A magnetic study of Etruscan bucchero pottery: An application of rock magnetism to archaeometry

We have applied techniques used in rock magnetism to the study of possible temporal changes in provenance and firing conditions of a collection of Etruscan bucchero pottery fragments representing the interval between 800 B.C. to 400 B.C. To our knowledge, this is the first time that such procedures have been applied to ancient ceramic wares. Our preliminary magnetic measurements demonstrate that this approach can provide useful archaeological information, as exemplified by the following results: (1) Bucchero ceramic styles sottile, spesso, and possibly pesante, contained magnetic particles of similar grain sizes, which suggested a common provenance and similar firing conditions for these pot typologies. (2) Ceramic styles buccheroid impasto and grey bucchero each had magnetic characteristics different from those in (1). However, too few samples of these were available for any definite conclusions. (3) The occurrence of magnetite, and not hematite, in all samples indicated that firing conditions were effectively reducing. (4) Variations in the amount of magnetite in different samples indicated that slight inhomogeneities must have existed in the iron oxide/hydroxide content of the local clay source. Most magnetic techniques are fast, easy, and generally nondestructive. Some magnetic properties, such as initial susceptibility, saturation remanent magnetization, and coercivity of remanence, can even be measured in the field. At the least, magnetic measurements can be used initially to discriminate among different groups of potsherds. Selected samples can then be analyzed with more elaborate methods of archaeometry.     

The source of raw materials for Roman pottery from Leptiminus,Tunisia

Leptiminus, a Roman port city on the west coast of Tunisia, North Africa, exported olive oil and a garum fish paste to Rome. Excavations have uncovered many facilities including kilns and a potter's workshop, indicating an extensive ceramic industry. The vessels, manufactured at Leptiminus, included African red‐slip fineware, coarseware, and amphorae. A petrographic study of pottery sherds showed them to contain very similar temper, rounded aeolian sand grains and limestone, but varying in proportions to produce different textures. An investigation of the source of raw materials for the pottery found three distinct types of clay within a 50 km radius of Leptiminus: grey Miocene, brown Pliocene, and green Late Pliocene clay. Statistical analysis of trace element compositions, using induced neutron activation, of clays and sherds showed that the Pliocene brown clay was used to create all types of pottery. The specific clay horizon, used in Roman times, has apparently been removed by quarrying. However, a lateral continuation of this bed was found 7 m beneath the Leptiminus site 290. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

甘青地区马家窑文化彩陶贸易及其动力探讨

马家窑文化是甘青地区仰韶文化晚期阶段一个重要的文化遗存类型,其以精美的彩陶闻名于世,对于马家窑文化彩陶的交流传播研究受到了学术界的广泛关注.本文运用X-荧光光谱分析法对甘青地区5个典型马家窑文化早期阶段遗址出土的92件彩陶陶片样品和各遗址附近采集的42份红粘土及黄土样品进行化学元素组成分析,追溯彩陶的产源地及贸易.同时基于陶器的起源传播理论,收集整理马家窑文化区遗址出土的粟(Setaria italica)、黍(Panicum miliaceum)农作物以及动物骨骼遗存鉴定资料,探讨马家窑彩陶贸易的动力.Ti/Al-Na/K和主成分分析结果显示宗日文化区宗日遗址的马家窑文化彩陶元素组成特征和马家窑文化主体区域的彩陶一致,表明宗日遗址马家窑类型彩陶是从马家窑文化主体区域贸易而来;马家窑文化彩陶的传播和该地区粟黍农作物的交流传播具有时空一致性,粟黍农业人群沿黄河上游谷地向共和盆地的扩散带来了新的文化元素;宗日文化区和马家窑文化核心区生业模式的差异带来了跨区域间文化交流的动力,这也可能是马家窑文化彩陶贸易的动力.     

An exploration of potential raw materials for prehistoric pottery production in the Tao River Valley,Gansu Province,China

Northwest China is known for its Majiayao-style Neolithic painted pottery which has received much praise for its high level of craftsmanship, yet its chain of production, in particular the step of raw material selection, is still poorly understood. To fill this lacuna, the present study explores the raw materials used in producing these wares from a geological and technological perspective. At its core stands the first geoarchaeological survey conducted around the eponymous site of Majiayao which collected 47 samples of raw materials suitable for ceramic production including clay, loess and rocks, which were all analysed macroscopically. A selection was analysed using thin-section petrography, and a subset of the clay and loess samples were subjected to firing experiments. Additionally, three clay samples were analysed by scanning electron microscope with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer to understand their composition and behaviour in ceramic production. These were then compared to archaeological ceramics, thus providing insights into raw-material availability and selection that will be of importance not only for research on Majiayao-style pottery but also for later-period ceramics produced in the area. This research shows how an archaeologically informed geological survey can contribute insights into human–environment interaction in early pottery production, especially the interplay between raw-material availability, technological know-how and potters' choices.     

