MOLECULAR AND ISOTOPIC DEMONSTRATION OF THE PROCESSING OF AQUATIC PRODUCTS IN NORTHERN EUROPEAN PREHISTORIC POTTERY*

A number of charred surface residues, adhering to ceramic containers, were obtained from various coastal and inland sites in north‐west Europe dating from the sixth to the fourth millennium cal bc . In order to investigate the use of these vessels and in particular to identify any marine products, the residues were subjected to carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis. Variation in carbon isotope ratios between different samples indicated that some vessels may have been used to process marine products. This analysis was corroborated by specific identification of aquatic products following structural and isotopic characterization of lipids extracted from selected samples.     

CORRESPONDENCE AND DISCRIMINANT ANALYSES OF SAND AND SAND TEMPER COMPOSITIONS,TONTO BASIN,ARIZONA*

Geologists use petrographic modal analysis to relate fluvial sand composition to source rock composition, thus establishing provenance. Archaeologists seeking to establish provenance of sand temper in pottery can use similar petrographic methods, but their finer scale of investigation requires more precise statistical tools than those employed by geologists. A quantitative method for performing that task is presented. It utilizes correspondence analysis and discriminant analysis of logratio transformed point‐count data to define petrofacies, or sand temper resource procurement zones. The procedure is illustrated with sand and sand‐tempered sherd samples collected from the Tonto Basin, central Arizona; temporal trends in utilitarian ceramic production c. AD 100–1350 are reviewed.     

WHY A KILN? FIRING TECHNOLOGY IN THE SIERRA DE LOS TUXTLAS,VERACRUZ (MEXICO)*

The benefits of one ceramic firing technology over another are not absolute, but depend upon the interaction of multiple environmental, economic and social factors, as well as the specific design of firing facilities. The coexistence of updraft kilns and open firing methods in the Sierra de los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, Mexico, for over 1700 years provides a case‐in‐point. Evaluation of the performance characteristics of ancient and modern firing technologies in relation to their natural and behavioural contexts offers a more secure basis for understanding this specific historical instance of long‐term polymorphism than explanations based in the generalized technological advantages of kilns or their cross‐cultural association with intensive modes of production.     

CHARACTERIZATION OF RED‐COLOURED SLIPS (ALMAGRA) ON ISLAMIC CERAMICS IN MUSLIM SPAIN*

Small objects found in Islamic (eleventh‐century) kilns excavated in Zaragoza (Spain) were studied to determine the nature of the red coating of almagra pottery. Ceramics with almagra decoration were completely coated with a glossy deep‐red layer, a slip, applied to the body before firing. Chemical and mineralogical studies were carried out, together with analysis of a surface treatment with organic compounds. The results of this study confirm that almagra ceramics were produced by means of a specific and elaborate process (slip preparation, firing and wax application), demonstrating the introduction of this slip into local production during the Islamic period.     

RAMESSIDE GLASS-COLOURING CRUCIBLES*

The preparation of glass in New Kingdom Egypt heavily involved the use of crucibles. Shape, mode of operation and function of these vessels have been reconstructed on the basis of new, stratified material from the excavation at Qantir, eastern Nile Delta. The crucible fabric, the internal layer protecting the vessel from the charge, and the glass melted in the crucibles are characterized by chemical and petrographic studies. The crucibles were apparently employed mainly to add the colourants to the glass. The broader archaeological context strongly suggests that glass production in the Late Bronze Age has been a highly developed, specialized and organized craft, with different factories for glass production, for colouring, and for working, connected by a wide-ranging trade network.     

Compositional and Microstructural Study of KoryŎ Celadon and Whiteware Excavated from SŎRi Kiln in Kyŏnggi Province

An extensive study of the composition and microstructure of celadon and whiteware sherds excavated at Sori, one of the most important sites that were active during the founding stage of the stoneware and porcelain industry in Korea, was carried out. The analysed sherds were organized according to four different levels of the excavation and four different styles of haemurigup foot rim. Principal component analysis of the chemical compositions of the sherds revealed slight differences in their body and glaze compositions between the levels of excavation. Porcelain stone with high silica and low aluminium contents was generally used as the body material and wood ash as the chief flux in the glaze. Over the period of operation, the aluminium content in the bodies of the ceramics decreased and the P₂O₅ content in the glazes increased. Glazed bodies were fired in a single step, in contrast to the two‐step method used in later ceramic production. Firing conditions were adjusted to produce vitrification of the glazes, which meant that vitrification of the ceramic bodies occurred to varying extents, mostly determined by the relative contents of flux in the body and the glaze.     

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.     

GEOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS AND SOCIOCULTURAL COMPLEXITY: A CASE STUDY FROM EARLY IRON AGE MEGIDDO (ISRAEL)*

Few archaeological sites can claim a more celebrated position than Megiddo, the Armageddon of biblical revelation. Guardian to a strategic pass on the ancient land bridge that traverses the region, it has long been known that Megiddo played a prominent role in the emergence of the Iron Age nation‐states of biblical fame. Given its pivotal location, Megiddo provides an ideal opportunity to examine the experience of a community that found itself at the centre of these developments. The archaeological and textual evidence indicates a community that enjoyed extensive contact with an array of culturally distinct sociopolitical groups emerging in its hinterland. To further explore the nature and extent of this interaction, an assemblage of 86 ceramic sherds was analysed by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). This paper presents the results of this analysis, together with an evaluation of potential geochemical and archaeological interconnections. Based on this comparative analysis, implications are drawn regarding Megiddo's role in the changing cultural and political landscape of this formative period in the history of the region.     

Strontium Isotopes in the Investigation of Early Glass Production: Byzantine and Early Islamic Glass from the Near East*

⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios have been determined for glasses from four production sites, dated to between the sixth and the 11th centuries, in the Eastern Mediterranean region. On the basis of elemental analyses, the glasses at each location are believed to have been melted from different raw materials. Two glass groups, from Bet Eli‘ezer and Bet She‘an, in Israel, are believed to have been based upon mixtures of Levantine coastal sands and natron, and have ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios close to 0.7090, plus high elemental strontium, confirming a high concentration of modern marine shell (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ~ 0.7092) in the raw materials. The isotopic compositions of these two groups of glasses differ slightly, however, probably reflecting a varying ratio of limestone to shell because the sands that were utilized were from different coastal locations. Natron‐based glasses from a workshop at Tel el Ashmunein, Middle Egypt, have ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values of 0.70794–0.70798, and low elemental strontium, consistent with the use of limestone or limestone‐rich sand in the batch. High‐magnesia glasses based on plant ash, from Banias, Israel, have ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values of 0.70772–0.70780, probably reflecting the isotopic composition of the soils that were parental to the plants that were ashed to make the glass. Strontium and its isotopes offer an approach to identifying both the raw materials and the origins of ancient glasses, and are a potentially powerful tool in their interpretation.     

WHERE DID THE LUSTRE TILES OF THE SIDI OQBA MOSQUE (ad 836–63) IN KAIROUAN COME FROM?*

Metallic lustre decoration of glazed ceramics is a very special kind of ornament, because its colours change with the observational conditions. In diffused light, they can be green, brown or ochre–yellow. In specular reflection, they show an associated coloured metallic shine (blue, golden‐yellow or orange). The lustre tiles at the Sidi Oqba Mosque in Kairouan still have no defined origin (possibly Kairouan and/or Mesopotamia). Physicochemical analyses of eight Kairouan lustre tile samples and four Mesopotamian lustre pottery samples show that the Kairouan tiles probably came from Mesopotamia, from a major production centre, possibly Baghdad, Samarra or Basra.