Ancient Pottery Research Articles

A Critical Ethnography of Sex Offender TreatmentHound Pound Narrative: Sexual Offender Habilitation and the Anthropology of Therapeutic Intervention. By James B. Waldram. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012.

Aimers, James J., ed. 2012. Ancient Maya pottery: classification, analysis, and interpretation. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. Miller, Daniel, and Sophie Woodward, eds. 2011. Global denim. New York: Berg. Pool, Christopher A., and George J. Bey III, eds. 2007. Pottery economics in Mesoamerica. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. Tilley, Christopher, Webb Keane, Susanne Kuechler-Fogden, Michael J. Rowlands, and Patricia Spyer, eds. 2006. Handbook of material culture. London: Sage. Wengrow, David D. 2008. Prehistories of commodity branding. Current Anthropology 49(1):7–34. West, Georgia. 2002. Ceramic exchange in the late classic and postclassic Maya lowlands: a diachronic approach. In Ancient Maya political economies. Marilyn A. Masson and David Freidel, eds. Pp. 140–196. New York: Altamira. Wiessner, Polly. 1983. Style and social information in Kalahari San projectile points. American Antiquity 48(2):253–276.

Small angle neutron scattering study of ancient pottery from Syracuse (Sicily, Southern Italy)

This paper is focused on a spectroscopic study of some pottery shards from an archaeological site in Syracuse (Sicily, Southern Italy), dating back to the Hellenistic–Roman period. Structural characterization was performed at different scales of observation, i.e. from macroscopic to mesoscopic. The main goal was to point out the potentiality of the small angle neutron scattering (SANS) technique as a non-invasive analytical tool in archaeometry, also in conjunction with other, more usual, methodologies. Correlation of experimental data, i.e. macroscopic typology and texture, obtained from petrographic analysis, and radius of gyration and fractal dimension of the interfaces of the mesoscopic aggregates obtained using SANS, together with mineralogical X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis, allowed hypotheses to be made on the production technology of the investigated samples.

Physical study of the Cucuteni pottery technology

Most of our knowledge concerning the Cucuteni pottery is based on traditional archaeological methods (typology, style and context analysis) and only a few interdisciplinary studies have been published. As there is a strong interest in revealing the basic pottery technology used by the Cucuteni communities we have investigated a significant number of pottery samples from 22 archaeological sites located in Eastern Romania by several physical analysis techniques: X-ray diffraction (XRD) and by magnetic measurements, including a first-order reversal curve (FORC) diagram study on the samples showing a hysteretic behavior. The main results presented in this study are discussed and compared with actual knowledge on the ancient Cucuteni pottery.

Ancient Pottery Analysis: The Mysterious Use of Mica in Armenian Ceramics

Ancient Pottery Analysis: The Mysterious Use of Mica in Armenian Ceramics

The study of pitch via gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy: the case of the Roman amphoras from Monte Poro, Calabria (Italy)

The analysis of the composition of organic residues present in ancient pottery are an important source of information for archaeologists. The chemical characterisation of these materials gives information on diets, habits, technologies and original use of the vessels.In this paper the resinous materials from the interior surfaces of Roman amphoras and the contents of two particular vessels (called Kadoi) coming from Monte Poro, in Calabria (Italy) were studied. The organic materials were identified by Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The presence of monocarboxylic acids and terpenic species shows that the organic residues were of vegetable origin or mainly consist of vegetable-based resins. Moreover, the presence of characteristic diterpenic biomarkers permits to recognize the use of pine resin and pine pitch, while the presence of methyl dehydro-abietic acid is likely linked to the use of wood tar and not only to the pine pitch. It was not possible to identify with accuracy the species of Pine used to prepare the pitch since the profile of diterpenoid acids of an aged and thermal treated resin is very different from the one of fresh resin. Nevertheless, the hypothesis about the use of Pinus Laricius and Pinus Negrus to prepare the pitch is plausible as these two species were and are both very abundant in Monte Poro's area.

