Keeping an eye on your pots: the provenance of Neolithic ceramics from the Cave of the Cyclops,Youra, Greece

Combined petrographic and chemical analysis of MN and LN ceramics from the Cave of the Cyclops on the island of Youra, Greece, has revealed a compositionally diverse assemblage with a range of different local and off-island sources. Ceramics deposited in Neolithic times on this barren, rocky outpost of the Sporades chain may have originated from a surprising number of possible origins, including from the Plain of Thessaly, Euboea and the volcanic northeast Aegean islands. This picture challenges traditional assumptions about Neolithic pottery production and indicates that significant movement of ceramics was already taking place within the northern Aegean as early as the beginning of the sixth millennium BC. The discovery of a persistent local pottery tradition, that is also found on the neighbouring island of Kyra-Panagia, indicates significant continuity in ceramic technology over some 1500 years.     

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.     

The Faragola Ceramic Collection: Ceramic Production,Consumption and Exchange in Seventh‐Century Apulia

A collection of 30 ceramic samples, 16 of coarse wares and 14 of fine painted wares, have been investigated by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and neutron activation analysis. Further samples of clayey sediments, both locally outcropping and found within the settling tank, have been submitted to the same analytical techniques for comparison with the ceramic collection. The results demonstrated that local clayey sediments were used as received for the production of coarse wares. The same raw materials were sieved and/or refined by decantation for the production of fine painted wares, which, in fact, provided results that were perfectly comparable with those for the clayey raw materials found within the settling tank. The Faragola productions were distinguished from the neighbouring Apulian productions according to petrographic features (the presence of leucite‐bearing volcanic rocks and Mn‐rich wads) and their bulk chemical composition.     

Adhesive Production and Pottery Function During the Iron Age at the Site of Grand Aunay (Sarthe,France)*

A combination of elemental, functional and molecular analyses performed on amorphous organic residues dating from the Iron Age was developed in order to identify these remains and to understand their relationship with ceramic vessels in which some of them were found. These analyses made it possible to distinguish between ceramic vessels used for the production or storage of adhesive materials, mainly birch bark tar, and those dedicated to the preparation of culinary commodities, which contained animal fats. The organization of the production of adhesives is described and the addition of beeswax to birch bark tar is reported for the first time. The use of birch bark tar for coating ceramic vessels is also discussed.     

GLAZED CERAMIC MANUFACTURING IN SOUTHERN TUSCANY (ITALY): EVIDENCE OF TECHNOLOGICAL CONTINUITY THROUGHOUT THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD (10TH–14TH CENTURIES)*

Archaeometric investigation allowed the characterization of two important classes of ceramics: ‘vetrina sparsa’ and ‘invetriata grezza’. Their archaeological peculiarity makes them particularly suited for tracing the evolution of glaze manufacturing in southern Tuscany throughout the medieval period (10th–14th centuries). These ceramics were found in different sites of historical importance, and also from a mining perspective. Local copper, lead, zinc and iron mineralizations supported the growth of several settlements in the vicinity of the mines. The many castles and different archaeological finds (ceramics, glazed ceramic, slag etc.) attest to the intense mineral exploitation of the area from at least the first millennium bc up to the modern period. In light of these geological and archaeological characteristics, archaeometric investigation was intended to provide insight into ancient technical knowledge of ceramic glazing and to determine the source area for raw materials in the medieval period (10th–14th centuries). Ceramic bodies were analysed through OM, XRDp, SEM–EDS and XRF, while coatings were investigated through SEM–EDS. Mineralogical, petrographic and chemical analyses revealed slightly different preparation and firing processes for the two classes of ceramics. These data suggest the continuity through the centuries of the ‘vetrina sparsa’ and ‘invetriata grezza’ production technology. The mineralogical phases, such as monazite, xenotime, zircon, barite, Ti oxide, ilmenite, titanite, tourmaline and ilvaite, and the lithic (intrusive and volcanic) fragments detected within the ceramic bodies suggest a source area in the vicinity of the Campiglia mining district. Lastly, the presence of Cu–Zn–Pb (Ag) and Fe sulphide mineralizations (materials used to produce glaze) in the area supports the hypothesis of local manufacture.     

