It all comes out in the wash: Actualistic petrofacies modeling of temper provenance,Tonto Basin,Arizona, USA

Prehistoric potters frequently tempered their pottery with sand, the provenance of which can be established petrographically. In the Tonto Basin of central Arizona, the bedrock geology is highly variable, giving rise to geographically unique sands. Zones of sands with similar compositions can be modeled at an archaeologically relevant scale. Here we use the actualistic petrofacies concept, the Gazzi–Dickinson point‐counting technique, and multivariate statistics to create a petrofacies model, then apply it to sand‐tempered utilitarian pottery recovered from three Tonto Basin project areas. Data analysis reveals strong temporal and spatial ceramic production and consumption patterns. Production of pottery for exchange was established in at least one petrofacies ca. A.D. 600–950, with increasing specialization through time. By ca. A.D. 1150, corrugated wares had been added, and specialized production by ware was established in two petrofacies. Provenance evidence suggests different regional affiliations for groups in different parts of the basin. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Prehistoric Warfare in Central Arizona,USA: Assessing Its Scale with Ceramic Chemistry

The scale of warfare and alliance in the ancient American Southwest is hotly debated for the interval from A.D. 1100 to 1450. Some archaeologists posit conflict persistently waged in central Arizona, which thereby promoted the emergence of region‐sized polities, including the so‐called Verde Confederacy. Relying largely on settlement‐pattern data, these theorists have hypothesized warfare and alliance practiced at a regional scale, apparently larger than anywhere else in the prehistoric American Southwest. Other evidence, however, has challenged the Verde Confederacy model and the level at which hostilities raged in central Arizona. It calls into question the organizational capabilities of hostile tribal groups and their strategic goals. In this paper, we add a new line of complementary information based on the compositional analysis of phyllite‐tempered plain ware ceramics. By reconstructing the pottery's movement and exchange across the region, we outline patterns of interaction useful for evaluating the scale of alliance and warfare in central Arizona. We find, contrary to the expectations of regional scale alliances, that the ceramic exchange networks segregated some populations previously proposed to have been aligned, while integrating groups thought previously to have been enemies. The ceramic data indicate alliances and hostilities at a relatively local scale.     

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.     

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。     

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.     

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.     

Microstructural and microanalytical study (SEM/EDX) of Celtiberian potsherds from the Spanish Central Meseta

Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis have been used to examine a representative set of pottery samples from three Celtiberian archaeological sites located in the Upper Duero Valley (Spain), in order to ascertain the technology in their manufacture defined by the type of clay and firing procedures employed. The identification of the use of different types of clay and different firing procedures has allowed the recognition of a highly specialized and diversified level of technological development that might relate to the advance of the Romanization process in this area. The analyses have been carried out with or without conductive coating, in order to define which of the two procedures is more accurate in determining the chemical composition of this type of pottery. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Geoarchaeological investigations of the “potters' quarter” at Sagalassos,southwest Turkey

The potters' quarter of the ancient city of Sagalassos, southwest Turkey, was one of the largest and most enduring ceramic‐producing manufactories in the eastern Mediterranean. The objective of our study was to determine environmental circumstances that favored development of different clay resources in the territory of Sagalassos and to assess utilization of these resources in the local pottery manufactory. The potters' quarter was established where, owing to favorable geological circumstances, a large clay body had developed. The bedrock in the potters' quarter, a tectonized ophiolite sequence, has synclinal structure; hence, surface runoff and groundwater tend to accumulate in its center. The weathering of the basic rock formed a smectite‐rich clay with vertic properties. This clay was mined in antiquity, and mineralogical and chemical analyses indicate that it was used for the production of local ceramics from Hellenistic to Byzantine times. It is likely that colluvium on top of the ophiolitic clay at the potters' quarter is related to deforestation and slope processes after the potters' quarter was abandoned. In sum, environmental circumstances determined the location of the artisanal quarter of Sagalassos, with its clay quarrying operation and ceramic manufactory. However, for the local mass‐produced Sagalassos red slip ware, the results of our chemical and mineralogical analyses indicate that a different, more suitable clay was used: detrital lake sediments, rich in chlorite and chlorite/smectite mixed layers, located about 8 km from the original artisanal quarter. The choice for this clay was determined both by the presence of a suitable clay deposit, as well as socio‐economic circumstances such as land ownership. The site of Sagalassos yielded unique evidence of mining of clay at a ceramic production site, as well as import of nearby clays. The local and imported clays were used side‐by‐side, but one for the production of common wares and building ceramics, and the other for the manufacturing of luxury fine tablewares. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

