An analysis of form variations in Song and Yuan Dynasty long-necked vases from a morphometric perspective

This study investigates 60 long-necked vases from the Song–Yuan period and proposes a method for vessel-form feature extraction and chronological attribution based on quantitative contour morphology analysis. Eighteen morphological variables were extracted from two-dimensional archeological line drawings, and nine indicators showing significant differences between the Song and Yuan periods were identified through statistical tests. The results demonstrate that the morphological differences between Song and Yuan long-necked vases are primarily concentrated in variations in the neck and rim structural systems and in overall scale differences. A within-fold feature selection model constructed using these key variables achieved a classification accuracy of 81.7% and an AUC of 0.912, validating the effectiveness of morphological variables for the chronological discrimination of Song–Yuan long-necked vases. This study provides a quantitative analytical approach for the investigation of ancient ceramic vessel forms.