汉阳陵出土陶牛的葬仪内涵

西汉景帝阳陵自上世纪90年代开展考古工作以来,现已清理了陵园建筑基址、外藏坑、陪葬墓等诸多遗存,出土了极其丰富的各种遗物,其中陶猪、陶羊、陶狗、陶鸡、陶牛等陶塑动物为一大宗。相对而言,陶牛数量不是很多,但仔细分     

HISPANO-MORESQUE POTTERY PRODUCTION OF THE FOURTEENTH-CENTURY WORKSHOP OF TESTAR DEL MOLÍ (PATERNA,SPAIN)

Excavation of Testar del Molí, the only workshop found in the Manises-Paterna area, revealed the existence of a fourteenth-century ceramic workshop covering the remains of the thirteenth-century workshop. This study is concerned with the fourteenth-century production, and forthcoming papers will connect both epochs following the findings of current excavations. The chemical and mineralogical characterization of the ceramic production of this workshop shows the presence of three groups of ceramic pastes which could also be distinguished by, and, thus, related to, their daily use. The raw materials found in the excavation have also been mineralogically and chemically characterized, and a model of possible mixtures of raw materials has also been developed in order to determine their possible use in the manufacture of the pottery previously characterized.     

Ceramic findings from the archaeological site at Aiano-Torraccia di Chiusi (Siena,Italy): a multi-analytical approach

In 2005, the remains of a Roman villa, dating from the early fourth to the sixth centuries ad, were discovered at the archaeological site of Aiano-Torraccia di Chiusi (Siena, Italy). After being abandoned in the sixth century ad, the complex was occupied by a group of Ostrogothic or Lombardic artisans in the period between the sixth and the seventh centuries ad. Many ceramic remains (coarse pottery and red slip ceramics) from the first to the seventh centuries ad have been discovered on this archaeological site. These findings have been analysed using different analytical techniques (optical microscopy (OM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR), and micro-Raman in order to characterize the ceramic body, the coating, the temper, and to investigate the compositional relationship between the different kinds of ceramics. The use of different techniques on the same samples yielded information at different scales. OM and SEM-EDS yielded interesting information on the coarse pottery: the analyses performed on some minerals and rock fragments suggest that stone tesserae from the Roman villa (in the form of numerous marble fragments) were used in the production of this pottery. Bulk analyses (XRD and XRF) and subsequent micro-analyses (SEM-EDS, ATR-FTIR, and micro-Raman) of the red slip pottery revealed clear chemical, mineralogical and textural differences: some ceramics (the TCC sample group) typically have a Fe-enriched coating while others (the INGR sample group) present a clear difference in grain size but no chemical or mineralogical differences between the ceramic body and the coating.     

Possible obsidian sources for artifacts from Timor: narrowing the options using chemical data

Measurements made at the Australian National University using laser ablation ICPMS show that none of the 88 analyzed obsidian artifacts from East Timor match either the known Papua New Guinea or the five Island SE Asian source samples in our ANU collections. There is a coastal journey of more than 3000 km between the occurrence of obsidians from the Bismarck Archipelago volcanic province of Papua New Guinea and the Sunda-Banda Arc volcanic chain, yet obsidian artifacts from the two important PNG sources of Talasea and Lou Island are found at coastal Bukit Tengkorak in eastern Sabah at a similar distance along with material that has no known source. Timor lies south of the eastern section of the active volcanic Banda Arc island chain but it is within range of possible rhyolite sources from there. Although there is a continuous chain of around 60 active volcanoes stretching from west Sumatra to the Moluccas most are basaltic to andesitic with few areas likely to produce high silica dacite–rhyolite deposits. This does not exclude the possibility that the volcanic landscapes may contain obsidian, but without detailed survey and chemical analysis of sources from the Sunda-Banda Arc the attribution of the Timor obsidian artifacts remains to be demonstrated. Timor may seem to be an unlikely source for the presence of obsidians as it lacks reports of the silica-rich rhyolite volcanic centers necessary to produce this material. Despite the absence of detailed survey and analysis of Indonesian obsidian sources, especially from the volcanically active Banda Arc, this paper presents evidence that one of two obsidian sources is clearly from Timor while the other, with less certainty, is also from an unknown local source.     

