A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF URANIUM AND OF TL-PRODUCING MINERALS IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL MATERIALS

A technique is described by which the spatial distribution of uranium as well as of thermoluminescent minerals can be examined in the same archaeological sample. The uranium distribution is replicated on an aluminized plastic film with the help of a ‘spark counter’following reactor-irradiation of the sample, while the TL pattern is photographed directly from a γ-irradiated sample. Implications for dating from such a comparative examination are discussed for certain pottery and flint samples.     

THE PRE-DOSE TECHNIQUE: A NEW THERMO-LUMINESCENT DATING METHOD

A thermoluminescent (TL) glow-curve peak occurs around 110°C for the mineral quartz. Its sensitivity may be changed by application of a radiation dose (termed the pre-dose) followed by a heating of the quartz to 500°C: heating alone causes no sensitivity change. The enhancement observed (measured relative to the sensitivity of the peak prior to heating) is a measure of the magnitude of the pre-dose. For quartz extracted from pottery the sensitivity enhancement induced by laboratory heating records a natural pre-dose, i.e. the accumulated dose experienced during archaeological burial. The latter quantity is used in TL age-determination and a test programme is reported on the application of the pre-dose dating method to sites covering the Roman era in Britain forward to modern times.     

宜兴陶业文化遗产及其当代意义辨识

以宜兴为中国陶业经济文化典型,从社会文化学和遗产学角度,对其6000年陶业生产活动进行分析梳理和分期归纳,从中提炼出宜兴陶业文化遗产的重要概念;陶业文化遗产对当代宜兴甚而中国社会可持续发展,以及振兴宜兴和中国陶业经济文化有着重要作用与意义。     

INSIGHTS FROM THE ANALYSIS OF ANGEL MOUNDS POTTERY TROWELS

Archaeologists have recovered pottery trowels in excavations at numerous historic and pre-Columbian archaeological sites in North America since the late nineteenth century. Despite these facts, pottery trowels have not been the subject of thorough scientific analysis or interpretation. In this study, I define and implement a new method of analysis for pottery trowels, using a sample of 188 pottery trowels from the Mississippian site of Angel Mounds (12VG1). After describing the quantitative and qualitative attributes of pottery trowels, I define categories of frequently occurring pottery trowel bell and handle types. The extensive variability of pottery trowel shapes and sizes discovered at Angel Mounds is then discussed with regard to alternative or multiple uses for the tools and the spatial and temporal distributions of pottery trowel types. As an artifact type that provides opportunities to analyze technology, craft production and specialization, and daily practices in past societies, I argue pottery trowels may hold important future insights into a number of topics of interest to archaeologists.     

Radiocarbon pottery dating: the chemical compounds of organic fractions, the reliability of 14C dates (preliminary results)

In recent times, a large number of radiocarbon dates appeared for the Southern Neolithic on the basis of pottery dating because other organic matter has practically not been preserved. There are two organic fractions of pottery useful for dating: food residues and carbon from the pottery matrix itself. Food residues are often dated, but this material is not always preserved and is prone to being removed during the cleaning of the pottery. The clay mass of the pottery contains carbon, often directly visible upon breaking of the pottery. The article focusses on determining the chemical composition of the organic fractions in the pottery and the origin of the carbon. For this aim we used the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) method to identify the chemical compounds in the food residue and in the pottery matrix. As an example we used pottery from the Neolithic sites: Zamost??e (Central Russia) and the Varfolomeevskay sites (Southern European Russia, Low Volga region) from archaeological collections. The results obtained demonstrate that the food residue and the pottery matrix contain practically the same organic compounds, even if the relative abundances of various compounds are different in these materials. The origin of the carbon from pottery is discussed.     

