Pottery Assemblages Research Articles

A Hiding Complex from the Period of the Bar Kokhba Revolt at the Ancient Settlement of Ḥuqoq

The ancient Jewish site of Ḥorbat Ḥuqoq has recently become famous for its synagogue and magnificent 5th-century CE mosaic floor. While unearthing the synagogue, a rock-hewn hiding complex was discovered beneath the floor and partially excavated. This complex (Hiding Complex 1) provided an emergency escape route via winding passages to a cistern, the side of which could be scaled with a ladder. Another hiding complex—Hiding Complex 2—was discovered as early as the 1980s at the base of the synagogue hill’s northern slope. It was surveyed and documented several times. In 2002, four chambers and several passages were excavated, and in 2021, the entrance was excavated, demonstrating it had been accessed via a ritual bath. This article presents the excavation results of the Ḥuqoq Hiding Complex 2. Among other things, they include a rich 2ndcentury CE pottery assemblage retrieved from the inner passages of the complex, including fragments of cooking pots, jars, oil lamps, and a gemstone ring. A hoard of 22 coins, the first to be discovered in a Galilean hiding complex, was found deep inside one of the tunnels. Presently, only one was dated to the 2nd century CE. In this paper, we place Ḥuqoq in the context of some 14 other hiding complexes that were officially excavared and attributed by pottery and some other finds to the 2nd century CE. The paper explores a new dimension of the question about the Galilee’s participation in the Bar Kokhba Revolt. At the very least, it is now certain that the local population prepared for the revolt.

Continuity and change in the ceramic assemblage from Metsamor between the 10th and 7th centuries BCE (new data from the 2021 season)

The morphology and distribution of what is considered as a local pottery assemblage from the Iron I and Iron II phases, which in Metsamor is part of a larger cultural phenomenon designated as the Lchashen–Metsamor pottery horizon, is the subject of continued discussion in terms of its continuity and change. This presentation, expanding on previous, preliminary research (see Iskra and Zakyan 2019; 2022), considers the input of new findings resulting from an examination of the results of the most recent excavations by an Armenian-Polish team, concentrated on phases of peak development (V and IVb) and gradual decline of urban life (IVa) in the Iron Age at this fortress site in Armenia. The discussion also contextualizes current knowledge of the presence of Urartian Red Burnished Ware in the Metsamor settlement, especially during the initial phase of Urartian presence, that is, in Phase IVa.

Relationships between Globular Amphora and Corded Ware occupation phases in Złota-Nad Wawrem site, Sandomierz Upland. Chronometric and stratigraphic evidence

On the Nad Wawrem site in Złota, unique instances of stratigraphic sequences were recorded, involving materials linked to the Globular Amphora culture and Corded Ware culture. This article discusses these sequences and presents hitherto unpublished materials that may contribute to the study of the decline of the Eneolithic in Małopolska. The stratigraphic sequences involve the presence of pottery belonging to the older phase of the Corded Ware culture in pits related to the Globular Amphora culture and the intercutting of Globular Amphora settlement features by Corded Ware graves. In settlement pits, besides dominating materials of the Globular Amphora culture, pottery typical of the older phase of the Corded Ware culture was discovered. Corded Ware niche graves, in turn, were clearly younger than the Globular Amphora settlement pits they cut into. The study of the sequences reveals the complexity of cultural relations on the Sandomierz Upland in the first half of the 3rd millennium BC. An interesting aspect is the cross-border nature of the pottery often treated as a clear cultural marker. Substantiated by absolute dating, the synchronous development model of the Globular Amphora culture, the older phase of the Corded Ware culture and the Złota culture is reflected in the peculiarity of recorded pottery assemblages.

Between mighty hillforts: a multi-method study of Laukskola Bronze Age settlement pottery

This paper presents the results of a multi-method study of the Laukskola Late Bronze Age open field settlement pottery assemblage. The aim of the study was to describe the technical and stylistic aspects of Laukskola pottery, and their relationship with the nearby hillfort material. The production tendencies and their role in the function of the pottery were also analysed. Macroscopic analysis combined with ceramic petrography, reflective transformation imaging, and wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy were conducted in the analysis of the pottery. Nearby clay resources were surveyed and further analysed for provenance interpretations. The results of the study show that Laukskola pottery was locally produced by using highly plastic sandy moraine clay, tempered with granitic rock and quartzite. Stylistically, the pottery combined local and nonlocal elements. The function corresponds with the visual parameters and choices for production.