Provenance and microprobe assays of phyllite‐tempered ceramics from the uplands of central Arizona

The ceramics in use across a broad upland zone of central Arizona during the early Classic period (ca. A.D. 1100–1300) were characterized by a lack of mineralogical variability; nearly all of the clay containers were tempered with one rock type, phyllite. Consequently, nearly all of the upland pottery is assigned to a single pottery type, Wingfield Plain. This compositional uniformity has frustrated ceramic provenance studies, and, as a result, little has been learned previously about the organization of ceramic production and exchange in the upland territory. There are, however, considerable and interpretable chemical differences in the phyllite‐tempered wares, as shown with microanalyses of the temper fragments and pottery clay fractions with an electron microprobe. The chemical patterning is useful for investigating issues pertaining to the upland zone, including the organization of ceramic manufacture, community arrangements, and pottery transactions during a time of prevalent hostilities in central Arizona. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Preliminary chemical and micromorphological observations on Urartu (800–600 B.C.) ceramics,eastern Turkey

Anatolia has long been a major pottery production center of the ancient world, dating back 7000 cal yr B.P. The Early Iron Age Urartu Kingdom (800–600 B.C.) of eastern Anatolia is known for the production of high‐quality pottery, but little is known regarding firing technology and manufacture of these ceramics. Here we present a preliminary study of Urartu ceramic micromorphology and chemistry and suggest that the Urartus had good knowledge of local geology and intentionally used chemical fluxes (Pb, Rb, and Li) to attain desired firing temperatures. The sophisticated production of Urartu ceramics is comparable to later high‐quality Roman pottery (terra sigillata) procured from the same area. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Reversible flocculation and deflocculation of ball clays

One of the main usages of ball clays is in the pottery industry. However, in order to transport the clay suspensions from the mine site, some distance away from the consumer, dewatering of the clay suspension must be performed. The main restriction is that any dewatering treatment must not interfere in obtaining deflocculated, free flowing suspensions required by the pottery manufacturer.Investigations in the flocculation/deflocculation of these clay suspensions, resulted in finding a technique capable of achieving both requirements. The technique employs flocculation by an anionic flocculant in the presence of 10 mM of magnesium sulfate, thus achieving the dewatering step. When the magnesium sulfate was removed from the flocculated suspensions by simply washing the filter cake, good deflocculation of the clay suspension was achieved at alkaline pH. The role of MgSO₄ in the flocculant adsorption/flocculation, and subsequently in the flocculant desorption/deflocculation, was discussed.     

Using Lead Isotopes to Determine Pottery Provenance in Cyprus: Clay Source Signatures and Comparison with Late Bronze Age Cypriote Pottery

This paper presents the lead isotopic composition of potential clay sources for pottery production, collected in the four major geological zones of Cyprus (Troodos Ophiolite, Circum Troodos Sedimentary Succession, Mamonia Terrane, Kyrenia Terrane) and evaluates its usefulness in Cypriote pottery provenance studies. The clay isotopic signatures from the four zones are compared to each other and to the isotopic composition of various utilitarian pottery wares from three Late Bronze Age sites, respectively located in southern Cyprus (Alassa‐Pano Mandilaris), east Cyprus (Enkomi), and southeast Cyprus (Hala Sultan Tekke). It also explores the potential of this method to better discriminate between potential raw materials used for the production of Base‐ring ware, one of the most characteristic fine pottery of Late Bronze Age Cyprus, which was widely spread in the Eastern Mediterranean (Courtois, 1981; Vaughan, 1991, 1994). Results show that three main lead isotopic fields can be distinguished among the Cypriote clay sources and the comparison of Plain sherds with the clay sources allows discrimination between local products and imports. They also clearly indicate that all the Base‐ring sherds analyzed in this study were made of the clays from the Kathikas Formation that crops out in only limited parts of southwest Cyprus.     

