Can You Tell Me How the Pot Fell?

Abstract

Earthenware cooking pots from Gatbuca in Calumpit, Bulacan were used to test if height of fall and vessel part coming into contact with hitting surface affect sherd production upon breakage. The vessels were allotted into experimental treatments that involved dropping and breaking to see the sherds formed. Results suggest that these two variables have influences on sherd number and mass, but apparently none on sherd scatter. This follows the formula on the conservation of energy regarding freely falling bodies, in which drop height affects velocity, which in turn affects impact force, all in direct proportional relationship. Variations in sherd mass frequencies between pot parts that hit could be the result of structural differences between pot parts, but no pattern emerged between spatial distribution and other variables. Future investigations may need to consider more elements potentially influencing the event of pot breakage.