Ceramic Production and Dietary Changes at Juffure,Gambia

This paper explores the connection between ceramic production and dietary changes immediately before, during, and through the decline of the Atlantic trade at Juffure on the Gambia River. The height of the Atlantic trade in the eighteenth century was a period of increased ceramic production and technical experimentation. Simultaneously, there is increase in the diversity of consumption evident in the faunal and botanical remains recovered. This diversity, in both ceramic manufacture and diet, all but disappears with the decline of the Atlantic trade on the river. It is argued that the greater variety observed in ceramic manufacture during the height of the Atlantic trade is related to social practices of display associated with food. This is accomplished through a comparison of everyday and special events composed of displays of food and wealth across ethnic boundaries. These are indicative of different traditions of consumption and discard rather than signaling ethnic differentiation.     

Plant remains and amphorae from the Roman harbour under Flacius Street in Pula (Istria,Croatia)

The aim of this archaeobotanical and archaeological research is to expand knowledge about Roman diet and plant cultivation in Istria and to compare it with similar localities on the Eastern Adriatic coast. We have also tried to find some new information about maritime trade routes in the Mediterranean area in ancient times. Out of 27 samples collected from an excavated Roman port in Flacius Street in Pula, in total, 9809 plant macrofossils were recovered, identified and analysed. The results of the analysis show that most of the plant remains belong to the group of fruit trees and nuts. The most abundant are the remains of Ficus carica, Pinus pinea, Vitis vinifera subsp. vinifera, Rubus fruticosus agg. and Olea europaea subsp. europaea. These are all species that are widespread in the Mediterranean area and have likely always been consumed by the local population. The number of ruderal and weed species found is relatively high (31) in comparison with other plant categories (fruit trees and nuts; fruit collected from the wild; cereals; condiments; oil crops; vegetables and tubers; plants of fresh water environments; elements of maquis), but as they came to the site accidentally and not by targeted human activity, there are far fewer macrofossils of such plants than those of cultivated species. There were a few elements of evergreen forest vegetation and plants of aquatic habitats at the site (2 + 1), which suggests the existence of this type of vegetation in the area of the site in Roman times. Archaeobotanical comparisons of the site in Flacius Street with similar coastal Roman sites—Verige Bay on Veli Brijuni (first-fifth century ad), the port of Zaton near Nin (first-third century ad) and Caska Bay on the island of Pag (first and second century ad)—reveal considerable similarities, confirming the uniformity in nutrition and plant growth in the wider coastal area. Together with the two Roman ships, during the archaeological excavations of the Roman harbour and its layers, we collected over 2000 different archaeological artefacts out of which a large number was almost perfectly preserved. Some of the mentioned artefacts include ceramic amphorae, ceramic table- and kitchenware, ceramic lamps, different usable objects made of glass, wooden use objects, parts of ship’s equipment and other wooden tools, architecture elements from the nearby port as well as residential structures and remains of stone monuments. Because of the large amount of artefacts found at the site, the analysis of the artefacts and data processing are still in progress. As a contribution for recognizing organic remains, we isolated the amphorae whose purpose was the storage and maritime transportation of different food products and ingredients.     

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.     

“南澳Ⅰ号”出水陶瓷器脱盐技术对比研究

为了对“南澳Ⅰ号”明代沉船出水的大量陶瓷类文物进行安全高效的脱盐保护处理,选取“南澳Ⅰ号”出水的3种不同窑系的陶瓷文物作为研究对象,对其胎体理化性能进行分析检测与对比,并在常温静水浸泡、加热静水浸泡、超声波与加热-超声波4种方法11种不同技术参数下分别进行脱盐实验,并作对比研究。研究发现,加热与超声波技术相比常温浸泡法可以大幅度提高脱盐的速率,但是随着温度的继续升高与超声波频率的增加,脱盐速率增加幅度不大。实验中发现超声波对比较脆弱的陶瓷文物的釉面与胎体会产生一定影响。在对比实验基础上提出了3种不同窑系的陶瓷文物相应的最佳脱盐参数,以期为安全高效地完成“南澳Ⅰ号”出水的2万多件陶瓷器的保护脱盐提供研究支持,并为其他沉船陶瓷器保护提供借鉴。     

