ASSESSMENT OF IN-SITE VARIABILITY OF POTTERY FROM SESKLO,THESSALY

Results of X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, thin section analysis and scanning electron microscopy applied to the neolithic pottery of Sesklo indicated the existence of quality variation in pottery, which seems to be the result of using different raw materials and different technological procedures. This differentiation has been observed temporally and spatially in the two excavated areas of the site. Application of physicochemical techniques to technological studies of ancient pottery gives for the first time evidence, with potentially important applications, of the social and economic structure of neolithic Greece.