Cathodoluminescence microscopy for interpreting the fabric and heating process of ancient pottery: Preliminary study on the technological features of pottery from the Kur River basin

Abstract

AbstractHeterogeneous sherds were collected from 10 archaeological sites located in the Kur River Basin (KRB) in southern Iran. They have been analysed through routinely standard microscopic approach, including momentous cathodoluminescence microscopy in order to characterize the pottery fabrication and diversities in raw material and firing behaviour between different pottery production from the eighth to third millennium BCE. Cathodoluminescence interpretations identify the diverse properties of the sherds from the KRB material. Conversely, their microfabrics are essentially conceded to a not tightly packed fabrication. Characterizing the raw material, additives and initial vitrification texture were identified through petrography and SEM. The effect of heating in such heterogenous body was essentially characterized by cathodoluminescence microscopy. Combining these methods demonstrates the advantages of multimicroscopical methods for studying insights among diverse raw materials and heat gradient from the surface into the core of ancient pottery, which led to display selective experimental pottery production.