Classification of ancient mesopotamian ceramics and clay using SIMCA for supervised pattern recognition

Abstract

Heydorn, K. and Thuesen, I., 1989. Classification of ancient Mesopotamian ceramics and clay using SIMCA for supervised pattern recognition. Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems, 7: 181-188. Ancient Mesopotamian ceramics and clay have been investigated by instrumental neutron activation analysis to obtain information on archaeological provenance. More than two hundred samples chosen within a narrow chronological frame were analyzed. They represent a pottery tradition flourishing some time within the so-called Early Dynastic period, 3000-2700 BC. Geographically the samples represent a cross-section of the alluvial plains along the western Zagros foothills, following the border between today's Iran and Iraq from the Hamrin Basin NE of Baghdad to the Deh Luran plain in northern Khuzistan. Some samples from the mountain valleys in the adjacent Zagros massif are also included. The results for the concentrations of 24 elements are used to identify pottery workshops in the Sumerian society, using the SIMCA program. A two-term principal components model is used to illustrate clusters and tendencies in the distribution of results, suggesting an archaeological explanation. Thus, a strong inter-regional relationship is observed in the early phase of the period examined, which, however, changes with time. Subsequently, a localized production seems to develop in the region. It was found that a successful classification could be made with no more than ten samples in each of the major groups of pottery.