Chemical and mineralogical examination of metallurgical ceramics from a Late Bronze Age copper smelting site in Cyprus

For metallurgical processes in antiquity functional materials were required, which were sufficiently heat resistant. Commonly, ceramics were used for the production of furnaces, tuyères and crucibles. Because normal pottery usually could not withstand the extreme temperatures, which were needed for metallurgical operations, the ceramic production process had to be modified. An analytical case study will be presented on refractory ceramics from the Late Bronze Age copper smelting site Politiko-Phorades (Cyprus). Cyprus had a major role in copper production, starting from this period, and the selected site is the earliest primary smelting site discovered in Cyprus until now. Furnace and tuyère fragments were analysed chemically and mineralogically, in order to investigate ancient ceramic technology in view of heat resistance.     

Ancient bronze technology and nomadic communities of the Middle Gobi Desert,Mongolia

The Xiongnu period of Mongolian prehistory (ca. 3rd century BC–AD 2nd century) is notable for the emergence of an expansive nomadic state and major changes in metallurgical and ceramic technologies. A number of Xiongnu period and pre-Xiongnu period bronze and bronze-related artifacts from the site at Baga Gazaryn Chuluu in the Middle Gobi province of Mongolia were examined for their chemical compositions and microstructures. They include finished objects, leftovers from casting, and pieces of slag from copper smelting and the assemblage likely represents a combination of local and regional production as well as long-distance exchange items. Results show that the entire bronze manufacturing process, from smelting to fabrication, is represented at BGC sites and bronze working may have been technologically self-sufficient, though ore sources are still uncertain. Our evidence suggests that this bronze assemblage was the result of two different technological traditions characterized by either the dominant use of arsenic, enforced apparently by restriction in tin supply, or the profuse use of both tin and lead. The arsenic-based tradition was observed in the majority of pre-Xiongnu period objects while the tin and lead recipes were verified in most objects dating to the Xiongnu period. This shift in bronze tradition may reflect changes in inter-regional interaction with frontier groups beyond the Gobi Desert and with the early state societies of China.     

Identifying a Roman Casting Pit at Tel Dor,Israel: Integrating Field and Laboratory Research

Abstract

The functional identification of industrial features is difficult when few characteristic artifacts are preserved. We studied a Roman-period pyrotechnological feature at Tel Dor, Israel, where the only possibly diagnostic ceramic artifacts were found in fill between the walls and above the floor, rendering their association with the feature itself uncertain. The ceramic artifacts included coarse slabs and fragments of utilitarian vessels, some vitrified with adhering bronze droplets or slag-like residues. Analysis of the sediments within and around the industrial feature, using an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer on-site, revealed high concentrations of copper and lead, indicating metallurgical activity. Lead isotope analyses showed that the slag-like residue adhering to a ceramic fragment had the same isotopic values as the sediments, implying that the fragment was associated with the activities carried out in the feature. Microscopic and chemical analyses of the slag-like residue demonstrated that it was produced from melting leaded bronze. Some of the ceramic fragments contained elongated impressions on their inner surfaces, similar to those of casting molds found at other sites. We propose that the feature was used as a casting pit for bronze objects.     

Postclassic Maya slips and paints and their relationship to socio-political groups in El Petén,Guatemala

LA-ICP-MS analysis of the chemical composition of the exterior slips and red and black pigments used for painted decoration of the three Postclassic Maya slipped ceramic wares suggests that the Itzá and Kowoj used different pigments for exterior slips and decorative motifs. Additionally, different slips and paints were used depending on vessel form and decorative program (red, black, or red-and-black painting or incising). When examined with previous ceramic paste chemical analyses, the data aid in better understanding the changing socio-political alliances and dominance relations in central Petén at the eve of Spanish contact.     

