Re-assessing Middle Nubian cultural constructs through ceramic petrography

African Archaeological Review - This study employs ceramic petrography to establish if the existing typology-based divisions for the so-called Middle Nubian cultures can be related to variations in...     

辽陶瓷形制因素论稿

本稿所探讨的是表现在辽境内窑场烧造的釉陶和瓷器的形制上的文化因素。早在2 0世纪 50年代初 ,辽陶瓷研究的开拓者和奠基人李文信先生就指出辽陶瓷就形制上而言有契丹形式和中原形式 (亦即契丹文化因素和汉文化因素 )的分别① 这个认识在他后来的一些论著 ,如《辽瓷简述》( 1 958年 ) ② 、《辽宁省博物馆藏辽瓷选集 (编后记 )》( 1 96 1年 ) ③ 等中得到进一步阐述或修正 ,直到现在仍是辽陶瓷研究的基调。对于辽陶瓷形制中诸如注壶、盏托、唾壶、碗、盘、盏、盒等传统的中原文化因素 ,本稿不打算深入讨论 ,它不反映辽陶瓷的特色 ;而代表辽…     

Touchstones: some aspects of their nomenclature,petrography and provenance

Touchstones are pieces of fine-grained black stone which are used for assaying gold by comparing the colour of streaks made on the surface by alloys of known composition with the colour of the streak from an object of unknown composition. The technique has been in use since at least the 6th century BC.The petrographic aspects of the identification of touchstones are reviewed and 42 historical touchstones or museum specimens of similar looking stone are described, most of them including the results of petrographic examination.The results show that touchstones usually consist of sedimentary rock types, of which the most frequently occurring ones are tuffs, cherts and siltstones.     

Petrodatabase: an on-line database for thin section ceramic petrography

This paper presents an on-line database for the petrographic analysis of pottery and other ceramic artefacts (www.petrodatabase.com). It outlines how the system can be used by the archaeological community and anticipates its potential for greater comparability in thin section ceramic petrography.     

X荧光成分分析实验对测量陶瓷器热释光年代的影响研究

为了考察对一件已经经过X荧光分析实验的陶瓷样品进行热释光年代测定时,年代结果是否会受到X荧光分析实验的影响及其影响程度,本工作选取了古代与现代的陶器、瓷器及三彩样品共26件,在常规、经过胎体成分分析、经过釉层成分分析三种实验条件下测量比较热释光年代的变化.研究发现,对不同时代不同类型的样品,X荧光成分分析实验对热释光测年的影响程度不同;对部分样品的测年结果无影响,对部分样品的年代有增大的影响,但增大的程度不会使热释光测年结果产生真假颠倒的结论.     

Modeling Late Copper Age demographics on the Great Hungarian Plain using ceramic petrography

Ceramic petrography can be an effective method for studying demographic shifts and the possibility of migration into a region. This is based on the principle that ceramic manufacturing technology is resistant to change over time, while form and decoration can change quickly even in times of demographic continuity. As such, sudden shifts in raw material preparation and methods of pottery manufacture may be indicative of the arrival of new people in a region. The manufacturing characteristics indicative of such a demographic change are observable and measurable microscopically. Petrography was used to describe and measure paste characteristics of 114 Middle Copper Age, Late Copper Age, Early Bronze Age, and Middle Bronze Age sherds from the Körös region of the Great Hungarian Plain to determine if changes in manufacturing techniques accompanied changes in ceramic form and decoration at the beginning of the Late Copper Age Baden period (ca. cal. 3500 B.C.). A comparison of the petrographic results from the cultural phases showed that little manufacturing and technology change occurred during the time period covered by the study. Migration of new people into the region is therefore not supported, and changes in ceramic form and decoration associated with the Late Copper Age occurred during an extended period of demographic continuity.     