宿迁市晓店陶瓷矿床特点及评价

晓店陶瓷矿床位于郯庐断裂带内，并分为瓷石，陶土和陶瓷土三大类型，其中瓷石矿产于下白垩统青山组火山岩中，陶土矿产于上白垩统王氏组中，瓷土矿产于上新统宿迁组中。测试结果表明，该陶瓷矿是较理想的建筑陶瓷原料，并可望成为江苏新的陶瓷原料基地。     

Provenance of sand temper in Hohokam Ceramics,Arizona

Sand temper compositions of regionally distinct Hohokam pottery sherds were determined by detailed point counts using sedimentary petrographic methods. Different temper compositions from different sites were compared with maps of sand composition zones within the geographic range of the pottery in order to establish the probable provenance of each sherd. A number of probable instances of intraregional pottery exchange were identified. The larger number of sand sources in undecorated vs. decorated pottery at each site suggests that undecorated pottery was made in more places than decorated vessels, and may have been traded differently as well. Petrographic analysis of temper is a useful method for studying exchange of homogeneous pottery in geologically diverse areas, and for investigating prehistoric Hohokam interaction in the Tucson and Red Rock Basins on a scale not possible with traditional archaeological techniques.     

Pliocene clays from Aegina (Greece): Reference material for chemical provenance studies on bronze age pottery from the Island

Normally, the use of clays as reference materials in chemical provenance studies of ancient ceramics is complicated due to the original clay paste processing. The primary mixing and/or refining of raw materials during pottery production makes a straightforward comparison of archaeological ceramics with extant geological materials difficult if not impossible in many cases. However, in the case of Pliocene clays from Aegina (Greece), which were examined chemically and mineralogically and compared with Bronze Age pottery produced on the island, a successful exception can be presented. The chemical composition of a large group of Aeginetan pottery resembles the chemical composition of clays from a deposit in close vicinity to the main Bronze Age settlement of the island. Clays from specific outcrops exhibit considerable chemical and mineralogical homogeneity, and the suitability of those clays for pottery production apparently made substantial clay paste processing unnecessary. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Determination of the initial firing conditions of Ayyubid/Mamluk painted pottery excavated from northern Jordan

A combination of different scientific techniques has been utilized to estimate the initial firing temperature and kiln atmosphere of a collection of Islamic painted sherds excavated from an archaeological site in northern Jordan. Scanning electron microscope investigation of samples refired at different temperatures proves that the pottery was fired at around 750°C in an oxidizing atmosphere. Similar results were obtained by the thermal analysis study using thermogravometric, differential thermogravemetric and differential thermal analysis and by the temperature-minerological scale analysis. The obtained results shed light on the manufacturing techniques adopted by the Islamic potter of the period. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

南庄头遗址早期陶器烧成温度研究

采用热膨胀仪高温和低温测试方法,结合模拟试验和X射线衍射分析,对华北地区重要的新石器时代早期遗址——河北徐水南庄头遗址所出早期陶片的烧成温度进行综合分析,从而为平地堆烧工艺提出较为科学的证据。模拟实验表明,所采用的热膨胀仪能适应低温法测温实验;用热膨胀高温法测出早期陶片中有一块样品原始烧成温度略高于900℃,其余5块样品皆低于900℃;通过热膨胀低温法较为准确地测出这五块样品原始烧成温度是分别介于550~650℃、650~750℃、750~900℃三个范围,而X射线衍射分析结果从物相成分的角度证明了测温结果的可靠性。样品总体原始烧成温度呈一种较低温、不均匀分布的情况,与民族学调查的平地堆烧工艺有共同之处,这表明当时南庄头先民的制陶工艺还在平地堆烧阶段。     

Distinctive Volcanic Material for the Production of Campana A Ware: The Workshop Area of Neapolis at the Duomo Metro Station in Naples,Italy

Recent transportation infrastructure works in Naples, Italy, provided important discoveries related to the production of pottery in the Hellenistic workshop area of Piazza Nicola Amore. A minero‐petrographic investigation was conducted on 35 samples belonging to the widespread Campana A ware and production indicators (clayey raw materials, unfired Graeco‐Italic amphorae, kiln wastes, workshop tools). Additional analysis was conducted on black‐glaze and common ware samples for comparison. The analyses reveal compositional and technological homogeneity of Campana A ware. Samples are characterized by low CaO content with evidence of both volcanic and sedimentary components, suggesting that different clay sources were properly mixed to prepare a standard recipe. Production indicators, black‐glaze and common wares, have a composition well consistent with the calcareous clays from the island of Ischia. Leucite‐ and garnet‐bearing temper from the Somma Volcano were used for the preparation of coarse‐grained pastes, unfired Graeco‐Italic amphorae, and clayey raw materials, thus suggesting that they represented the clay sources for amphorae production. Our results reveal new technological and socioeconomic aspects of Hellenistic pottery production in the Bay of Naples, in particular for the Campana A ware, now representing a new reference group: Neapolis.     