The results of the rescue excavation in the outer bailey of Tepenec Castle in 1971–1975

The present study evaluates the medieval component of a rescue excavation carried out in the outer bailey of Tepenec Castle in 1971–1975. The castle, built during the 1330s–40s, ceased to exist due to war events in the early 15th century. A trench intersected the whole area of the fortified complex transversely from the northwest to the southeast (855 sqm). Two remnants of buildings dated to the High Middle Ages were partially examined. An assemblage of pottery and metal finds makes it possible to date both structures – mainly to the second half of the 14th and the early 15th centuries. The built-up area of the outer bailey cannot be considered a lower castle town but rather the so-called “latrán”.

Integrated petrographic and geochemical analysis of the Langobard age pottery of Szólád, Western Hungary

This study presents the results of the petrographic and geochemical analyses of the entire pottery assemblage discovered at the sixth-century (AD) cemetery of Szólád, Western Hungary, associated with the Langobard era in the territory of the former Roman province of Pannonia. Szólád is one of the most prominent archaeological sites of this period, where prior studies have shown that the cemetery was used for ca. one or two generations by a migrating group of diverse genetic background. The present work is the first integrated typological and archaeological science pottery analysis from the early migration period (fifth to sixth century) Hungary. We applied polarising light optical microscopy (OM), prompt gamma activation analysis (PGAA), and neutron activation analysis (NAA) on all samples and, additionally, scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM–EDS) on one selected sample. One main fabric group with three subgroups were defined by OM, to which the majority of the samples belong. This fabric group was characterised by aplastic inclusions derived from a carbonate-cemented sandstone typical of the environs of Szólád; therefore, the vessels of this fabric group appear to have been produced locally. The remaining four samples display a variety of unique, ungrouped, fabrics (loners) indicative of different recipes and/or the presence of pottery originating from outside of the region. Our study concludes that the community associated with the cemetery favoured burying pots with the deceased that stylistically resembled archaic “Elbe Germanic” traditions, but which were in fact made locally. However, in some cases, relationships with more distant territories and cultural traditions are also represented.

Current State of Knowledge of the Development of Early Modern Ceramics in the Czech Republic

This study is an overview of the professional interest in archaeology of the modern age in the Czech Republic. Increased interest in the archaeology of the Modern period came after the year 2000. The number of published Early Modern pottery assemblages has increased significantly over the past decade. Recent years have seen a change in the publication strategy of Modern period assemblages. As such, the large Modern period find inventory is forcing archaeology to make a critical selection of assemblages which will subsequently be the subject of detailed processing and evaluation. The most important selection criteria include the complexity of the find situation, the possibility of placing it into the social context or the actual expansion of knowledge of period material culture.

Steinalderkeramikken fra Rogaland – en kronologisk studie

From the 1800’s and onwards, pottery sherds have been found at a number of Neolithic occupation sites in Rogaland County, Southwestern Norway. In this paper, pottery assemblages from nine contexts are analyzed in order to produce an interpretative chronology. Typological analysis is combined with correspondence analysis and Bayesian modelling of radiocarbon dates. The result is a coherent chronological model that accounts for variations in pottery decoration styles between the late Early Neolithic and the Late Neolithic. There is a development in decorative styles from cord and cord-stamp ornamented vessels followed by a period of pots decorated with cord-stamp, small imprints and incisions, and finally a phase with added lines, comb, and cord-stamp. However, the multi-phased nature of the sites suggests that there are still many unanswered questions. New excavations and re-analyses of older sites are necessary for a better understanding of the developments in Neolithic pottery styles.

The onset, dispersal and crop preferences of early agriculture in the Japanese archipelago as derived from seed impressions in pottery

