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The chaîne opératoire of Neolithic Korenovo ceramics is poorly known, as hitherto potsherds from only three sites, Malo Korenovo, Tomašica in central Croatia, and Becsehely–Bukkaljai dűlő in Hungary have been analysed archaeometrically. Korenovo is considered the southernmost aspect of the Linearbandkeramik (LBK). In this paper, the ceramic assemblage from Kapelica-Solarevac and Kaniška Iva (Central Croatia) will be discussed. Kapelica-Solarevac and Kaniška Iva are the only two sites in which Starčevo and Korenovo ceramics have been found together in closed contexts. Twenty potsherds from the Kapelica-Solarevac and Kaniška Iva assemblages were analysed using polarised microscopy and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM-EDX). In combination with equivalent data from 49 Korenovo ceramics from Tomašica and Malo Korenovo, the results offer an insight into the practices of Korenovo potters and show the lack of exchange of technological knowledge between Korenovo and LBK potters in Austria and central Transdanubia (Hungary). On the other hand, Korenovo potters seem to closely follow ceramic recipes typical of the neighbouring Vinča potters, suggesting Korenovo to be a hybrid group between the Vinča and the LBK pottery communities.

This paper concerns Sasanian to Early Islamic period transport containers, usually lined with bitumen, known as Torpedo jars. Widely distributed throughout the western Indian Ocean, with outliers a...

40 potsherds and five other fired clay fragments from the prehistoric site of Nova Nadezhda in Bulgarian Thrace were analysed by archaeometric techniques. Twenty sherds and a daub fragment were analysed in thin section by optical microscopy; these thin sections, and thick sections of a further 24 sherds were also analysed by SEM-EDX. Results were used to describe the Early Neolithic chaîne opératoire at Nova Nadezhda, which was then compared to pottery production in roughly contemporaneous Starčevo-Criş communities in the central Balkans, to shed light on the Neolithisation process that took place in the 6th millennium BC. A variety of ceramic recipes was used to make different vessel shapes. Analyses of surface coatings were particularly enlightening in terms of provenance and the organisation of pottery production.

This study presents the results of analyses of ceramics from one of the rare excavated kiln sites that produced amphorae and common wares in Ptolemaic Egypt (332–30 BC), at Kom Dahab in the Western Nile Delta. Ceramics from the kiln trench, unfired ceramics and specific classes of transport, table and kitchen vessels were analysed by polarised microscopy and scanning electron microscope used with energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM–EDX). This made it possible to trace the different steps of the chaine operatoire and revealed that potters made differentiated use of raw materials. A specific clay, perhaps offering economic advantages, soon dominated the amphora production. A variety of recipes was used for white and red slips applied to both utilitarian and tablewares. Shapes were strongly Greek-influenced, but after some time ceramic technology readmitted earlier Pharaonic traditions, presumably driven by consumer demand and economic considerations. The analysis of slipped bowls from Old Kingdom levels suggests the long-term exploitation of the local clay sources of distinctive chemical composition.

This paper presents for the first time the results of a combination of petrographic, geochemical and organic residue analyses of early Neolithic ceramics from the Iron Gates region of the Danube basin. Eleven early Neolithic potsherds from Schela Cladovei (Romania) were analysed in detail. The results of the petrographic analysis show that the ceramics were made with the same recipe that was used by Starčevo-Körös-Criș potters elsewhere in southeastern Europe. The SEM-EDX analysis shows one of the earliest uses of Mn-rich black pigments to decorate Neolithic European ceramics. Organic residue analyses detected dairy, non-ruminant and ruminant adipose fats. No evidence of aquatic resources was detected. In summary, the early Neolithic potters at the Iron Gates, although able to make coarse and more sophisticated painted ceramics, did not make specific vessels for a specific use.

