Inside the Anthropology Ceramics Lab at UC Santa Cruz

Clay and ceramic materials from around the world are classified and analyzed through the operations of the Ceramic Analysis Research Lab and the Lithic & Ceramic Teaching Lab at UC Santa Cruz. The lab investigates the special properties of clay bearing soils, clays and fired ceramic materials. The significance of these materials within an archaeological or cultural framework are also considered.

Specialized equipment in these labs includes stereomicroscopes, petrographic microscopes, thin sectioning equipment, a large, programmable studio kiln, drying oven, custom metrical tools and a variety of hand-building and clay manipulation tools. We are also an official USDA Soils Lab, able to receive and analyze field clays and sediments collected from international sources.

Anthropology professor Judith Habicht-Mauche oversees the lab. Photos by Melissa De Witte.