This paper summarises the results of 225 studies of seed impressions in pottery assemblages from 182 archaeological sites across Kyushu, Shikoku and Honshu islands covering the Late/Final Jomon–Middle Yayoi period (ca. 2000–1 BCE). Focussing on rice, foxtail millet and broomcorn millet impressions, this archaeobotanical dataset was used to reconstruct when and where these crops arrived from the Eurasian mainland on these islands, how they dispersed and whether there were changes in crop preferences over time. While it is generally accepted that crop cultivation started during the Initial Yayoi period (ca. 800/700–500/400 BCE) in northern Kyushu, a limited number of seed impressions in Tottaimon phase 1 pottery suggests that rice and millet were present at different sites on Kyushu and in the Chugoku region even before this period. The earliest impression records also corroborate the hypothesis that rice arrived along with both millet crops, which for a long time have not been considered in research on early agriculture. The earliest crop records from eastern Japan (here Central Highlands to northern Honshu) come from early Fusenmon pottery, which was mainly used in the Central Highlands (central Honshu) and some adjacent areas, dating to the End of Final Jomon period (concurrent with the Initial Yayoi period in northern Kyushu). While the records from western Japan (here Kyushu to Kinki region) associated with Tottaimon pottery suggest mixed rice/millet cultivation during the Initial Yayoi and early part of the Early Yayoi (ca. 800/700–300 BCE) period, Fusenmon groups appear to have preferred millet. In western Japan, related to the spread of Ongagawa pottery, rice became the dominant crop during the late Early Yayoi period. This shift happened later (i.e., during the Middle Yayoi period; ca. 300–1 BCE) in eastern Japan. This ‘delay’ is manifested in impression records from the Tokai region representing a transitional area between eastern and western Japan. Rice-centred agriculture begun with the arrival of Ongagawa pottery on the Nobi Plain during the Early Yayoi period. In regions east of the plain settled by Jokonmon pottery groups a more rice-oriented agriculture is not evident before the Middle Yayoi period. An exceptional development is indicated for northern Tohoku (northernmost Honshu). Impression records from Sunazawa pottery suggest that local groups adopted only rice during the Early Yayoi period. The rice preference apparently continued into the Middle Yayoi period, but crop cultivation was abandoned by the beginning of the Late Yayoi period.

Elateia 1 in Northeastern Thessaly 8000 Years Ago

Intensive and systematic surveys in the area south of Mount Olympos and west of Mount Ossa revealed not only tell settlements, but also several flat sites from different prehistoric periods. For one of the settlements, namely Elateia 1, a detailed relative chronological assessment was made with the help of statistical evaluations of pottery assemblages. In addition, short-lived bone samples confirmed and more precisely defined the exact chronological position of this 10-hectare site within the Middle Neolithic period. The present study underlines the importance of statistical evaluations of complete pottery assemblages, even those obtained through survey investigations, and their significance for a better understanding of chronological, chorological and post-depositional processes.

Distribution of Organic-Tempered Pottery in Southeast Europe and the Near East: A Complex Picture. The Case of Northern Greece

AbstractOrganic-tempered pottery is considered characteristic for the early pottery assemblages in most parts of Southwest Asia and Southeast Europe. The aim of the present paper is to explore: (a) the chronological consistency of this practice, i.e. is it always related to the early assemblages and how intensively was it employed by the various communities? and (b) is its use related to vessel type, surface treatment etc. and how does this change in time and space? In order to address these questions we explore the distribution patterns of this practice in this large geographical area, based on published information, since the appearance of pottery in the Near East until the early sixth millennium in Southeast Europe. Moreover, in the case of the Early Neolithic in Greece, new data is presented on the appearance and distribution of organic-tempered pottery within the assemblages of six newly studied sites in northern Greece, spanning the second half of the seventh millennium BC and the beginning of the sixth millennium BC. The emerging picture indicates that the cultural practice of organic tempering was available in all of this area for almost a millennium, although the significations may have not remained unaltered, and variably embraced by the various Neolithic communities. As such, this study offers insights into the complex process of neolithisation, and at the same time contextualizes the appearance of organic-tempering in northern Greece, which includes some of the earliest Neolithic sites in Europe.

Chronological relationship between the fortified settlement of Kamennyi Ambar and the Kamennyi Ambar-5 cemetery in the Southern Trans-Urals: capabilities of the Bayesian statistics