The interdisciplinary study of Egyptian- and Greek-style pottery found in the Nile Delta aims to test and expand the potential of different scientific methods to identify regional variation and cultural traditions in ceramic fabrics from a relatively uniform geological setting. Neutron activation analysis (NAA), polarised light microscopy and SEM-EDX analyses were used to examine raw materials and technological tradition in 32 objects, including 15 previously partly analysed pieces, chosen to test the hypotheses of (a) chemical and (b) technological variation between regionally and/or culturally distinct pottery traditions. Several hundred published NAA data from other studies of Egyptian ceramics were re-assessed within this work. Our NAA results confirmed that all 28 objects analysed originated in Egypt, but could not distinguish production centres. Polarised light microscopy clarified the chaine operatoire and highlighted Greek and Egyptian technological traditions and regional variations in the production of macroscopically similar ware (e.g. Black Ware). SEM-EDX was essential in distinguishing different recipes used for slips, suggesting patterns of technological transfer and adaptation.

Ceramics appeared in southern Russia at about the same time as in southern Europe, at ca. 6000 cal BC, but whilst pottery was introduced into southern Europe, together with plant and animal domesticates, from southwest Asia, early Neolithic pottery in eastern Europe was probably developed locally by hunter-gatherers, or derived from other pre-agricultural societies in northern Eurasia. In this paper, four sherds from four different regions of central and southern Russia are analysed using the same methods previously employed in two large-scale research programmes on early Neolithic pottery from the Adriatic and the central Balkans. The four pots were made with different tempering agents and were generally low-fired, but while they may represent different technological traditions to the southern European pottery, the overall technical quality of the hunter-gatherer pottery is no less developed than that of the early farmers.

Zamostje 2, on the Dubna River, c.100km north of Moscow, appears to offer an ideal opportunity to understand the relative and absolute chronology of Upper Volga Early Neolithic pottery. More than 100 radiocarbon (14C) dates are available from a stratigraphic sequence which spans from the Late Mesolithic to the Middle Neolithic. All typological stages are represented among over 18,000 sherds of Early Neolithic pottery, and many of these sherds bear deposits of carbonised food remains (food-crusts), which can be dated directly by 14C; more than 30 food-crusts have been dated directly. Nevertheless, there remains considerable uncertainty about the date range of Upper Volga pottery at Zamostje 2, and many of the issues raised are relevant to dating early pottery at other sites. Moreover, the absolute chronology of Upper Volga pottery must have some bearing on the interpretation of 14C dates for pottery from adjoining regions. In this paper, we discuss alternative interpretations of the Zamostje 2 evidence.

This article presents the curatorial context of a newly discovered fragment of Minoan faience, now in the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery (BCMAG), and the technological study conducted on this piece at the British Museum. It also discusses the British Museum study of comparable fragments, now in the Ashmolean Museum, belonging to the Town Mosaic from Knossos, an important and unique find brought to light during Sir Arthur Evans's excavations of the ‘Palace of Minos’ at the beginning of the twentieth century. Both the stylistic study and the analytical results suggest that the Bristol fragment is genuine, and most likely belonged to the Town Mosaic. The Bristol piece does not possess features that can advance our understanding of Crete in the Bronze Age, but its curious biography adds something to the history of collecting and the history of archaeology.

Forty-three pottery samples from the New Kingdom site at Amara West in Nubia (Sudan) were analysed by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry to identify pottery potentially produced at the site. Twenty-two samples from modern local alluvial soils, modern locally made pottery and archaeological material (mudbricks, daub, oven liners and kiln fragments), likely to have been made from locally sourced clays, were also studied. The analytically and microscopically defined pottery fabrics were cross-correlated with macroscopic fabrics defined on-site during fieldwork to demonstrate not only the potential and limitations of both approaches but also how the complementary datasets can provide new insights. The mineralogical and chemical analyses, of 65 samples, suggest that locally manufactured pottery included both Egyptian-style tableware and Nubian-style cooking pots. At the same time, the community at the site imported ceramics from a variety of different regions, including Egypt itself.

We analysed a faience fragment from Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, to determine whether it belonged to the Town Mosaic, excavated at Knossos. Three Town Mosaic fragments from the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford were also examined. The objects were analysed using non-destructive variable-pressure scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry. The Bristol object's composition and microstructures are similar to those of the Town Mosaic samples. Our results are also comparable to those from polished samples of Minoan faience (Tite et al. 2009), showing that VP SEM–EDX gives reliable results without invasive sampling. Silicaceous, copper-rich microspheres were identified for the first time in two of the Ashmolean objects.