Detection of chloride from pottery as a marker for salt: A new analytical method validated using simulated salt-making pottery and applied to Japanese ceramics

Salt is an essential mineral in the human diet, and ancient peoples obtained salt either directly from rock salt, from salt lakes, or by concentrating saline waters from salt springs or seawater in pottery vessels. However, because sodium chloride, the major component of salt, is soluble in water, it has been thought unlikely that any trace of salt would remain in the pottery after a long period of time. A new methodology for retrieval of water-insoluble (retainable) chloride ion trapped within a pottery matrix is presented as a method for detecting previous use of the pottery for salt making. Simulated salt-making pottery was used to make salt by repeatedly boiling seawater over a fire. After chloride had been extracted with distilled water, to mimic the removal of chloride by natural waters such as rainwater and groundwater, an aqueous ammonium fluoride solution was shown to be capable of extracting chloride ions remaining in the pottery. A chloride-selective electrode was used to quantify the amount of extracted chloride in the presence of fluoride. This method was then successfully applied to excavated Japanese pottery vessels suspected of having been used for making salt. Identification of retainable chloride in pottery can offer insights into salt trading networks, which reflect the growth and affluence of an ancient society.     

NEW PETROGRAPHIC EVIDENCE PERTAINING TO CERAMIC PRODUCTION AND IMPORTATION AT THE OLMEC SITE OF SAN LORENZO*

This paper reports the results of petrographic analyses of 41 new pottery thin sections from San Lorenzo. The resulting compositional data provide an important new context for evaluating the disputed status of carved vessels previously identified as imports to the site. By comparing local and Oaxaca highlands pottery, the disputed vessels are shown to be (a) compositionally distinct from San Lorenzo pottery and (b) similar to highland pottery. San Lorenzo was not just an exporter but also an importer of pottery vessels, a finding relevant to consideration of San Lorenzo's role in the production and exchange of ceramics in Early Formative Mesoamerica.     

淮阳彩绘陶院落的年代问题

淮阳彩绘陶院落是目前我国汉代考古中极为少见的建筑明器精品.本文依据出土墓葬的形制、随葬品的组合、陶院落的装饰艺术和时代特征等几个方面,对其年代进行了重新判定.     

Gabbroic clay sources in Cornwall: a petrographic study of prehistoric pottery and clay samples

Summary.  This analysis of prehistoric pottery and clay samples from Cornwall demonstrates that the clay used to make Cornish gabbroic pottery in prehistory originated around the gabbro rock outcrop in a small area of the Lizard peninsula. The research uses petrographic and chemical analysis to subdivide the prehistoric pottery into six groups. Owing to the unusual geology of the Lizard these groups can be attributed to specific locations. The most abundant pottery fabric, Typical Gabbroic , was made using coarse clay which is mainly found in a 1 km² area near Zoar. A finer version of this clay, found higher in the soil profile or slightly transported and redeposited, was used to make Fine Gabbroic pottery and an even finer variant called FNS (Fine Non-Sandy) Gabbroic . We identify for the first time here a Loessic/Gabbroic pottery fabric which can be matched exactly to clay found at Lowland Point. Serpentinitic/Gabbroic pottery was made using clay from the gabbro/serpentinite border zone. Pottery made from the Granitic/Gabbroic fabric did not match any clay from the Lizard, showing that gabbroic clay was sometimes removed and made into pottery elsewhere in Cornwall. The main clay source near Zoar was used for clay extraction throughout the Bronze Age and Iron Age for pottery which was traded all over Cornwall. Other gabbroic clay sources produced pottery only during certain periods and exclusively supplied particular settlements, such as the Loessic/Gabbroic fabric which was found only at Gear and Caer Vallack. The results suggest that pottery was produced by several small-scale cottage industries, which may have operated on a seasonal, part-time basis and probably formed only part of a wide range of activities located around the Lizard area.     