吉林老岭大横路式热水沉积叠加改造型钴矿床

大横路式钴矿床位于辽吉元古宙裂谷带中部的老岭金、多金属成矿带中 ,是国内近年来发现和查明的新类型钴矿床。该类矿床产于古元古代老岭群富硼、碳千枚岩夹石英岩 (硅质岩 )建造之中 ;矿体由含碳绢云千枚岩、含电气石绢云千枚岩、石英岩、电英岩组成 ,呈层状、鞍状产出 ,产状与围岩一致 ;矿石中钴呈独立矿物硫钴镍矿、辉钴矿、方钴矿和含钴黄铁矿等产出。通过对矿床层控特征、矿体产状与矿石组合、矿石沉积组构、容矿岩石地球化学、热水沉积岩、稀土元素及同位素组成等几方面的研究 ,证明该矿床具有明显的海底热水沉积成因特征 ,矿床受后期热液改造叠加强烈。从而提出大横路式钴矿床为海底热水沉积 -热液叠加改造型矿床     

Petrographic and geochemical characterization of Archaic‐Hellenistic tableware production at Solunto,Sicily

A selected assortment of Archaic‐Hellenistic tableware samples from Solunto, a Phoenician‐Punic site located 20 km east of Palermo (Sicily), has been subjected to thin‐section petrography and chemical analysis (XRF). In this settlement several ceramic kilns remained operative over a long time period (7th to 3rd century B.C.). The main goal of this analytical study is to distinguish the ceramics manufactured locally from regional and off‐island imports. Analytical results were matched to similar data concerning local natural clay sources and to coeval tableware productions from other sites in the same area. The ceramic pastes used by the ancient craftsmen of Solunto in the case of this class of pottery could be differentiated clearly by their petrochemical characteristics. We conclude that ceramics were locally produced far beyond satisfying just internal consumption needs, indicating interaction of Solunto with neighboring Greek colonies, indigenous people, and Phoenician‐Punic colonies of Sicily. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Soil parent materials and the pottery of Roman Galilee: A comparative study

The paper presents a comparative micromorphological analysis of the range of soil materials used to make the pottery of the hilly Galilee during the Roman period, and the ceramic products made from these materials. The four soil units that served as raw material for most of the pottery made in this period and region are examined along with pottery derived from each of them. For each soil unit, the soil characteristics and processes are described, followed by a presentation of the micromorphological characteristics of the soil material and those of the pottery made from that material. The contribution of the aeolian dust component to the soil materials is discussed as well as the identification of the tempering materials (nonplastics or other soil materials) added to the pottery paste. The study demonstrates the close correlation in microfabric between the pottery and original soil materials, sheds light on the raw material selection and modification practices of the potters of Roman Galilee, and has significant implications for provenance studies, using chemical analysis, on the pottery of this period and region. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Compositional analysis of Yayoi‐Heian period ceramics from Okinawa: Examining the potential for provenance study

In Okinawa, locally produced pottery dates back to the Initial Jomon period (˜6500 ¹⁴C yr B.P.). Later in time, especially during the Early Yayoi‐Heian period (˜300 B.C.–A.D. 300), ceramic assemblages appear to contain mainland (Japan) Yayoi pottery. A greater number of these sherds present in Okinawa over time coincide with an increasing amount of interaction with mainland Japan, as evidenced by other exchange items. In this preliminary study, the authors analyzed sherds from several Early Yayoi‐Heian period deposits from sites in Okinawa using thin‐section petrography and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA‐ICP‐MS). The objective was to examine the applicability of these techniques for Okinawan ceramic provenance studies, assess intra‐ and intersite variation in mineralogical and chemical composition, and determine whether some sites exhibited a higher frequency of pottery from one locale versus another that might suggest the importation of pottery from mainland Japan. Results are equivocal, suggesting that the region's geological complexity may inhibit successful provenance study of ceramics using these and possibly other compositional techniques. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

深埋碳质千枚岩力学特性及其能量损伤演化机制

为揭示深埋碳质千枚岩的遇水软化损伤特性和微层理结构的各向异性,开展了不同层理角度和不同含水状态下的千枚岩力学试验。并基于能量损伤演化机制分析了层理角度和含水状态对千枚岩储能机制和释能机制的影响。研究结果表明：深埋碳质千枚岩的各向异性特性和遇水软化效应是千枚岩内部的沉积层理、层状薄片矿物和高黏土矿物成分导致的固有特性;其破坏机制及其强度各向异性主要受控于层理面间的弱胶结作用,这种弱面效应会随着围压的增大而降低;千枚岩遇水后其力学特性和脆性被弱化,宏观破坏角增大,表现出张拉破坏减弱,剪切破坏增强;基于弹性能和耗散能比例曲线的S型变化规律与能量演化规律,将岩石的渐进破裂演化过程划分为4个阶段,并采用能量损伤演化理论探讨了I型和II型两种典型岩石破坏方式的能量机制及其损伤演化机制;层理方向和含水状态对千枚岩的储能能力具有较大影响,其中层理方向对千枚岩的释能机制和损伤破裂演化机制影响不大,而千枚岩的储能与释能机制则对含水状态的变化更为敏感。     

