J. Blair, and S. Kelly. Leiden Journal of Pottery Studies 24: 115-131. 2008.
Ceramic technology of selected Hellenistic and Iron Age pottery
based on re-firing experiments. With L. Jacobs and R. D. Shuster. Leiden Journal of Pottery Studies 23: 77-87. 2007.
This Old House: Daily Life in Ancient Israel. With D. R. Clark and L. G.
Herr. Spectrum 32/4:12-23. 2004.
Canaan's Relations with Cyprus. Pp. 157-166 in 100 Years of American Archaeology in the Middle East, eds. D. R. Clark and V. H. Mathews. Boston: ASOR. 2003.
Ceramics/Kilns, Pp. 193-196; Ethnography/Ethnoarchaeology, Pp. 142-145, Ethnicity and Material Culture. Pp. 146-149 in Near Eastern Archaeology: A Reader, ed. S. Richard. Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns. 2003.
Four-Room Structures at Late Bronze/Iron I Age Hill Country Work-stations. Annual of the American School of
Oriental Research Vol. 58: 69-84. W. G. Dever Festschrift. ed. B. A. Nakhai. Boston: ASOR. 2003.
Women potters and craft specialization in a pre-market Cypriot economy. Pp. 265-280 in Engendering Aphrodite, eds. D. Bolger and N. Serwint. Boston: ASOR. 2002.
DVD: Women Potters of Cyprus. (26 minutes). Taped, written, narrated, and edited 2000.
Ethnoarchaeology I and II. Guest Editor, Near Eastern Archaeology 63: 1 and 2. 2000.
Investigating ancient ceramic traditions on both sides of the Jordan. With D. R. Clark. Pp. 100-110 in The Archaeology of Jordan and Beyond. Essay in Honor of James A. Sauer, eds. L. E. Stager, J. A. Greene, and M. D. Coogan. Lake Winona, IN: Eisenbrauns. 2000.
Central Jordanian Ceramic Traditions. Pp. 57-102 in Ancient Ammon - Studies in the History and Culture of the Ancient Near East, eds. B. MacDonald and R. W. Younker. Leiden: E. J. Brill. 1999.
Bethsaida Iron Age Ceramics. With R. W. Shuster. Pp. 175-224 in Bethsaida Vol. II, eds. R. Arav and R. Freund.
Kirksville, Missouri: Truman State University. 1999.
Potters in Cyprus: Twelve Years Later. Ceramic Ethnoarchaeology:
From Sardinia to Iraq. Papers presented at the 1997 ASOR Annual
Meeting. Newsletter of Pottery Technology.
Leiden University. Vol. 16/17:57-68. 1998/1999.
Introduction. With A. van As. Ceramic Ethnoarchaeology: From
Sardinia to Iraq. Papers presented at the 1997 ASOR Annual Meeting. Newsletter of Pottery Technology.
Leiden University. Vol. 16/17: 5-11. 1998/1999.
Ancient Ammonites and Modern Arabs. With D. R. Clark. Author and Co-Editor. Amman: ACOR. 1997.
Ceramic Ethnoarchaeology; Ceramics: Typology and technology; and Experimental Archaeology, Encyclopedia of Near Eastern Archaeology. Pp. 448-453; 295-296. Ed. E. Meyers. New York: Oxford University. 1996.
Why Painted Pottery Disappeared at the End of the Second Millennium B.C.E. With H. J. Franken. Biblical Archaeologist 58:214-222. 1996.
Tells: City Center or Home? Eretz Israel in honor of A. Biran, Volume 23:71*-79*. 1992.
An Ethnoarchaeological Survey of Potters in Northern Jordan. With M. Sinclair. Pp. 420-428 in Madaba Plains Project 2, eds. L. G. Herr, et al. Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University/Institute of Archaeology. 1991.
Aspects of the Early Bronze and Late Iron Age Ceramic Technology at Tell el-'Umeiri. Pp. 383-419 in Madaba Plains Project 2, eds. L. G. Herr, et al. Berrien Springs: Andrews University/Institute of Archaeology 1991.
Ethnoarchaeological evidence of variation in Cypriot ceramics
and its implications for the taxonomy of ancient pottery. Pp. 221-235
in Cypriot Ceramics: Reading the Prehistoric Record, eds. J. Barlow, D. Bolger, and B. Kling, Philadelphia: University Museum. 1991.
Preliminary Petrographic Analysis of Pottery from Tell el-`Umeiri and Hinterland Sites, 1987. Pp. 429-439 in Madaba Plains Project 2, eds. L. G. Herr, et al. Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University/Institute of Archaeology. 1991.
Standardization and variation in the work of craft specialists. Pp. 182-204 in Ceramic Ethnoarchaeology, ed. W. A. Longacre. Tucson: University of Arizona. 1991.
A Comparison of Two Contemporaneous Lifestyles of the Late Second Millennium B.C.. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 273: 37-55. 1989.
Past Present: Village Potters in Cyprus. Biblical Archaeologist 52: 219-229. 1989.
Traditional Pottery in Cyprus. Mainz: Philipp von Zabern. 1989.
On fig leaves, itinerant potters, and pottery production locations in Cyprus. Pp. 65-80 in Cross-craft and Cross-cultural Interactions in Ceramics,
eds. P. E. McGovern and M. R. Notis. Ceramics and Civilization IV, ed.
W. D. Kingery. Westerville, Ohio: American Ceramic Society. 1989.
The organization of the Early Bronze II and III Ceramics Industry at Tell Yarmuth: A Preliminary Report. Pp. 117-124 in Yarmouth I, Rapport sur les trois premiere campagnes de fouilles a Tel Yarmouth (Israel), l980-l982. P. de Miroschedji, et al. Memoire No. 76. Paris: Editions Recherche sur les Civilisations. 1988.
Cypriote Potters: Past and Present. Report of the Department of
Antiquities of Cyprus, l987: 319-322. 1987.
Homage to the Elders. Biblical Archaeologist 50/2: 70-74. 1987.
Identification of Individual Potters Past and Present. Pp. 58-76 in Bijdragen tot de technologische studie van het aardwerk (Contributions to the study of pottery technology). Gallo-Romeins Pub. 34. Tongeren, Belgium: Gallo-Romeins Museum. 1987.
Pre-Patriarchal Society: Homage to the Elders. Pp. 137-143 in Community and Culture: Essays in Jewish Studies In Honor of the 90th Anniversary of Gratz College, ed. N. Waldman. Philadelphia: Gratz College. 1987.
Regionalism in Traditional Cypriote Ceramics, A Knapsack Full of
Pottery. Archaeo-Ceramological Miscellanea Dedicated to H. J. Franken. Newsletter of Pottery Technology 5:125-136. 1987.
Decoding Designs: The Late Third Millennium B.C. Pottery from Jebel Qaaqir. Ph.D. University of Arizona. 1985.
Dung-tempered Clay. Journal of Field Archaeology 8: 189-195. 1981.
A Late Second Millennium B.C. Potting Puzzle. With J. Kalsbeek. Bulletin of the
American Schools of Oriental Research 232: 48-56. 1978.