This paper deals with the importance of chemical analyses in characterising prehistoric pottery fabrics. Two three-year projects focussed on the minero-petrographic and SEM/EDS analyses of the oldest pottery from south-east Europe (ca. 6000 cal BC). Whereas in the Impressed Ware culture of the Adriatic region, optical microscopy was sufficient to identify provenance, the more uniform geological background of the central Balkans required chemical analyses to be able to differentiate between different raw materials. Multiple bulk analyses of each sherd were obtained to gauge the variability in composition within each vessel. The limiting factor in determining provenance in this area appears to be the similarity of clay sources, not the inhomogeneity of the coarse pottery. This is shown here using results from four of the sites, including three where petrographic analyses could not establish provenance.

A total of 101 fine ware potsherds and 10 coarse ware sherds from four Late Neolithic Halaf sites (Domuztepe, Tell Halaf, Chagar Bazar and Arpachiyah) was studied by thin sectioning. Of these, 42 were also analysed by SEM-EDX. In thin section, several different fabrics, characterised by similar minerals, were identified at each site, showing the use of different clay sources and a similar formula to produce the fine ware. Chemical analyses used in combination with PCA and CDA show that the potters at the sites of Domuztepe and Tell Halaf used distinct clay sources for their pottery production. In contrast, chemical and mineralogical similarities were identified in the fi ne painted ceramics from Chagar Bazar and Arpachiyah, indicating possible exchange networks of fine ware., Un échantillon composé de 101 tessons de céramique fine et de 10 tessons de céramique grossière, provenant de quatre sites du Halaf (Domuztepe, Tell Halaf, Chagar Bazar et Arpachiyah), a fait l’objet d’une analyse pétrographique en lames minces ; une analyse géochimique (SEM-EDX) concerne également 42 d’entre eux. En lame mince, plusieurs pâtes ont été reconnues pour chaque site ; elles sont caractérisées par des minéraux similaires qui montrent l’utilisation de différentes sources d’argile mais d’une même composition pour la production des céramiques fines. L’analyse chimique combinant PCA et CDA indique au contraire que les potiers de Domuztepe et de Tell Halaf n’ont pas utilisé les mêmes gisements d’argile. En revanche, des similitudes chimiques et minéralogiques ont été identifiées dans la céramique peinte à pâte fine de Chagar Bazar et d’Arpachiyah, suggérant l’existence de possibles réseaux d’échanges pour ces poteries., Spataro Michela, Fletcher Alexandra. Centralisation or Regional Identity in the Halaf Period? Examining Interactions within Fine Painted Ware Production. In: Paléorient, 2010, vol. 36, n°2. pp. 91-116.

