The first combined archaeological and archaeometric analyses on Bronze Age pottery from Kyrgyzstan (Uch Kurbu site)

Abstract

The integration of the Bronze Age populations in Kyrgyzstan into the Andronovo sphere is largely based on the resemblance of the ceramic material discovered at the Kyrgyz sites with the pottery from various Andronovo sites, which has been explained by human migrations. However, very few detailed pottery studies have been conducted, and no archaeometric analyses have been applied to date to the material from Kyrgyzstan. We present a first investigation on Bronze Age pottery from Uch Kurbu (Kyrgyzstan) through a combined archaeological (field-based stylistic and macroscopic examinations) and archaeometric (the application of X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction and thin-section Optical Microscopy) approaches. Compositional analyses on nine samples demonstrate an unexpected diversity in their provenance and a continuity in the main technological processes of pottery manufacture: raw material supply and processing to get coarse, low calcareous pastes, modelling using handmade methods and firing at low temperature in rather basic conditions. The study also highlights the combination of local peculiarities and extra-regional connections in style and technological processes compared to the pottery assemblages from other Andronovo sites. The whole integrated approach brings new information on the Bronze Age pottery production in Kyrgyzstan and contributes to the investigation of the social interactions as driving force for the diffusion of styles and techniques over central Eurasia in the Bronze Age.