古陶瓷修复研究——兼谈良渚黑陶双鼻壶及明宣德青化扁瓶的修复

为增加已破损的良渚化黑陶双鼻壶和明代宣德青花扁瓶藏品展示的艺术效果,须对其进行修复。两件器物的修复运用了电脑设计修复方案,采用“陶配陶”、“瓷配瓷”及一些现代先进的粘结材料,传统手工工艺与现代先进工艺相结合的方法,修复效果理想,使之恢复其原来的面貌。说明现代技术和传统修复方法相结合是修复古代陶瓷器的有效方法     

The technological development of stonepaste ceramics from the Islamic Middle East

The microstructures and chemical compositions of stonepaste bodies from the Islamic Middle East, typically produced from a mixture of ten parts crushed quartz, one part crushed glass and one part white clay, are investigated using analytical scanning electron microscopy. For comparison, replicate stonepaste bodies are produced in the laboratory at firing temperatures in the range 900–1200 °C, and are similarly examined. The stonepaste bodies are divided into four primary microstructural groups that reflect the increasing reaction during firing of the glass fragments with the clay and quartz particles. The observed microstructures are then used to assess the geographical and chronological variations in the production technology of stonepaste ceramics from Egypt, Syria, Iran, Uzbekistan and Turkey, spanning the period from 11th to 17th centuries AD.     

Computerized morphological classification of ceramics

A novel morphological analysis of ceramic assemblages is presented using objective, automatic and computerized method for clustering and classification. The analysis is based on the entire shape of the potsherds, as expressed by three mathematical representations of their profiles. The similarity between profiles is mathematically defined in terms of the above mentioned representations. Cluster Analysis and Discriminant Analysis are used to reveal a hierarchical classification of pottery assemblages. The method is illustrated here by a detailed analysis of an assemblage which was classified previously by a pottery expert. A quantitative comparison of the two typologies reveals the power and archaeological sense of the new method.     

The cost-effectiveness of certain methods of recovering macroscopic organic remains from archaeological deposits

In a survey, carried out to investigate the cost-effectiveness of the main methods used to recover macroscopic organic remains from archaeological deposits, it was found that sampling and recovery methods employed varied widely between individual workers. Sample type, recovery method and experience of the worker influenced the time taken to produce identified material, but it was clear that this is an expensive activity which must be justified in terms of information output.     

X-ray fluorescence survey of tikal ceramics

X-ray fluorescence measurements of Ca, Fe, Rb, Sr, Y and Zr were made on 362 ceramic sherds excavated from the lowland Maya centre at Tikal, Guatemala. Twelve sample categories include unslipped, polychrome and red slipped ceramics from three cultural periods, the Manik, Imix and Eznab. Also represented are Manik black, Ik polychrome and Imix Tinaja pink. Results of analyses show two prevalent paste compositions, a calcite-tempered type characteristic of unslipped ceramics and a calcium- poor, rubidium-rich type typical of Late Classic slipped wares. Within these broad types, we observe strong overlap in the compositional data among the different ceramic categories. However, despite the similarities, there are measurable differences in the scatter (or variabilities) of these data and in their degrees of overlap. In general, the variabilities observed in the ceramic composition correlate with the population of the site and the expected number of production centres.     

The technology and production of glazed ceramics from Middle Islamic Jerash,Jordan

Jerash in northern Jordan was, despite a focus on its classical heritage, also active in the Middle Islamic period, but little is known about actual developments during this period. This study represents the first study on the Middle Islamic glazed pottery from the site using scanning electron microscopy energy‐dispersive spectrometry (SEM‐EDS) and thin‐section petrography. The results show that two production traditions existed, each with different provenances. The local production is characterized by a non‐calcareous ceramic body and the use of a high‐lead glaze coloured with iron and copper oxides, whereas the turquoise‐glazed samples, likely imported from Mesopotamia, have a calcareous ceramic body and alkali or alkali‐lead glaze.     

The relationship between enamelling on ceramics and on glass in the Islamic world

In a recent paper, Mason et al. (2001) demonstrated that enamels on mina’i ware, a Persian ceramic of the 12th century, were applied using a special firing of short duration. A similar principle was exploited to enamel glass, beginning in Syria in about the same period. This gives new credence to the long‐standing idea that the origin of enamelling on glass resulted in part from an interaction between glass workers and potters.     