The opportunity was taken in 2010 to carry out a full scientific and technical examination of the brass head from Ife, popularly known as the Olokun head, first published in 1912 by Leo Frobenius, together with a selection of other Ife heads that came to London for exhibition at the British Museum. This was especially appropriate as on its last visit some 60 years previously, the Olokun head had been examined and condemned as a sand cast copy. The present study has established beyond doubt that the Olokun head is a hollow cire perdue or lost wax casting, very similar in technique and composition to the other heads. The balance of evidence suggests that this is the head unearthed at Ife in 1910. En 2010, une exposition de têtes Ife au British Museum à Londres a fourni l’opportunité de procéder à un examen scientifique et technique détaillé d’une tête en laiton, plus connue sous le nom de tête d’Olokun, et publiée par Léo Frobenius en 1912 ; une sélection d’autres têtes Ife exposées ont fait également l’objet d’analyses. La tête d’Olokun avait été étudiée et reléguée, soixante ans auparavant, au statut de simple copie obtenue par fonte au sable. Cette nouvelle approche, particulièrement bienvenue, établit sans aucun doute que la tête d’Olokun est une fonte à cire perdue, très similaire aux autres têtes en termes de technique et de composition. Par ailleurs, tout un faisceau d’éléments suggère qu’il s’agit bien de la tête mise au jour à Ife en 1910.Cet article livre les résultats du ré-examen technique et scientifique de la célèbre tête en laiton d’Olokun, originaire d’Ife (Nigéria), considérée en 1949 par William Fagg et Léon Underwood comme une copie réalisée par moulage de la tête originale découverte en 1910 par Leo Frobenius.La discussion s’articule autour de trois grandes parties. La première examine les nombreux arguments utilisés par W. Fagg et L. Underwood pour reléguer la tête au statut de simple copie. La seconde décrit la façon dont on pense actuellement que la tête a été coulée. Enfin, la troisième dévoile l’examen scientifique établissant son ancienneté probable, sa production en Afrique de l’Ouest, et sa ressemblance frappante avec d’autres têtes d’Ife.Parmi les nombreux points retenus par W. Fagg et L. Underwood, trois revêtent une certaine importance. Dans l’ensemble ils dénoncent la nature diffuse de la surface du métal et le manque de détails précis (les points a, b, f et g de Fagg et Underwood), alors attribués à la méthode de fonte au sable. En réalité, l’examen attentif a très vite démontré que l’origine de cette différence d’aspect résidait dans le fait que, contrairement aux autres têtes d’Ife présentes au British Museum de nombreux mois avant l’exposition – pour examen et nettoyage –, la tête d’Olokun n’était arrivée en Grande-Bretagne que la veille de son ouverture et n’avait, par conséquent, reçu qu’un traitement très superficiel. Sous la couche de cire appliquée à la hâte, la corrosion, la terre et même des restes du matériau de moulage d’origine ont subsisté, remplissant les interstices et brouillant les détails de la fonte (fig. 8).Une objection plus sérieuse (g) résidait dans le fait, qu’en certains endroits de la tête, des accrétions de matière de surface paraissaient être en métal, comme si on avait là la traduction dans le métal du moulage de résidus, de poussières et de traces de corrosion, ce qui aurait pu effectivement être un argument en faveur d’une copie moulée sur l’original. Cependant, l’examen approfondi des zones concernées a montré que la plupart de ces « moulages de poussière » sont en fait constitués de vraies poussières et de résidus de fonte (fig. 9). À la base du cimier, on distingue quelques gerces de métal et le décor du cimier lui-même est ­recouvert de métal (fig. 10), mais cela pourrait s’expliquer par le simple fait que l’argile utilisée pour le moulage n’était pas assez fine pour pénétrer profondément dans cet interstice, ou encore que la surface du moule avait été endommagée pendant la cuisson et la coulée.Leur point h nécessite également une explication. Ainsi W. Fagg et L. Underwood décrivent deux zones sur le front qu’ils attribuent à une ­tentative d’introduction de broches en fer dans un possible moule en plâtre. Cette interprétation est entièrement erronée. Pour que cela soit interprété comme la preuve que cette tête était une copie d’un original, le métal aurait dû être coulé par les canaux intérieurs dans l’original et ce que l’on voit dans le métal de la présente tête correspondrait alors au moulage des canaux de coulée de la tête originale. Toutefois ces canaux de coulée coupés contenaient encore les extrémités de broches de renforcement et par conséquent il s’agit bien, non de moulages de canaux, mais de vrais canaux qui pour une raison quelconque n’ont pas été utilisés. En outre l’examen indique que c’est la cire que l’on a coupée à cet endroit, et non le métal. L’explication la plus probable est que le moule a été assemblé, prêt à être chauffé, mais qu’il a subi un accident qui l’a endommagé avant le début de la coulée. Les canaux de cire originaux ont alors probablement dû être coupés et remplacés par deux autres à l’intérieur de la tête (fig. 2).Dans l’ensemble il est à noter que, dans leur discussion, W. Fagg et L. Underwood ne mentionnent aucune des principales caractéristiques qui permettent de distinguer les fontes au sable ou les fontes postérieures, telle une réduction de taille de la copie qui aurait pu être constatée. De même, la présence de traits tout aussi distinctifs de la fonte à cire perdue qui peuvent être observés sur la tête ne sont pas évoqués.L’examen scientifique a établi que le métal est sérieusement corrodé, avec une corrosion intergranulaire très importante, témoignant fortement d’un enfouissement prolongé (fig. 16 et 18). Les produits de corrosion sont les minéraux auxquels on peut s’attendre sur une véritable antiquité. Il y a aussi une contamination très superficielle de pigments synthétiques. Ces derniers sont identiques à ceux trouvés sur les moulages en plâtre des têtes réalisés au British Museum, lors de la présence de la tête d’Olokun en 1948.La composition élémentaire et isotopique du métal de la tête d’Olokun est similaire à celle des autres têtes d’Ife, ce qui suggère fortement qu’elle a été fabriquée à partir du même stock de métal. L’examen du noyau de la tête indique une composition similaire à celle de l’une des autres têtes échantillonnée pour comparaison (Willett & Sayre 2006). Plus significatif encore, une partie de la matière végétale utilisée comme remplissage du noyau de la tête d’Olokun provenait de plantes qui poussent uniquement en Afrique de l’Ouest, signe évident que la tête a été coulée dans cette région.Ainsi, dans l’ensemble, le réexamen jette un doute considérable sur le rapport de 1949. Il établit que la tête est certainement une fonte creuse à la cire perdue, probablement réalisée en fonte directe – bien qu’une fonte indirecte ne puisse pas être totalement exclue –, très similaire à celle mise en œuvre pour réaliser les autres têtes. L’ensemble de ces arguments suggère qu’il s’agit bien de la tête exhumée par L. Frobenius en 1910.