The Context and Significance of Copper Artifacts in Postclassic and Early Historic Lamanai,Belize

Abstract

We consider the archaeological contexts in which copper objects have been recovered at the ancient Maya site of Lamanai in northern Belize and the significance these objects had for the residents of the community during Postclassic (ca. A.D. 950–1544) and Spanish colonial (post 1544) times. More copper objects have been recovered from controlled archaeological contexts at Lamanai than any other site in the southern Maya lowlands area. Bells make up the majority of the assemblage during the centuries just prior to and during historical times, but high status objects such as rings and clothing ornaments found in elite burials dominate in the Early Postclassic period. All of these objects were imported from outside the Maya area. Utilitarian objects, including needles, axes, and fish books, are found in a variety of contexts during Late Postclassic and Spanish colonial times, as are bells and rings. Production materials, including prills, blanks, and pigs/ingots, in addition to mis-cast objects that are production failures, also appear during this time. Nearly all of the copper objects found at Lamanai are distinctly Mesoamerican in form and design, and based on metallurgical analyses it appears that manufacturing technologies were distinctly Mesoamerican as well. The presence of production materials and mis-cast piecesy along with the results of chemical compositional and microstructural analyses, support the idea that the Maya at Lamanai were engaged in the on-site production of copper objects by late precolumbian times.     

Central petén blue pigment: A maya blue source outside of Yucatán,México

Much of the research on Maya Blue has focused on locating palygorskite sources in northern Yucatán, México. To that end, Arnold et al. (2007) reported seven discriminate source mineral locations for palygorskite used in the manufacture of Maya Blue. Recently, a blue pigment was excavated from the archaeological site of Ixlú, El Petén, Guatemala and LA-ICP-MS and INAA analyses were conducted to determine if the pigment had the traditional Maya Blue structure and if it was from one of the seven mineral sources in México. Geochemical analyses demonstrate that the Ixlú pigment has the traditional Maya Blue structure, but it was manufactured from clays in central Petén, Guatemala. These new data suggest that the knowledge of Maya Blue manufacture was transferred and not the actual pigment and they reveal another source for Maya Blue manufacture outside of the Yucatán peninsula.     

Reconstructing landscape at Chavín de Huántar,Perú: A GIS-based approach

The landscape around the prehistoric Peruvian ceremonial center of Chavín de Huántar has undergone extensive geomorphic and anthropogenic change since the beginning of monumental construction at the site in approximately 1200 BCE. Archaeological and geomorphic stratigraphy from the site and its near periphery provide the data necessary to characterize these changes in detail. This paper reports on the use of GIS-based interpolation tools to approximate a complex prehistoric land surface using unevenly scattered point data. Such an interpolated surface serves as the basis for the reconstruction of the pre-Chavín landscape and assessment of landscape change contemporary with the site.     

Exploitation of Beehive Products,Plant Exudates and Tars in Corsica During the Early Iron Age

In the north‐western Mediterranean area, the first Iron Age is characterized by intense contacts and cultural interactions between populations. Archaeological remains such as ceramic vessels or metal and glass objects are usually good indicators of the nature and the intensity of these exchanges, but can also be used to determine the way in which these populations were living at their time. In contrast, organic substances, despite their importance in a wide variety of activities, are rarely investigated due to their low degree of preservation. The recent discovery of a series of amorphous organic residues with adhesive properties at the site of Cuciurpula provided a unique opportunity to address questions related to the types of natural substances exploited, their provenance, their uses and their informational input to intercultural relationships. Our results, based on GC and GC–MS analysis of organic residues preserved at the site of Cuciurpula, provide strong evidence for the most southern use of birch bark tar in Western Europe, and also for the simultaneous use of this substance with pine resin. Beeswax was also identified in some samples. The combined study of residue composition, aspect and location on ceramic sherds reveals a variety of uses, highlighting a complex technical system.     