Composition and origin of material in pre-columbian pottery,San Salvador Island,Bahamas

Thin-section analysis and X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that pre-Columbian Indian pottery of San Salvador Island, Bahamas is composed of angular fragments of invertebrate shells bound by clay and quartz. The source of the clay and quartz apparently was soil formed from dust accumulating over thousands of years by atmospheric deposition of material transported from North Africa. No evidence of biogenic siliceous material is found in pottery sherds native to the island. An atmospheric origin for the clay and quartz is supported strongly by clay/quartz ratios and quartz particle sizes in atmospheric dust presently being transported from North Africa compared to a soil (paleosol?) sample from Pigeon Creek Indian Site, San Salvador Island.     

甘肃庆阳晚更新世萨拉钨苏组中发现陶器残片

甘肃庆阳地区沿河谷萨拉钨苏组分布普遍,在庆阳附近和环工子该组底部砂支和上部粘土层陶片。同一层位产哺乳动物化石,其地质时代属晚更新世。＾１４Ｃ测年资料也反映它是一套距今约三万年前的堆积,与根据哺乳动物化石所确定的地质年代相一致。这一发现把陶器出现的年代提前了大约２万年,其意义重大。     

柱撑粘土复合材料的研究进展及其在环境污染物治理方面的应用

以具有片状或层状结构以及较为规整的大孔结构的粘土材料为母体,在其层间引入不同阳离子化合物为柱化剂而合成出性能各异的新型柱撑粘土 (pillared clay)复合材料及其应用是目前环境地球化学研究中备受瞩目的研究前沿之一.对柱撑粘土复合材料的制备进展及其在环境污染治理中的应用进展进行了系统的综述,详细探讨了各种合成影响因素如有机阳离子、无机阳离子以及两者联用柱化剂的选择、复合材料热处理过程、表面酸化预处理等手段对合成柱撑粘土复合材料的制备及性能的影响,同时还对柱撑粘土复合材料在水体和大气环境中毒害有机污染物治理方面的应用进行了比较详细的综述.     

Available Clay and Feldspar Reference Samples As Standards for Archaeological Pottery Studies

The available clay and feldspar reference samples, rather than the frequently used rock reference samples, are suggested as standards for archaeological pottery studies because their trace-element contents are more like those of the artefacts. Such samples may provide a basis for correlating archaeological studies throughout the world. The assumption that bottles of such reference samples should have homogeneous trace-element contents because of the nature of the materials has been confirmed by the analysis of variance of trace -element data by instrumental neutron activation analysis.     

A plains ceramic clay source characterization by comparative geochemical and petrographic analyses: Results from the Calhan Paint Mines,Colorado, U.S.A.

The Calhan Paint Mines District, 5EP3258, Colorado, presents exposures of an exceptional clay source. When the area also produced prehistoric Ceramic stage sites, it provided the opportunity for both pottery and potential clay source analysis by optical petrography, X‐ray diffraction, and neutron activation. Although the main purpose of this study is the characterization of the ceramics and outcrop clays, results from a limited number of samples suggest that the colorful clays, the figurative “paints,” of the Calhan Paint Mines were purposely used in prehistoric times as clay source materials for ceramic production. The Calhan Paint Mines are quite possibly the only prehistoric Plains Ceramic stage clay source currently confirmed within the state of Colorado. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Lead isotopic analysis within a multiproxy approach to trace pottery sources. The example of White Slip II sherds from Late Bronze Age sites in Cyprus and Syria

Lead isotope analyses were carried out on fragments of White Slip II ware, a Late Bronze Age Cypriote pottery ware, and on raw materials possibly used for their production. Sherds originate from three Late Bronze Age sites (Hala Sultan Tekke and Sanidha in Cyprus and Minet el-Beida in Syria) and clays come from the surroundings of Sanidha, a production site for White Slip ware. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) are combined with Pb isotope analyses to further investigate the effectiveness of the latter method within a multiproxy approach for pottery provenance study. The pottery sherds from the three sites are compared between themselves and with potential raw material. Additional X-ray diffraction (XRD) and analyses using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray detection (EDX) facility were performed on selected sherds and clays. This work confirms that the clay source used for pottery production in Sanidha derives from local weathered gabbro. It also shows that different origins can be proposed for White Slip II ware sherds from Hala Sultan Tekke and Minet el-Beida and that clays were prepared prior to White Slip II ware production. It finally confirms the effectiveness of Pb isotopes in tracing pottery provenance not only by comparing sherd assemblages but also by comparing sherds to potential raw materials.