By means of the Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon dates, a comparison of chronologies of the Kamennyi Ambar settlement and the cemetery of Kamennyi Ambar-5 of the Late Bronze Age Syntashta-Petrovka period has been carried out. Both sites are situated in the valley of the Karagaily-Ayat River in Kartalinsky district of Chelyab-insk Region (Russia). Comparison of the pottery assemblages of the settlement and the cemetery demonstrates their similarity, which suggests existence of a genetic link between the sites. The purpose of this work is devel-opment of a generalized chronological model of the two monuments. This is achieved by comparison of uncali-brated intervals of radiocarbon dates and calculation of chronological boundaries of the existence of the settle-ment and cemetery by means of Bayesian modeling of the calibrated dates. The method consists in that, in the beginning, the stratigraphic position of each date is determined, and then the dates suitable for the analysis are arranged in the chronological order and calibrated, while the algorithm of the OxCal 4.4 calibration program is queried for calculation of the boundaries of the given periods and their duration. Also, the paper reports complete sets of the radiocarbon dates: 61 dates have been obtained from the materials of the settlement of Kamennyi Ambar, while 19 measurements originate from the Kamennyi Ambar-5 cemetery. Correlation of the radiocarbon dates and development of the Bayesian chronological models have demonstrated contemporaneousness of the settlement and the cemetery with slightly later beginning of the activity at the latter. This observation is in agree-ment with the concept of the genetic link between the sites and, arguably, can be extended onto other pairs of fortified settlement — kurgan cemetery attributed to the Sintashta-Petrovka period. Our conclusion is also consis-tent with the concept of building the complex of monuments by a newly-arrived population, who founded a settle-ment, occupied the new territory for some time, while the first deaths occurred some time afterwards. That said, the settlement of Kamennyi Ambar existed for no longer than a century in the 1950s — 1860s BC, while the cemetery of Kamennyi Ambar-5 was used for 70–80 years within the same chronological interval.

Beer, ritual, and identity: Ethnoarchaeological and archaeological study in Konso, southern Ethiopia

The drinking of African Indigenous beers is an expression of a variety of identities from age, gender, status, ethnicity, and can serve to either bond or exclude people in a community. Beer has a deep history in Africa connecting the living with their ancestors, as well as motivating people to work as a form of reciprocity or economic payment. This study analyzes the intersection of beer and pottery using both archaeological and ethnoarchaeological analyses of pottery by examining the Konso society in southern Ethiopia. Beer production and consumption is essential as it is the agency that brings together different Konso lineages and serves as a daily food, reciprocal exchange, and a ritual libation. This paper uses previous ethnoarchaeological use-alteration analysis of household pottery assemblages as a baseline to compare to archaeological pottery assemblages from two Konso leather worker sites occupied over the last century. The archaeological pottery assemblages from these two Konso sites indicates that they were producing beer to increase their economic well being and drinking beer as part of their daily food.

Chronological observations and the origin of the appearance of red slip coating on Árpád Age cauldron fragments in the light of the excavations at Végegyháza, Zsibrik-domb site

AbstractBetween 2003 and 2008 a research excavation was undertaken at the site of Végegyháza, Zsibrik-domb, also known as Kaszaper Templom-domb (medieval Pereg). The present paper describes the analysis results of the Árpád Age and the late medieval period features and the artefacts within. The pottery assemblage retrieved from the investigations offers new insights into the ceramic traditions of the Árpád Age within the area, whilst the recovery of baking bell fragments of the same date constitutes some of the best evidence for its use extending into the Árpád Age within Southeast Hungary. Analysis of painted cauldron fragments recovered from the features suggests the tradition originated in the Balkans and was brought to the area by a Slav community towards the end of 12thand beginning of 13thcentury. Textual evidence suggests that the area was inhabited again by a South Slav community in the 17thcentury. The recovery of fragments of a different type of baking bell from the late medieval archaeological assemblage corroborates these few written sources. The faunal remains analysis shows that the economy practices of the studied settlement based on animal husbandry and were similar to those of other Árpád Age rural settlements within Southeast Hungary.

THE LATE BRONZE AGE GÁVA POTTERY FROM THE LOWER MUREȘ

The widespread societal collapse that occurred in the Lower Mureș Basin in the Late Bronze Age following the destruction of mega-sites during the 13 th century BC is largely mirrored in the dwindling number of settlements, prestige goods, and metal finds. The same period is also associated with the spread of Gáva pottery. Apparently, the respective pottery style has been subject to thorough investigation; however, ceramic analyses and 14C data are quite scarce. We are publishing here a pottery assemblage from contexts located in the Lower Mureș Basin, where Gáva pottery style was discovered. Besides illustrating representative potsherds, we have analyzed their style and added 14C data when available. The results of the study proper and comparative analyses with other assemblages suggest a different perspective from certain approaches to Gáva culture as a unitary phenomenon. Starting from the stylistic features of the pottery, we have attempted at offering a regional perspective without overlooking the distinctive characteristics of a much wider area. Moreover, 14C data and previous studies on LBA II pottery enable us to argue that several well-known features of the Gáva pottery style can be identified, at least in the Lower Mureș Basin, as early as the 14 th -13 th century BC and even earlier, with some dating back to the 15 th century BC.