Elemental characterisation of Barbar ceramics from Tell Abraq

The early second millennium levels at Tell Abraq have yielded over 600 fragments of friable, red-ridged pottery with exploding lime grits which is superficially indistinguishable from contemporary, so-called 'Barbar'pottery on Bahrain (1). The Bahraini origin of the Tell Abraq Barbar sherds has been demonstrated by means of proton-induced x-ray and gamma-ray emission (PIXE/PIGME) analysis. In addition, the results of x-ray fluorescence (XRF) of Barbar pottery from Saar on Bahrain (2) have been re-examined, showing that the subgroups which characterise the Tell Abraq material correspond to those found in the Saar corpus. The techniques used on the Tell Abraq and Saar material – PIXE/PIGME and XRF – are compared.     

Coupling lead isotope analysis and petrography to characterize fabrics of storage and trade containers from Hala Sultan Tekke (Cyprus)*

Lead isotopes, thin‐ and sherd‐section analyses are coupled on pottery‐vessel fragments excavated from the Late Bronze Age site of Hala Sultan Tekke (south‐east Cyprus) and representing fabrics used for the production of storage and trade containers. The fabrics of the sherds are first described according to general macroscopic observations. Based on the different fabrics identified, a petrographic analysis is carried out on thin sections and compared to lead isotope results on the same samples. This study shows that a specific fabric corresponds to a specific lead isotopic composition and proposes different sources for the various groups of associated sherds/fabrics. It also demonstrates the compatibility and complementarity of petrography and lead isotopes within pottery provenance study.     

Determining the provenance of black limestone artifacts using petrography,isotopes and EPR techniques: the case of the monument of Bocco

This paper investigates the provenance of the black limestone of the monument known as Bocco, named after the king of Mauretania who presented Silla with this work as a sign of his submission to the power of Rome. A multi-method approach, comprising petrographic observations, carbon and oxygen isotope composition and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra characteristics, was used for this purpose. The monument is part of a reconstruction of a rectangular base (approx. 8 × 2 m) which is likely to have served as the base for a bronze statuary group and is currently composed of six blocks of limestone whose exterior is engraved with a fine frieze. The results of the different analyses were compared with the data of a published database of the most important black limestone quarries exploited during Roman times in the Mediterranean area. The petrographic and physico-chemical parameters did not prove to be very effective in determining the provenance of the black limestone of Bocco; the isotopes result even raised some uncertainty as to whether all six blocks came from the same quarry, though this doubt was dispelled by the EPR data and, above all, by the evident petrographic similarity between them. Differences in the isotopic composition of the various blocks may be due to an in situ rock alteration process caused by interaction with an aqueous fluid. It was, however, impossible to determine with certainty the origin of the material of the stone artifact using the database available; it is possible that the black limestone of Bocco came from an ancient quarry that is likely to be located in north western Africa but has not yet been uncovered. An alternative hypothesis, according to which the limestone used for the monument of Bocco came from the ancient quarry of Ain el Ksir, one of the Tunisian quarries present in the database, is also discussed.     

穆斯堡尔谱学在古陶瓷研究中的应用

穆斯堡尔谱学是研究古陶瓷的一种极其有用的手段,它能提供粘土和粘土烧制条件的信息.穆斯堡尔谱的参数是烧制条件的函数。根据 Fe~(3+)与 Fe~(2+)的强度可能判断原始烧制气氛。根据Fe~(3+)、Fe~(2+)和磁性峰的强度.Fe~(3+)或Fe~(2+)的四极分裂(QS)可判断原始烧成温度。穆斯堡尔谱可以测定粘土或陶瓷中的结构铁和氧化铁的丰度.可测定与陶瓷着色有关的氧化铁粒子的尺寸和分布.钙质粘土的磁比率(M)较低.Q.S 值较大;而非钙质粘土的磁比率较高,Q.S 较小。穆斯堡尔谱可探测由于风化或自然辐照产生的年代效应,这为鉴别古陶瓷的年代提供了某种可能性,穆斯堡尔技术和其他分析技术相互配合可获得可靠的考古学信息。