This chapter draws together the observations made in the preceding chapters regarding the eight behavioral practices that governed the life cycle of Roman pottery and the formation of the Roman pottery record. It consists of seven sections. The first of these presents some general observations regarding behavioral practices documented in connection with pottery that may be of broader significance for efforts to understand the dynamics of the use of material culture in the Roman world. The second section offers a set of models that represent in schematic fashion the passage of vessels belonging to various functional categories of Roman pottery through their life cycle, whereas the third presents a set of similar models for selected classes and class groupings of amphorae. The fourth section presents a general typology of pottery deposits. The fifth discusses specific effects that the eight sets of behavioral practices had on the nature of the Roman pottery record that are significant from the point of view of pottery research, whereas the sixth considers research that might be carried out in order to improve our understanding of the eight sets of behavioral practices and their effects on the pottery record. The seventh and final section offers some brief concluding remarks.

Pottery as material culture

Several of the behavioral practices that can be documented in connection with the life cycle of Roman pottery may be of broader relevance to efforts to understand the dynamics of the use of material culture in the Roman world.