Ancient Repairs on Pottery from Olbia Pontica

Ancient pottery repair has become a topic of growing interest to scholars of Greek and Roman pottery. This particular area of study is part of a larger one devoted to the diverse types of pottery reuse in classical antiquity. Quantification of ancient repairs remains a fundamental problem, however, and periods of intensified use of repaired pottery have been difficult to identify. In this article, we offer an overview of the practice of mending broken pottery in the Milesian apoikia of Olbia Pontica in the northern Black Sea area. Considering in particular the repairs on tableware from the habitation quarter of the Lower City in Olbia (sector NGS, which has recently been extensively published), this article presents a diachronic analysis of repair practices in Olbia during the period from the sixth to the first century B.C.E. A comparison of the number of pottery repairs in Greek settlements in the Black Sea region with the number in Greek poleis of the Mediterranean clearly demonstrates that pottery was more extensively repaired in the Black Sea area than in the Mediterranean. Moreover, the fluctuations in the number of repairs in Olbia suggest that the practice of mending pottery can be related to periods of crisis, especially in the Late Hellenistic period, when the city was under pressure and underwent dramatic changes.

FT-IR spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and porosity measurements to determine the firing temperature of ancient megalithic period potteries excavated at Adichanallur in Tamilnadu, South India

Scientific examination of archaeological pottery mainly aims to determine the style of production and the techniques involved in its manufacture. Technological characterization includes the evaluation of the original firing conditions. Maximum firing temperatures may be evaluated by firing clays of compositions similar to those used for the production of the ancient objects. In the present work, some of the ancient pottery samples were collected from recently excavated site at Adichanallur, Tirunelveli District, Tamilnadu, India to estimate the firing temperature of the pottery samples and atmosphere prevailed at the time of manufacturing those potteries by the ancient artisans. From the Fourier transform infrared spectra of the samples the lower limit of firing temperature have been determined. The upper limit of firing temperature was evaluated by porosimetry method. The scanning electron microscopic analysis is used to narrow down the range of firing temperature and the results are consistent with the results obtained from FT-IR spectroscopic study and porosimetry method.

Loose‐powder technique for X‐ray fluorescence analysis of ancient pottery using a small (100 mg) powdered sample

A molded‐loose‐powder technique using a small powdered sample (100 mg) was developed for the X‐ray fluorescence analysis of 22 components (Na2O, MgO, Al2O3, SiO2, P2O5, K2O, CaO, TiO2, MnO, Fe2O3, V, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, Nb, Ba, and Pb) in ancient pottery. This loose powder specimen was prepared by pressing the small powdered sample into a sample holder, formed from a stainless steel disk (48‐mm diameter × 0.8‐mm height) with a hole (11‐mm diameter), by hand. Calibration standards were prepared by homogenizing chemical reagents containing these 22 analytes using the concentration ranges of 166 ancient potteries and three clay materials from Japan. The calibration curves of these benchmark mixtures exhibited a good linearity (correlation coefficient, r = 0.990–1.000), accuracy, and reproducibility compared with those of other synthesized specimens and three reference standards. The lower limits of detection were less than tens of mg kg−1 (e.g., 94 mg kg−1 for Na2O, 11 mg kg−1 for P2O5, 1.1 mg kg−1 for Rb, and 0.9 mg kg−1 for Y). Using the present method, we determined 22 components in two prehistoric potteries from Japan. The advantage of this method is that only a small amount of sample is required, which can be prepared easily and rapidly and reused for other analyses. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The first microbeam synchrotron X-ray fluorescence beamline at the Siam Photon Laboratory