The production and technology of glazed ceramics from the middle ages,found in the saepinum territory (Italy): a multimethodic approach*

A collection of ceramics from the Middle Ages found in Altilia and Terravecchia (the Saepinum area, Campobasso, Italy) were characterized by using different mineralogical analyses to investigate their provenance and production techniques. The body ceramic was investigated using Rietveld phase analysis of X‐ray powder diffraction patterns, X‐ray fluorescence spectrometry and scanning electron microscopy. The chemical compositions of the coatings were measured by scanning electron microscopy and their mineralogical compositions were determined using a particular technique of X‐ray small‐angle scattering (SAS) optimized for studies of thin films. Moreover, the material used for decoration was studied using micro‐Raman spectroscopy. The archaeometric results confirmed the distinction into two different ceramic classes, already individuated from archaeological analysis: the Altilia objects belong to the protomajolica class, whereas the objects from Terravecchia are RMR (ramina‐manganese‐red) ceramics. A comparison between the chemical and mineralogical compositions of good‐quality ceramic objects and those of waste products indicated local production of the ceramics. A sharp distinction was found in the chemical composition of the coatings: the Altilia products have tin‐opacified lead glazes, while the Terravecchia ones have transparent high‐lead glazes. Among the Altilia products, the unsuccessful process that produced a large quantity of discarded materials was attributed to the high lead content of the glazes. In fact, the principal advantage of the high lead content was to make the preparation and application of the glaze suspension easier, but the risk of reduction of lead oxide to metallic lead was greatly increased. Using micro‐Raman spectroscopy, the following minerals were identified as pigments: pyrolusite for the dark colour, malachite for green, lepidocrocite for yellow and hematite for red.     

Western technical traditions of pottery making in Tang Dynasty China: chemical evidence from the Liquanfang Kiln site,Xi'an city

This study is based on the SEM-EDS and LA-ICP-AES analyses of a sample of twenty-nine Tang sancai sherds unearthed from the Liquanfang site, Xi'an city. The results indicate that ceramics with yellowish bodies are calcareous and those with red bodies were made of ferruginous clays. The use of calcareous clay in Tang sancai bodies is otherwise unknown in Chinese history, which suggests that the technique of Tang sancai making at this site might have been influenced by ceramic technology from the Near East or Central Asia. The paper therefore argues that the traditional approach of treating calcareous clay as the main characteristic of pottery made in the ancient Near East or Central Asia is not necessarily accurate. It is likely that some calcareous Tang sancai ceramics were made in the capital city of the Tang dynasty.     

LUSTRE-DECORATED CERAMICS FROM A 15TH TO 16TH CENTURY PRODUCTION IN SEVILLE*

A set of 17 fragments of ceramics have been uncovered on the occasion of excavations of a workshop in Triana near Seville. These ceramics are typical of objects that are not commonly encountered in present collections in spite of intensive production during the 15th–16th centuries. Chemical and mineralogical analyses have been performed using various techniques (X-ray fluorescence and diffraction, SEM, ion beam analyses). The majority of the ceramic sherds represent the diversity of the Seville production; three fragments recovered in the same archaeological context were not locally produced and belong to the production of eastern Spain (Valence area). The ceramic bodies of the Seville sherds are compatible with the use of clays from the Guadalquivir valley. The glaze and the lustre decoration are comparable to those produced in eastern Spain. These conclusions are based on data that represent the production of a single workshop in Seville; the scatter of the data is due to variations in the processing and/or to alterations during the five centuries of burial of the ceramic fragments.     

Reconstructing Regional Trajectories: the Provenance and Distribution of Archaic to Hellenistic Ceramics in Central Pisidia (South‐west Turkey)

Analytical ceramic studies offer the opportunity to determine cultural development and change on the basis of origin and use of raw materials. In this particular study, an archaeometric approach on ceramics in central Pisidia contributes to the discussion of contact and exchange between indigenous communities and several cultural spheres of influence on a long‐term timescale (eighth to second centuries bce ). Morphological data as well as mineralogical (optical microscopy; n = 273) and chemical composition (by ICP–OES/MS; n = 122) of ceramics and raw materials show distinct resource zones for the production and distribution of ceramics in this connecting region of Anatolia. The use of trace element profiles (REE, HFSE, LILE and TTE) in particular is regarded as instrumental in detailing high‐resolution provenancing of ceramics. The ceramic provenance indicates different patterns of material interactions during the Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic periods. A significant increase in regional interaction occurs coinciding with the development of pottery activities at Sagalassos.     