The characteristics and source of laminated mud at Lake Barrine, Northeast Australia

In a small (1 km²) crater lake in the Australian upland tropics (17°15′S, 145°38′E, 721 m a.s.l.), laminated mud has accumulated throughout the past 5 ka. It is limited to a central region below 50–67 m of water where it is protected by a monimolimnion. The contents of the laminae (e.g., total lake products, organic detritus, diatoms, pollen grains, vivianite crystals) distinguish two contrasting types, namely detritus-rich and detritus-poor. Judged against radiocarbon dates over long sequences, these couplets are not annual. Gravimetric, mineralogical and chemical observations on the mud, and on suspended organic and inorganic matter caught through several periods, indicate some diagenetic changes across the mud–water interface. Diatom analyses do not assist in relating mud type to source or period of origin. The most likely mechanism of lamination is that continuous deposition of clay, with small and varied detrital accompaniment, is periodically enhanced by greater detrital input. This occurs in some, but not all, periods of winter isothermy when ground temperatures fall to zero and below on several consecutive nights. This leads to the stirring of sediments in water shallower than 50 m and their relocation in the deeper meromictic zone. Fine variations in, e.g., diatom content, partly independent of lamination type, probably contain a wealth of detail about the lake’s environmental history.     

Potentialité d'utilisation d'argiles marocaines de Jbel Kharrou dans l'industrie céramique

The Ordovician clays of Jbel Kharrou (Rehamna, Morocco) have been studied for their use in ceramic industry. The realised studies were carried out on two samples B1 and B2, the most representative, taken from a clay dominated formation that outcrops 25 km east of the Skhour Rehamna city. The chemical analyses, mineralogical studies and advanced technological tests undertaken on the two samples indicate that these clays can be considered as non-refractory material, so they can be used to the manufacturing of ceramic products: soil and wall tiles, sanitary, pottery, etc. The tested briquettes, cooked at 1040?°C, remain flat, without deformation or defects; they are of cream white dye. These briquettes show a high mechanical resistance to the flexion, the loss in weight remains tolerable with cooking, lightly elevated (12% ); it can be corrected by the addition of a grease-remover. To cite this article: N. El Yakoubi et al., C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Origin and Distribution of Groundwater Chemical Fields of the Oilfield in the Songliao Basin, NE China

There are many factors affecting the chemical characteristics of groundwater in the forming process of groundwater chemical fields, such as freshening due to meteoric water leaching downwards, freshening due to mudstone compaction and water release, concentration due to infiltration and freshening due to dehydration of clay minerals. As a result, the groundwater chemical fields are characterized by lengthwise stages and planar selectivity. The former arouses vertical chemical zonality of groundwater. Five units could be identified downwards in the Songliao basin： （1） freshening zone due to downward-leaching meteoric water, （2） concentration zone due to evaporation near the ground surface, （3） freshening zone due to mudstone compaction and water release, and concentration zone due to compaction and infiltration, （4） freshening zone due to dehydration of clay minerals, and （5） filtration-concentration zone; whereas the latter determines the planar division of groundwater chemical fields： （1） the freshening area due to meteoric water, asymmetrically on the margin of the basin, （2） the freshening area due to mudstone compaction and water release in the central part of the basin, （3） the leaky area, which is a transitional zone, and （4） leakage-evaporation area, which is a concentration zone. In the direction of centrifugal flows caused by mudstone compaction in the depression area, the mineralization degree, concentrations of Na^＋ and Cl^-, and salinity coefficient （SC） increase, while concentrations of （CO3^2- ＋HCO3^-） and SO4^2-, metamorphism coefficient （MC） and desulfuration coefficient （DSC） decrease. However, all these parameters increase in the direction of gravity-induced centripetal flows.     

Geochemical study of pottery sherds from an archaeological site near Mošnje (Slovenia)

This study is a geochemical analytical approach to the characterization of pottery samples from an archaeological site near Mo?nje (Slovenia). Inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry and statistical analyses were used to determine detailed geochemical properties of the pottery sherds and to identify potentially individual groups among the samples studied. The geochemical results indicated the existence of four major groups of the pottery sherds: the first and second groups are assembled from eight samples, all generally characterized by their high CaO and TOT/C content; the third group comprised the samples with the highest SiO₂ concentrations; and the fourth group is represented by the samples K3, K5 and K13. The principal component analysis and cluster analysis validated the existing groups and revealed a high degree of chemical similarity between these groups. The geochemical and statistical data confirmed the archaeologists’ hypothesis and interpretation of a similar origin/alteration of source material/probable local ceramic production for the majority of the pottery sherds; the imported origin of samples K3 and K13 was recognized, while sample K5 had been intentionally imported as a sample for comparative purposes.