The first microbeam synchrotron X-ray fluorescence (µ-SXRF) beamline using continuous synchrotron radiation from Siam Photon Source has been constructed and commissioned as of August 2011. Utilizing an X-ray capillary half-lens allows synchrotron radiation from a 1.4 T bending magnet of the 1.2 GeV electron storage ring to be focused from a few millimeters-sized beam to a micrometer-sized beam. This beamline was originally designed for deep X-ray lithography (DXL) and was one of the first two operational beamlines at this facility. A modification has been carried out to the beamline in order to additionally enable µ-SXRF and synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction (SXPD). Modifications included the installation of a new chamber housing a Si(111) crystal to extract 8 keV synchrotron radiation from the white X-ray beam (for SXPD), a fixed aperture and three gate valves. Two end-stations incorporating optics and detectors for µ-SXRF and SXPD have then been installed immediately upstream of the DXL station, with the three techniques sharing available beam time. The µ-SXRF station utilizes a polycapillary half-lens for X-ray focusing. This optic focuses X-ray white beam from 5 mm × 2 mm (H × V) at the entrance of the lens down to a diameter of 100 µm FWHM measured at a sample position 22 mm (lens focal point) downstream of the lens exit. The end-station also incorporates an XYZ motorized sample holder with 25 mm travel per axis, a 5× ZEISS microscope objective with 5 mm × 5 mm field of view coupled to a CCD camera looking to the sample, and an AMPTEK single-element Si (PIN) solid-state detector for fluorescence detection. A graphic user interface data acquisition program using the LabVIEW platform has also been developed in-house to generate a series of single-column data which are compatible with available XRF data-processing software. Finally, to test the performance of the µ-SXRF beamline, an elemental surface profile has been obtained for a piece of ancient pottery from the Ban Chiang archaeological site, a UNESCO heritage site. It was found that the newly constructed µ-SXRF technique was able to clearly distinguish the distribution of different elements on the specimen.

Optical and fast nondestructive identification of the ages of leaded ancient pottery

In this paper, based on the one-dimensional (1D) optical superlattice model, we calculate the average reflectivities (ARs) of leaded ancient pottery (AP) made within the last 2000 years, and find that for incident light with a suitable wavelength, the AR of the leaded AP increases monotonously with the increase in the layer number of the silvery glaze (SG) media. Based on this property, we propose an optical nondestructive method for identifying the age of leaded AP by detecting the AR. By using the exhaust algorithm and the discriminant function of variance, we obtain the optimal wavelength range of the incident light to identify the ages of the leaded AP. It is found that in the visible light band, if we choose green light with a wavelength range of 540–540.1 nm as the incident light, leaded AP made within the last 2000 years can be identified swiftly and precisely by detecting the ARs. This will be useful for designing optical instruments for the fast nondestructive identification of the ages of leaded AP.

The relation between optical bleaching and sedimentological features of fluvial deposits in the Toruń Basin (Poland)

Distributions of equivalent doses ( D E ) obtained by the Single Aliquot Regenerative-dose (SAR) OSL method applied for large aliquots of coarse quartz grains extracted from fluvial sediments are presented and analysed with respect to a fluvial palaeoenvironment. The Nowe Dąbie and Łochowo fluvial succession from the western part of Toruń Basin (eastern part of Noteć–Warta streamway, Toruń-Eberswalde ice-marginal valley) was analysed. The fluvial depositional conditions controlling the extent of daylight bleaching are reconstructed by sedimentological studies. The relation between the amount of bleaching and sedimentological properties of fluvial deposits indicate that ripple cross-laminated sands that accumulated on the floodplain and horizontally-bedded sands deposited in shallow channels are more appropriate for OSL dating than sands derived from the deep channel. Along with luminescence results obtained for the river deposits, data measured from an ancient pottery sample, ensuring complete reset of the OSL signal, are presented, compared to and discussed. On this base the poorly bleached sediment samples are identified and an adjustment factor is introduced for correcting their OSL dating results in order to avoid age inversion. The application of the adjustment factor is found to minimize overestimation of OSL ages of sediments. &nbsp

Undersized (12.5 mm diameter) glass beads with minimal amount (11 mg) of geochemical and archeological silicic samples for X‐ray fluorescence determination of major oxides