Roman Glazed Ceramics in the Western Mediterranean: Chemical Characterization by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry of Ceramic Bodies

Several objects of Roman lead-glazed ceramic, found inHispania(Spain), were sampled and analysed in order to characterize them to study the spread of glazed ceramic in the western Mediterranean. Chemical analyses were carried out by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry.Studies of the chemical composition of the ceramic bodies indicate that ceramics from two different production centres reachedHispaniaduring the Roman period: a non-calcareous fabric, coming from Lyon workshops, and calcareous bodies with bicoloured glazes from another main production centre, which is suggested to be Italy. Other objects, of central Gaulish or eastern origin, have also been found in the western Mediterranean, but only occasionally.     

Temper mixture models and assessing ceramic complexity in the emerging Tarascan state

This study presents compositional data from ceramics drawn from surface survey and controlled excavations from three prehispanic sites within the relatively small Lake Pátzcuaro Basin, representing a ceramic sequence stretching nearly 1500 years, from the Preclassic to Late Postclassic Tarascan state (ca. 50 B.C.–1525 A.D.). Using neutron activation analysis, we identify compositional groups and model the importance of volcanic materials as temper in the construction of prehispanic ceramics by matching mathematical simulations of clay–ash mixes to the compositional groups. Rather than discreet clay resources and spatially circumscribed production, we argue for a broadly dispersed and highly varied organization of pre-Tarascan and Tarascan state ceramic production in which the potters' distribution and use of specific volcanic ashy additives, not clays, structured the organization of production.     

Metallurgy and specialisation in Prepalatial Mesara, Crete

The purpose of this paper is to examine the technological knowledge and the technological level of copper metallurgy in the Mesara plain in Crete, during the Prepalatial period. In order to investigate this issue, objects from several (12) sites in the area were chosen for examination. In this way, the technological level of the area and each site could be safely ascertained. From the 55 objects that were examined, a very small sample was taken, which was the subject of metallographic and chemical analyses. By using these methods, the manufacturing processes for the production of each object, as well as the alloy that was used in each case, were identified. The combination of these two methods, along with typology of the objects and the number of objects produced at each site, provided safe conclusions as to the technological knowledge and the possible specialisation of metal production in each site and period. In the end, a lack of homogeneity in the Mesara plain was noticed as concerns the production of copper objects. Some sites seem to have a dominant position, with larger production and trading of metal artefacts, while other sites fail to provide any indication of metal production, and it is very possible that the metal objects were obtained from the neighbouring sites. Finally, the existence of specialised production is obvious in some sites in the Mesara plain, especially in the case of two groups of objects (triangular and long daggers), while the lack of organised and standardised production is obvious in the case of some other sites in the same area.     

Investigation of a Copper-based Hoard from the Megalithic Site of al-Midamman,Yemen: an Interdisciplinary Approach

In 1997, a hoard of copper-based objects was discovered at the megalithic site of al-Midamman, on the Red Sea Tihama coastal plain of the Republic of Yemen. Since there have been very few metal artifacts discovered in the lowlands of Yemen, and there was limited stratigraphy on the site, determining the time and place of production for these artifacts was difficult. A full investigation of the objects was deemed essential to determine their chronology and origin. Analysis included optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for metallography, inductively coupled plasma spectrography (ICP) for bulk chemical composition, SEM to determine phase composition and corrosion products, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) to identify corrosion products.The objects can be divided into three types of copper and copper alloy: pure copper, arsenic rich copper, and tin rich copper. The difference in composition appears likely to be deliberate and suggests that the objects were produced sometime during the Early Bronze Age through the Middle Bronze Age. Further investigation of any metal objects discovered along the Yemeni coast and along the Ethiopian/ Eritrean side of the Red Sea is obviously essential.     