Leftovers: The presence of manufacture-derived aquatic lipids in Alaskan pottery

Lipids preserved within the walls of ancient pottery vessels are routinely analysed to reveal their original contents. The provenience of aquatic lipids in pottery is generally connected to vessel function (e.g., for cooking or storing fish, shellfish and aquatic mammals). However, ethnographic reports from early historic Alaska mention the use of aquatic oils for waterproofing low-fired pottery. Results of lipid residue studies on Alaskan pottery reflect an exclusive function of pottery to process aquatic resources. However, can one be sure these residues are the product of vessel function and not a remnant of the manufacturing process? The study presents the results of an experiment where the preservation of aquatic lipids during the firing process at different temperatures was measured. It was found that nearly all lipids were removed at firing temperatures of ≥ 400°C. Petrographic analysis of Alaskan pottery samples indicates that firing temperatures were generally > 550°C but < 800°C. The contribution of pre-firing manufacture-derived lipids to samples fired at these temperatures may be regarded as negligible. While the possible presence of aquatic lipids from post-firing surface treatments cannot be excluded, such treatments appear unnecessary for well-fired pottery.     

Medieval Painted Pottery in South and Central Italy

DURING the 9th century unglazed pottery decorated with red or brown slip came into production along the middle Rhine. This pottery, known as Pingsdorf ware, was exported in large quantities to the North Sea region and even to the Baltic coast.² By the 12th century red-painted pottery, often imitating Pingsdorf ware, was made at a number of sites in the Low Countries and western France.³

It has long been known that painted pottery was manufactured throughout the medieval Islamic world, including north Africa, and isolated finds of painted ware have been published in Italy and Spain.⁴ Nevertheless, little attempt has been made to explore the possible connexions between painted pottery in the Mediterranean basin and western Europe,⁵ A serious obstacle to such an attempt is the inadequacy of most publications of Mediterranean finds. This paper offers an account of the painted wares in one area of the Mediterranean, peninsular Italy, and suggests that the pottery found there may indeed be related to the earliest painted wares north of the Alps. It must be emphasized, however, that the study of Italian medieval pottery is in its infancy and that the suggestions made here are of an entirely speculative nature.     

On pottery change and northern Iroquoian origins: An assessment from the Finger Lakes region of central New York

Pots as tools is a concept that has been widely accepted and developed since Braun’s classic 1983 publication. However, in northeastern North America archaeologists continue to use pottery primarily as an aid to culture history and research problems based thereon. In central New York State it has been postulated that a change in pottery forming technique heralds the onset of Iroquoian pottery traditions at around AD 1000. Empirical data on pottery forming and two other pottery traits do not support this postulation. Rather the trends in these traits are consistent with social learning theory and changes in mobility and population aggregation. Following Engelbrecht (1999, 2003) we suggest that a more fruitful approach to understanding the evolution of northern Iroquoian groups is to be found in ethnogenesis theory as described by Moore (1994, 2001).     

Marginalized Potters and Ceramic Compositional Groups: Neutron Activation Analysis of Contemporary Pottery from Tigray,Northern Highland Ethiopia

The study presents the results of neutron activation analysis (NAA) of contemporary pottery from Tigray Regional State, northern highland Ethiopia. This is the first regional-scale study of ceramic composition of Tigray’s pottery and is part of an ethnoarchaeological study of the material and social contexts of pottery production and consumption in Tigray’s Eastern (Misraqawi), Central (Mehakelegnaw), and North-western (Semien Mi’irabawi) zones. The analysis identifies clear compositional groups with strong regional patterns, an encouraging result for the use of NAA to study Tigray’s ancient pottery trade. Significantly, the study further contributes to discussions of how mutually constituted social identities of potters and consumers affect compositional patterning in the distribution of pottery in market networks.     

Determining the Firing Temperature of Low‐Fired Ancient Pottery: An Example from the Donghulin Site,Beijing, China

The traditional thermal expansion method using a dilatometer fails to accurately determine the original firing temperatures of low‐fired ancient pottery. For this reason, we have developed an improved method of determining firing temperatures for low‐fired pottery. This paper explains the theory of the improved method and presents the reasonably satisfactory results obtained on ancient pottery from the Donghulin site (c. 10 000 bp ). The method and the results are very important for the study of ancient pottery culture and clay moulds used for bronze casting.     