The small glass bead technique was developed to assay precious silicic samples for geochemical and archeological analyses. Undersized (12.5 mm diameter) glass beads were prepared for wavelength dispersive X‐ray fluorescence determination of major oxides (Na2O, MgO, Al2O3, SiO2, P2O5, K2O, CaO, TiO2, MnO, and total Fe2O3). Synthetic calibration standards were prepared by compounding chemical reagents (oxides, carbonates, and diphosphate). For reliable calibration, recipe compositions of standard specimens were constructed on the basis of the evenness of plot intervals on a calibration curve. Calibration curves showed good linearity (correlation coefficient: r > 0.998). Analytical results of major oxides in granitic and basaltic rocks, obsidian, and ancient pottery were obtained with good precision (relative standard deviations were the following: <3% for more than 10.0 mass% of analyte, <5% for 1.0–10.0 mass% of analyte, and <15% for 0.1–1.0 mass% of analyte). Lower limits of detection were roughly a sub‐percentage of analyte in an unprepared sample: 0.3 mass% for Na2O, 1.0 mass% for SiO2, 0.01 mass% for MnO, and so on. The present preparation reduced the following analytical scales: (1) amount of sample from 400 mg to 11 mg (97% cutting out), (2) amount of Li2B4O7 as an alkali flux from 4000 mg to 396 mg (90% cutting out), and (3) weight of platinum crucible from 80 g to 12.5 g (84% cutting out). This small‐scale preparation might enable us to conduct destructive pretreatment of valuable and limited silicic samples such as archeological ceramics and stone tools, geochemical minerals in rock, and sediments and sand. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

3D reconstruction of ancient pottery using drawn profiles. A case study: reconstructing a Dacian fruit bowl

Without any doubt, the last years had seen an increasing deal of interest towards the Dacian culture and civilization, not just in Romania, but also in other countries. Unfortunately, most of those who are outside academia or specialized institutions do not have any sort of access to proper information about the subject. Reconstructing and bringing to life ancient artifacts could be a useful way to resolve these issues. In this paper we discuss a method for 3D reconstruction of ancient pottery using drawn profiles and we had chosen as a case study and example a reconstruction of a wheel made Dacian fruit bowl. Although the method is known, issues such as texturing are not discussed in great detail. In order to reconstruct the pot, we had used software such as Photoshop, 3ds Max and Mudbox. We processed and cleaned the original image, while importing it in 3ds Max, where, we transformed the drawing into an object and we created an UVW texture. Then, we imported our work in Mudbox, where we applied a texture. The texture was created from the photography of the original pot. We applied the texture and we obtained as a final result a pot with an authentic look. Software such as Mudbox can also be used to sculpt 3D objects in great detail, so reconstructing uneven handmade pots, painted pots, or pots with various plastic ornaments can also be possible. Reconstructing ancient pots in 3D is extremely useful especially for the larger public, as it effectively manages to " bring to life" the otherwise inert drawings that are " readable" only by the expert eye of the archaeologist.

Glass bead with minimized amount (11 mg) of sample for X‐ray fluorescence determination of archaeological ceramics

By using very small amount – 11‐mg – of sample powder, major oxides (Na2O, MgO, Al2O3, SiO2, P2O5, K2O, CaO, TiO2, MnO, and total Fe2O3) in ancient pottery (and igneous rocks) were determined with X‐ray fluorescence spectrometry. This minimized amount of sample was used to prepare a fused glass bead with 300 times the weight of lithium tetraborate as an alkali flux. Calibration standards were obtained by compounding chemical reagents (Na2CO3, MgO, Al2O3, SiO2, Na4P2O7, K2CO3, CaCO3, TiO2, MnO2, and Fe2O3) and the flux. Fewer 11 mg of reagents as oxides were able to give reliable calibration curves with good linearity (correlation coefficient: r > 0.995). Fewer 11 mg of sample was able to give reliable analytical results with good precision (relative standard deviation: <3% for more than 10.0 mass% of analyte, <10% for 1.0–10.0 mass% of analyte, and <20% for 0.1–1.0 mass% of analyte). Lower limits of detection were roughly a sub‐percentage of analyte in an unprepared sample (e.g. 0.3 mass% for Na2O, 0.5 mass% for MgO, 1.0 mass% for Al2O3, and 0.01 mass% for MnO). Composition of major oxides in artificial and natural aluminosilicate materials (including rock, stone, sand, sediment, and clay; and their products) should be fundamental information to be considered in detail. The present X‐ray determination based on very small amount of sample might be made readily accessible for destructive analysis of precious samples for archaeology (and geochemistry). Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A standardless approach of INAA for grouping study of ancient potteries

The k 0 based internal monostandard neutron activation analysis was used to analyze 41 ancient pottery samples from three major locations of Andhra Pradesh state, India, belonging to two different age groups namely Megalithic and Buddhist periods. Samples were irradiated with neutron flux obtained from CIRUS reactor and radioactive assay was carried out using a 40% relative efficiency HPGe detector coupled to 8 k MCA. Concentration ratios of 21 elements were calculated with respect to internal monostandard Sc. Absolute concentrations for six (three each from both Megalithic and Buddhist periods) representative samples along with a modern pottery were obtained for comparison. Elemental concentration ratios with respect to Sc were used for grouping of these archaeological samples. Preliminary grouping of these artifacts was done using La/Ce values, and the grouping was confirmed by statistical cluster analysis using eleven selected trace elements. The IAEA RM SL-3 sample was analysed for validation of the method, where in both concentration ratios and absolute concentrations were calculated.