During 2003-2006 a project on the Starcevo-Cris pottery was carriedout at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London (UK). Theaim of the project was to shed more light on the Neolithisation process ofthe Balkan Peninsula. The methods employed to answer this question werescientific analysis of ceramics and fired clay objects, and radiocarbon datingof samples, from 20 early Neolithic sites in Serbia, Romania, and Slavonia.The ceramic analyses were carried out in order to define possibleroutes of trade/exchange in the early Neolithic and the manufacturingprocess of fired clay objects. The radiocarbon dating was required to definean absolute chronology for the early Neolithic in this region and to identifypossible routes for the spread of the Neolithic (Biagi P., Spataro M., 2005;Biagi et al., 2005).

The shell-midden site of Riņņukalns in northern Latvia offers a rare opportunity to study long-term trends in ceramic production and function at a European hunter-fisher-gatherer site. Riņņukalns was occupied from the sixth millennium BC, with the midden developing from the later fourth millennium. Here, the authors discuss the chaîne opératoire and function of the Riņņukalns material, showing that pottery was used in both the pre-midden and midden phases primarily to cook aquatic and porcine resources. The technology used to produce these cooking vessels, however, changed over time, with new firing techniques associated with a shift to the use of shell temper. The results have implications for understanding prehistoric technology and subsistence in other parts of the world.

International audience; In early Neolithic Europe, where mobility is a structural component of farming communities, interpreting ceramic technological change detected in the archae- ological record can be particularly challenging. Change in technical practices can correspond to local innovation or to arrivals of individuals implementing their own inherited technical traditions. To bring new lines of thoughts on this issue, we discuss here, from the perspective of ceramic forming processes, a period of major cultural change in the European Neolithic: the transition in the Carpathian Basin from the Balkan early Neolithic (Starčevo and Körös) to the Linear Pottery. The analysis of four ceramic assemblages from settlements located in this culturally contrasted area suggests that this zone of cultural mutation constitutes an area of interaction between different communities of practice, whose technical traditions can be traced over the long term. In this context, the changes perceived in ceramic forming processes do not appear to result from innovation processes. Rather, they seem associated with complex social dynamics, implying populations moving over the long term and long distances with their own inherited technical traditions. Our study serves as an example of the power of ceramic technology to act as a high spatial and temporal resolution proxy for human dynamics and trajectories, enabling to address complex social mechanisms.