Teotihuacan pottery as evidence for subsistence practices involving maguey sap

As in most other pre-industrial cities, urban life at Teotihuacan was closely intertwined with ceramic technology, perhaps nowhere more so than in the realm of foodways. Here, we use two kinds of information derived from ancient pottery—ceramic residues and intra-site sherd distribution patterns—to shed new light on the city’s subsistence economy. We concentrate in particular on the amphora, a type of vessel that may have been used to contain aguamiel and pulque, liquid foodstuffs made of maguey sap. Distributional data distilled from surface collections of the Teotihuacan Mapping Project are informative about patterned variation in the use of these pots at the scale of the entire city. More focused analyses are aimed at chemical characterization of organic residues preserved in ceramic sherds recovered from recent excavations. Part of a broader project aimed at identifying both animal and plant remains, the results of the residue analysis provide the first direct identification of pulque remains in Teotihuacan pottery.     

河南巩义市里沟遗址1994年度发掘简报

里沟遗址是一处以仰韶文化遗存和河南龙山文化遗存为主,兼有春秋战国遗存的遗址。它位于巩义市城区南部里沟村周围,总面积１０万平方米,１９９３年７月由巩义市文管所调查发现①。（图一）随后,为配合巩义市南环路工程,由原郑州市文物工作队（今郑州市文物考古研究所前身）与巩义市文管所联合对遗址进行了发掘,计发掘探方５个,面积１６６平方米,发现灰坑９个②。１９９４年１０月,为配合里沟村委会在南环路北侧的建设工程,两单位再次联合对遗址进行了发掘。本次发掘地点位于１９９３年发掘现场北约３０米处,（图二）亦属遗址东北…     

The contents of unusual cone-shaped vessels (cornets) from the Chalcolithic of the southern Levant

Cornets are cone-shaped ceramic vessels, characteristic of the Chalcolithic period (ca. 4700–3700 BC) in Israel and Jordan. Their contents and use are unknown. Gas chromatography with flame ionization and mass-selective detection, showed that extracts of cornets from five different sites with different related activities (domestic, habitation cave and a cultic complex) all contain the same assemblage of mainly n-alkanes adsorbed within their walls. This assemblage differs from those found in other types of ceramic vessels from the same sites, as well as from the residues found within the associated sediments. The assemblage of odd and even-numbered n-alkanes found in the cornets is almost identical to that found in the residues of beeswax heated on modern ceramic fragments, as well as in a beehive from the Iron Age IIA strata at Tel Rehov, Israel. Thus the cornets are most likely to have contained beeswax. The presence of beeswax in the cornets contributes to our understanding of the Chalcolithic period; a time when secondary products such as milk, olive oil and wine are thought to have come into use.     

CHARACTERIZATION OF THE AMPHORAE,STONE BALLAST AND STOWAGE MATERIALS OF THE SHIPS FROM THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE OF PISA–SAN ROSSORE,ITALY: INFERENCES ON THEIR PROVENANCE AND POSSIBLE TRADING ROUTES*

In December 1998, during excavation for the construction of a new building near San Rossore railway station in Pisa, the remains of ancient ships were discovered. These findings have been dated (radiocarbon) to between the end of the 10th century bc and the fifth century ad ( Belluomini et al. 2002 ). Several transport amphorae belonging to the Hellenistic ship, samples of rocks (stone ballast) belonging to ships B, D and the Hellenistic ship, and stowage materials belonging only to ship B have been analysed. The mineralogical and petrographic data of the investigated samples provided information on the possible provenance of the raw materials utilized in the manufacture of the ceramic amphorae, as well as on the provenance of the rock materials found in the ships as ballast and stowage. The compositional data (obtained through XRD, XRF, OM and EPMA) and their statistical analyses suggest that the provenance of the Dressel amphorae belonging to the Hellenistic ship was the Middle Tyrrhenian coast of Italy, and more precisely the area between Tarquinia and Naples, according to the numerous kilns and wine production sites found in this area. The provenance of the volcanic rocks was from southern Tuscany, northern Latium and possibly the Pontine Islands, whereas the intrusive rock possibly comes from the Calabrian–Tyrrhenian coast and/or the Peloritani area. The impure limestones and the dolostone come from southern Tuscany and the Latium coast; the semi‐metamorphic rocks could come from the coast of southern Tuscany, the Tuscan Archipelago or possibly also from the Ligurian coast; only the sample of mylonitized granitoid possibly comes from either the Calabria–Peloritani arc or the Tuscan Archipelago. The stowage materials, consisting of lapilli and scoria of a pyroclastic nature, are sourced from the Neapolitan area. These data might shed some light on the centres of production of the amphorae and of the trading routes followed by the ships, according to the ports of call.     