μ-XRF study on unearthed ancient pottery at Au Thong, Thailand

μ-XRF study on unearthed ancient pottery at Au Thong, Thailand

Pots and people in Eurasia: two recent Russian publications - Y.B. Tsetlin, N.P. Salugina & I.N. Vasileva (ed.). Ancient pottery production: results and prospects of investigation (Festschrift in honour of Alexander A. Bobrinsky). 258 pages, 90 illustrations, 73 tables. 2010. Moscow: Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences; 978-5-94375-092-2 hardback (in Russian with English chapter summaries). - H.V.

Pots and people in Eurasia: two recent Russian publications - Y.B. Tsetlin, N.P. Salugina & I.N. Vasileva (ed.). Ancient pottery production: results and prospects of investigation (Festschrift in honour of Alexander A. Bobrinsky). 258 pages, 90 illustrations, 73 tables. 2010. Moscow: Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences; 978-5-94375-092-2 hardback (in Russian with English chapter summaries). - H.V. Volkova The Novinki burial grounds of the Fatyanovo culture. 248 pages, 168 illustrations, numerous tables. 2010. Moscow: Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences; 978-5-94375-084-7 hardback (in Russian with English chapter summaries). - Volume 85 Issue 329

Small angle neutron scattering as fingerprinting of ancient potteries from Sicily (Southern Italy)

Abstract The mesoscopic structure of numerous samples of Archaic Ionian Cups found in different archaeological sites of Sicily was non-invasively investigated by means of small angle neutron scattering (SANS). Similar values of the mesoscopic structural parameters, radius of gyration and fractal dimension of the interfaces of the investigated potteries, testify a similar manufacturing technique. Many samples showed mesoscopic planar anisotropy probably due to some external mechanical stress during forging. Similar porosity was found for all the studied ceramics and appeared in general agreement with the Hg porosimetry values. Finally, the firing temperatures were estimated by comparison with raw materials fired under controlled conditions.

Spectroscopic techniques applied to the characterization of recently excavated ancient potteries from Thiruverkadu Tamilnadu, India

The systematic and scientific study of artifacts reflects technological development and civilizations during the past. The importance of pottery artifacts as indicators of the artistic and technological advances reached by the ancient culture is investigatedby a number of techniques. Spectroscopic studies have been performed on recently excavated archaeological pottery samples from Thiruverkadu, Tamilnadu, India. The clay mineral type and its structural deformation due to firing have been studied from their Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra. The maximum firing temperature attained during baring, firing conditions (open/reduced atmosphere) and iron mineral phase changes is well established. X-ray diffraction (XRD) is used to identify minerals in the potsherds. Further scanning electron microscope (SEM) studies on potsherds pave the way to microstructural analysis and trace the subsequent development of virtification stages, thereby firing temperature is being confirmed. The results obtained from the different techniques provide the information for understanding the technological conditions implemented for the production of pottery and are found to give useful information about the analytical composition of potteries.

The mineralogical and fabric analysis of ancient pottery artifacts

The present investigation is carried out to estimate the firing temperature and conditions of firing of ancient pottery shreds excavated recently from Sembiankandiyur, Tamil Nadu, India. FTIR and XRD studies have been attempted on these shreds to characterize the mineral composition of the pottery artifacts in respect of their different physical attributes. The firing temperature and conditions were inferred from the mineral phases of the samples exhibited by the infrared spectra and X-ray diffractograms recorded in as received state. TG-DTA is the complementary technique to elucidate the firing temperature from the thermal characteristic reactions such as dehydration, decomposition and transformations of minerals under the controlled firing of the samples in inert atmosphere.