COMPOSITION AND ORIGIN OF IAPYGIAN POTTERY FROM ROCA VECCHIA,ITALY

We have studied 35 samples of fragments of ceramic containers dated between the eleventh and the eighth centuries BC, found at the archaeological site of Roca Vecchia, some 20 km from Lecce along the Adriatic (Salentine) coastline. Analysis of the elemental composition of the finds has been performed by means of atomic emission spectroscopy in plasma and the results obtained have been treated with diverse multivariate statistical techniques. Except for some minor differences, the statistical analysis confirms the grouping structures indicated by typological and stylistic evaluations of the samples, in accordance with the validity of the above methods.     

CHEMICAL AND MINERALOGICAL ANALYSES OF GALLO-ROMAN WALL PAINTING FROM DIETIKON,SWITZERLAND

Around 90 samples of Roman wall painting dating from the first to the third century AD were analysed using different analytical techniques: X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, infrared spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectrometry, optical microscopy and physico-chemical tests. The identified pigments are: ash, calcite, carbon black, celadonite, cinnabar, Egyptian Blue, glauconite, goethite, hematite and red lead. Pigment mixtures were used to get other colours such as brown, pink or purple. Three types of plaster were used: a first, and most dominant, with river sand, a second with crushed tile for damp places and a third, to which cinnabar was exclusively applied, was prepared with crushed calcite crystals.     

NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS OF BIRD BOWLS AND RELATED ARCHAIC CERAMICS FROM MILETUS

In this paper we present the results of a chemical investigation by neutron activation analysis of sherds of different kinds of bird kotylai, bird bowls and related wares excavated in Kalabaktepe, a hill of the ancient city of Miletus. A new archaeological classification of this well-known group of Archaic ceramics of eastern Greece is presented. A number of kiln wasters of misfired vessels from Kalabaktepe revealed a characteristic local pattern. This pattern helped to clarify the provenance of some of the bird bowls classified archaeologically as of orientalizing type: they have been made in Miletus. But bird kotylai and bird bowls in the 'standard fabric’as well as other archaeologically related vessels show a different chemical pattern of unknown provenance.     

A PROVENANCE STUDY OF POTTERY FROM ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES NEAR CANOSA,PUGLIA (ITALY)*

Studies have been carried out to assess the provenance of selected pottery excavated at archaeological sites near Canosa, Puglia (Italy). Sixty-six sherds, ranging in date from the mid-seventh century BC to the beginning of the third century BC, were analysed by atomic absorption spectroscopy and 16 elements were determined. The analysis data were subjected to multivariate classification procedures. Tests showed that the majority of the examined sherds came from ancient local kilns; a probable Ionian origin was established for some other sherds, while the rest were of unknown origin.     

FIRING ANALYSIS OF SOUTH-EASTERN MISSOURI INDIAN POTTERY USING IRON MÖSSBAUER SPECTROSCOPY*

The Mössbauer spectra of prehistoric pottery and clay from the Malden Plain of south-eastern Missouri, USA, were examined. The pottery dates from AD 500 to 1400. The earlier sherds were tempered with sand and the later ones with shell. The sherds and clay contain a mixture of illite, smectite, and kaolinite. Most samples of clay and sherds contained both ferric and ferrous species. The spectral parameters for the ferric species were %DLE_Q～0. 7—1.1 mms^-1 and δ～0.0–0.3 mms^-1 for the ferrous species, ΔE_Q～2.1–2.7mms^-1 and δ～0.7–1.0mms^-1. The ferric to ferrous ratio is more accurately determined from the spectra than from consideration of the colour or the firing core of the sherds, which are not always related to the iron species ratio. Differences among sherds in the ferrous ΔE_Q can be related to original temperature of heating but with low precision.     

ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS AS A TOOL FOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL DATA ANALYSIS*

Artificial neural networks (ANN) offer a supplement to traditional classification algorithms applied to archaeological data. Because of their flexible architecture, non-linearity and independence from the distribution of the underlying data, neural networks have unique advantages for such applications. In particular, ANN models are well suited for use with the sparse data sets common in archaeological work. Combining multivariate techniques with networks for data validation, pre-processing and classification exploits the merits of both and provides a comprehensive approach to the analysis and classification of archaeological data.     

PRE-COLUMBIAN METALLURGY: TECHNOLOGY,MANUFACTURE, AND MICROPROBE ANALYSES OF COPPER BELLS FROM THE GREATER SOUTHWEST*

Twenty-four cast copper crotals (commonly called bells), one 'spilled bell’, one tinkler bell and a number of minerals from locations throughout the Greater Southwest were analysed for their elemental composition by a PIXE nuclear microprobe at Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, USA. Sixteen bells contained minor and trace amounts of silver, antimony, arsenic, lead, and in some cases tin, strontium, and selenium. Nine bells contained little or no detectable amounts of these elements. This suggests that several workshops throughout the Greater Southwest and Mexico might have manufactured these bells.     

TEPHRA SAMPLES FROM MOCHLOS AND THEIR CHRONOLOGICAL IMPLICATION FOR NEOPALATIAL CRETE

Five deposits of Santorini tephra have been found in the excavations currently under way at the site of Mochlos which lies on the north coast of Crete about 140 km to the south of Santorini. This paper provides refractive index and trace element analyses for the largest of these deposits, examines the stratigraphy of all five deposits, and notes the chronological implication of this stratigraphy for the Late Minoan IB period, the floruit of Minoan civilization.     

NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE SPECTROSCOPIC AND ISOTOPIC ANALYSIS OF CARBONIZED RESIDUES FROM SUBARCTIC CANADIAN PREHISTORIC POTTERY

Late prehistoric pottery is found in abundance at archaeological sites around Southern Indian Lake. Black residues, found on the two dominant vessel forms, flat plates and round pots, are presumed to be the remains of prehistoric meals. ¹³C cross-polarization magic-angle-spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (CPMAS NMR) and¹³C and¹⁵ N isotopic ratios and C/N ratios are used to reconstruct prehistoric diet and to shed light on possible uses for the plates. Samples of foods were cooked in clay pots, on a wood fire, to simulate the conditions of burning that could have produced the residue. Decomposition of carbohydrates, protein, and fat during cooking is studied with ¹³C CPMAS NMR, and the effect of cooking on isotopic and C/N ratios documented. Predominantly fish and fat were cooked in the pots, whereas the residues from plates contain a greater proportion of fat and could have been used as frying pans or possibly as fat-burning lamps placed on the ashes of a wood fire.     

OBSIDIAN IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AND THE NEAR EAST: A PROVENANCING SUCCESS STORY

Obsidian provenancing studies comprise one of the most productive and successful research programmes of archaeological science. Obsidian characterization has been successful because workable obsidian is homogeneous on a small scale, analysable by a large number of methods, and is restricted to a small number of mainly readily distinguishable geological sources. Analytical, dating, source, and trade studies within the western Mediterranean, central and eastern Europe, the Aegean, and Anatolia and the Near East during the last 30 years or so are reviewed. Research has shown that distributions are mainly separate in the four regions examined, and that obsidian was traded up to 900km in the prehistoric period. Publications on obsidian in the areas under review reached a peak of frequency in the later 1970s and 1980s, but have now decreased in number. This may reflect changing fashions in archaeometric studies, and a current lack of routine application of the provenancing methods developed.