The Source Provenance of Bronze Age and Roman pottery from Cyprus

Archaeological interpretations of ancient economies have been strengthened by chemical analyses of ceramics, which provide the clearest evidence for economic activity, and comprise both the objects of exchange and its means. Pottery is often manufactured from local materials, but its compositional diversity typically prevents significant patterns of resource utilization from being identified. Centrally located and positioned on traditional shipping routes, Cyprus maintained ties with and supplied a variety of distinctive ceramic products to the major commercial centres in the eastern Mediterranean throughout Antiquity. We analysed two Cypriot .ne wares and a variety of utilitarian pottery, as well as samples of extant Cypriot clays to determine source provenance. These chemical analyses provide an objective indication of the origins of ancient (Bronze Age and Roman) ceramics manufactured on Cyprus. The distribution of the probable clay sources and the links between pottery style and the material environment also afford a perspective on the spatial organization of large‐scale pottery production on the island. Compositional analysis provides the means to assemble geographies of pottery production and to unravel the interregional system of exchange that operated in Antiquity, but the ability to accomplish these tasks is predicated on systematic analyses of ceramic products and raw materials that are found far beyond the bounds of individual archaeological sites.     

Ojakly: A Late Bronze Age mobile pastoralist site in the Murghab Region,Turkmenistan

Abstract

Excavations at Ojakly (site 1744) in the Murghab alluvial fan in Turkmenistan mark the first systematic collection of archaeological materials related to Bronze Age mobile pastoralists in the region, and the earliest evidence to date of their occupation patterns, subsistence practices, and ceramic production activities. Because the appearance of mobile pastoral groups in the Murghab during the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1950–1500 b.c.) is traditionally associated with significant changes in regional sociopolitical structures, these data are important for establishing local strategies of and the relationship between sedentary agricultural and mobile pastoral populations. Here, we present ceramic, faunal, archaeobotanical, and lithic data that force us to reconsider the traditional sedentary-mobile dichotomy. Specifically, we find that while the subsistence economies are distinct at urban and non-urban sites, the ceramic production and trade interactions are significantly intertwined and more complex than previously acknowledged for this time period. Additionally, the presence of a ceramic kiln at Ojakly (Turkmen for “place with kiln”) containing unfired ceramics of a type typically associated with sedentary farmers in the Bronze Age Murghab suggests the transfer of technical knowledge between groups who nevertheless maintained distinct material cultural identities. Ojakly provides important new data about coexisting economies in the Late Bronze Age Murghab that can productively unsettle traditional notions of dominance, control, and polarization in sedentary-mobile interactions.     

Archaeometallurgical Investigations in Nakhchivan,Azerbaijan: What Does the Evidence from Late Chalcolithic Ovçular Tepesi Tell Us about the Beginning of Extractive Metallurgy?

The Late Chalcolithic (4400–3950 b.c.) occupation levels from Ovçular Tepesi have yielded a significant assemblage of copper objects and remains of copper production. Together with ore finds, two fragments of nozzle, crucible remains, and a number of small metal artifacts, this assemblage includes the unexpected discovery of three copper axes in an infant burial jar. These axes are the earliest examples of large copper tools known to date in southwestern Asia, whether it is in the Caucasus, Iran, or the Anatolian highlands. More importantly, the fact that these objects were locally produced suggests that significant metallurgical activities were being carried out at Ovçular as early as the second half of the 5th millennium b.c. After presenting the evidence from Ovçular Tepesi, this paper will proceed to a reassessment of the available archaeological and geochemical data concerning the emergence of extractive metallurgy in the southern Caucasus.     

French Decorative Ceramics Mass‐Produced During and After the 17th Century: Chemical Analyses of the Glazes

Chemical analyses of a group of Pb silicate–glazed decorative objets d'art showing scenes of the French royal family (Louis XIII and Henri IV), and biblical and classical figures, have been analysed and compared with other similar heritage ceramics and with the rustiques figulines of Bernard Palissy (1510–90) and his followers and imitators. In particular, non‐destructive ion‐beam chemical analyses (PIXE and PIGE) have been performed on 11 ceramic artefacts from the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) and a like number from several French museums; results for 13 objects are described in detail in this paper. SEM–EDX has been performed on chips (‘microsamples’) taken from small unobtrusive defective regions on the CMA ceramics. The results of the ion‐beam and SEM–EDX techniques are in good agreement. All the decorative ceramics included uniform non‐opacified glazes. None of these objects can be of 16th century production; all must date from the 17th to the 19th centuries.