Presentation is Everything: Foodways, Tablewares, and Colonial Identity at Presidio Los Adaes

Ceramics and zooarchaeological remains are commonly used as indicators of status and wealth at colonial-period sites, yet colonial expectations with regard to cuisine were often difficult to meet within the rigors of frontier life. In this paper, we juxtapose faunal and ceramic assemblages from Presidio Los Adaes and, informed by ethnohistorical and visual data, investigate how social expectations with regard to foodways were negotiated on the Spanish colonial frontier. While ceramic evidence suggests that tableware varied among households, the zooarchaeological assemblage indicates that Los Adaes residents shared the same basic diet.     

Geoarchaeological tsunami deposits at Palaikastro (Crete) and the Late Minoan IA eruption of Santorini

The explosive eruption at Santorini in the Aegean Sea during the second millennium BCE was the largest Holocene volcanic upheaval in the Eastern Mediterranean region. The eruption was disastrous for the Minoan settlements at Santorini, but the effect on human society in the neighbouring islands and regions is still clouded in uncertainty. Tsunami generation was suggested, but comparatively little evidence was found. The lack of firm tsunami traces is particularly puzzling in Crete with its coastal settlements of the Late Minoan IA period, during which the Santorini eruption occurred. Here, we report the discovery of extensive geoarchaeological tsunami deposits at Palaikastro in north-eastern Crete. These deposits are characterized by a mixture of geological materials, including volcanic Santorini ash, and archaeological settlement debris. Various tsunami signatures were identified: (1) erosional contact with the underlying strata, (2) volcanic ash intraclasts in the lower part of the deposit, (3) reworked building stone material in the lower part of the deposit, (4) individual marine shells, (5) marine micro-fauna, (6) imbrication of rounded beach pebbles, settlement debris, ceramic sherds and even bones, (7) multi-modal chaotic composition. Late Minoan human settlement activities at Palaikastro provided architectural and stratigraphic frameworks in space and time that recorded and preserved tsunami evidence as geoarchaeological deposits. Such stratigraphic resolution and preservation may not occur in the natural landscape. Volcanic ash transported by wind from Santorini south-east to Crete preceded the tsunami. Geological, archaeological and radiocarbon dating criteria all converge, indicating that the tsunami deposits are coeval with the Minoan Santorini eruption. Field evidence suggests that tsunami waves at Palaikastro were at least 9 m high. Inverse tsunami modeling was attempted, based on these newly discovered tsunamigenic deposits. The initial wave in the generation region at Santorini that best fits the stratigraphic data is a wave with +35 to −15 m initial amplitude and a crest length of about 15 km.     

The Emergence of Kwahe’e Black-on-white pottery in the Tewa Basin,New Mexico

Despite the importance of ceramic typologies for defining archaeological cultures and making chronological inferences, the ceramic types comprising these typologies are not always well dated. Here, we present an analysis of radiocarbon dates generated from Accelerator Mass Spectrometry of corn remains found in association with Kwahe’e Black-on-white (Kwahe’e B/w) ceramics from the Tewa Basin of the Northern Rio Grande region of New Mexico in the American Southwest. This autochthonous ceramic type is the first in a cohesive lineage of decorated white wares known as the Rio Grande ceramic series. A Bayesian analysis of these dates yielded a 95% probability range of a.d. 975–1023 for the beginning temporal boundary marking the emergence of Kwahe’e B/w. This estimate for the chronological emergence of Kwahe’e B/w is at least 27 years earlier than previously demonstrated and appears to coincide with the initial population increase in the Tewa Basin during the Late Developmental period (a.d. 900–1200), and with the emergence of the Tewa language that is still spoken in the region.