Technological Choices in Hand‐Made Indigenous Pottery from Western Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain) (C.1200–75 bc): An Archaeometric Approach

Abstract

This paper addresses the technological choices observed in Mallorca (Spain) for the production of hand‐made pottery during the Late Bronze and Iron Age. We have conducted a diachronic analysis of the ceramic assemblages recovered from two archaeological sites placed in the same territory by means of X‐ray fluorescence and optical microscopy by thin‐section analysis. The archaeometric characterization of the hand‐made vessels allows us to establish several compositional groups related to the use of different raw materials and certain paste recipes associated with the archaeological sites and periods considered. Thus, this study evidences different productive strategies in each site and across time in the same geographical area.