Origins of Specialization: The Ceramic Chaîne Opératoire and Technological Take‐Off at Vinča‐Belo Brdo,Serbia

This paper presents scientific analyses of Neolithic pottery from Miloje Vasi?’s 1930 –34 excavations at Vin?a‐Belo Brdo, which has long been a key site in south‐eastern European prehistory. Results show a series of changes in the chaîne opératoire of pottery production, both between the early Neolithic Star?evo and middle–late Neolithic Vin?a periods, and between Vin?a A and Vin?a B phases. Unlike in Star?evo assemblages, Vin?a pottery fabrics probably served specific functions, but cult objects (an anthropomorphic figurine and several prosopomorphic lids) were made locally using the same raw materials and technology used to make Vin?a fine ware. In contrast to the uniformity of Star?evo pottery technology, Vin?a pottery production was geographically diverse and evolved over time. Higher firing temperatures of Vin?a pottery apparently preceded the development of metallurgy by more than a century.     

南方地区若干典型遗址出土早期陶器工艺比较分析

古代保留下来的遗存中陶器最为丰富,承载着我国先民们生产、生活的各类丰富信息本工作是在以往中科院上海硅酸盐研究所和景德镇陶瓷学院等单位对我国早期陶器相关科技研究的基础上,在国家自然科学基金的支持下,结合近年来相关考古机构对我国南方广西桂林甑皮岩、江西万年仙人洞、浙江浦江上山等若干典型遗址出土早期陶器的科技研究积累,对各遗址制陶原料的选取和加工、陶器成型及烧成方法等一系列我国早期陶器制作的工艺特,点、技术内涵等进行了比较分析,以期对我国南方不同文化区系早期陶器的演变和发展有更加深入、全面和客观的认识。     

三门峡三里桥村11号唐墓

三门峡三里桥村11号唐墓经过发掘,出土器物较为丰富,包括各式人物俑和动物俑以及陶器、铁器等,其中贴金武士俑、陶牛车、乐舞俑、骆驼俑、陶琵琶等在豫西地区已发掘的同类墓葬中为首次发现。该墓的发掘为研究豫西地区唐墓提供了新的实物资料,据其形制与出土陶俑的形态特点,其年代当为唐代早期。     

江苏溧阳杨家山土墩墓群D1和D3发掘简报

杨家山土墩墓群D1保存状况一般,清理墓葬5座、器物群8处,为典型的一墩多墓式结构,中心墓葬有“人”字形木椁;D3保存较差,发现墓葬1座、器物群4处,为一墩一墓式结构,中心墓葬铺设石床。随葬品主要有几何印纹灰陶罐、硬陶坛、陶鼎、陶盂、原始瓷碗、原始瓷盂等,时代为春秋中期。     

A preliminary study of ceramic pastes in the copper age pottery production of the Rome area

This paper presents the preliminary results of an analytical study on domestic pottery samples originating from the Copper Age sites of Casetta Mistici, Tor Pagnotta, Osteria del Curato-Via Cinquefrondi, Torre della Chiesaccia and Valle dei Morti, all of which are located in the Rome area (Latium, Italy). The aim of this research is to define the compositional features of the ceramic pastes and to reconstruct the main technological choices characterising pottery production in these contexts. The importance of these archaeological sites lies in their geographic position, being located in an area bounded by the Tiber and Aniene rivers and the Colli Albani volcano, and in their stratigraphic sequence, spanning from the mid-fourth to the end of the third millennium bc. This research, based on a petrographic and chemical investigation of pottery samples, led to the distinction of eight petrographic groups that reflect specific choices in pottery production. Moreover, the analytical results provide indications about the prehistoric pottery production of the Rome area in relation to the ceramic recipes used, the pastes that were obtained and their sourcing areas.     

出土陶器现场保护研究的现状

对出土陶器的现场保护,主要包括出土陶器的提取方法和技术,对酥脆陶器和彩绘陶器的预加固处理,简单的清洗及运输中的保护与缓冲包装技术.