Determination of cultural areas based on medieval pottery using an original divisive hierarchical clustering method with geographical constraint (MapClust)

Spatial representation based on the distribution of artefact, especially pottery, is widely used in archaeology. The questions raised are often related for the construction of economic or cultural areas, based on fabrics, style or types of vessels. The middle Loire Valley with the study of an important corpus of medieval pottery constitutes an essential framework for understanding this mechanisms over long time. The corpus of data collected and studied for over twenty years includes archaeological sites with reliable chrono-stratigraphic sets whose pottery assemblages are sufficiently large to respond to the problem posed.The permanent increase of the corpus of data, especially since the last publication on this subject in 2013 for which the approach was purely empirical, requires the development of statistical tools adapted here to the spatial clustering analysis of the data. This article deals with a divisive hierarchical clustering method with geographical constraints: MapClust. It is based on spatial indicators called spatial patches. This statistical tool allows the archaeologist to visualize and analyse geographical patterns easily. The comparison of the present results with those of 2013 is a way to see the relevance of the method.

The Early Iron Age IIA Ceramic Assemblage from Khirbet al-Ra‘i

The early 10th-century BCE pottery assemblage from Khirbet al-Ra‘I is presented. The assemblage, which came from a few rooms that were suddenly destroyed, offers a large number of complete profiles. This is the second largest pottery assemblage, after that of Khirbet Qeiyafa, of this poorly known ceramic phase.

Sídliště a pohřebiště kultury nálevkovitých pohárů v Dambořicích, okr. Hodonín. Příspěvek k poznání pohřebišť s pohřby v natažené poloze / A Funnel Beaker settlement and cemetery in Dambořice, South Moravia. A contribution to knowledge of cemeteries with burials in an extended position

The main subject of the article is evidence of settlement and burial activities from the beginning of the Early Eneolithic from Dambořice belonging to the Funnel Beaker culture. From the perspective of the current chronology, this is the early phase of the Baalberg stage of the Moravian – Lower Austrian group of this particular culture. To date, ten settlement features with a representative assemblage of pottery and six graves with burials in an extended position without grave goods have been investigated. The site is another example of only recently recorded burial customs of a local Funnel Beaker group and, simultaneously, an opportunity to present this phenomenon of the Early Eneolithic in Moravia in a broader context. The article includes an evaluation of anthropological material and a presentation of the radiocarbon dates that were acquired from the bones.

The first quantitative assessment of radiocarbon chronologies for initial pottery in Island Southeast Asia supports multi-directional Neolithic dispersal.

Neolithization, or the Holocene demographic expansion of farming populations, accounts for significant changes in human and animal biology, artifacts, languages, and cultures across the earth. For Island Southeast Asia, the orthodox Out of Taiwan hypothesis proposes that Neolithic expansion originated from Taiwan with populations moving south into Island Southeast Asia, while the Western Route Migration hypothesis suggests the earliest farming populations entered from Mainland Southeast Asia in the west. These hypotheses are also linked to competing explanations of the Austronesian expansion, one of the most significant population dispersals in the ancient world that influenced human and environmental diversity from Madagascar to Easter Island and Hawai'i to New Zealand. The fundamental archaeological test of the Out of Taiwan and Western Route Migration hypotheses is the geographic and chronological distribution of initial pottery assemblages, but these data have never been quantitatively analyzed. Using radiocarbon determinations from 20 archaeological sites, we present a Bayesian chronological analysis of initial pottery deposition in Island Southeast Asia and western Near Oceania. Both site-scale and island-scale Bayesian models were produced in Oxcal using radiocarbon determinations that are most confidently associated with selected target events. Our results indicate multi-directional Neolithic dispersal in Island Southeast Asia, with the earliest pottery contemporaneously deposited in western Borneo and the northern Philippines. This work supports emerging research that identifies separate processes of biological, linguistic, and material culture change in Island Southeast Asia.

Ceramic technology at Wadi Fidan 61, an early Pottery Neolithic site (ca. 6500 B.C.E.) in the Faynan region of southern Jordan

The Faynan region of southern Jordan became a center of industrial-scale metallurgical production during the Bronze and Iron Ages. However, socio-economic developments of the Pottery Neolithic period (ca. 6500-5500 B.C.E.) that helped set the stage for the rise of complex copper-producing societies are not well-understood. In this paper, we focus on ceramic technology at the early Pottery Neolithic site of Wadi Fidan 61 in the western part of the Faynan region. The composition of 38 pottery sherds is characterized using an analytical approach that integrates petrography, instrumental geochemistry and Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). Results indicate six distinct clay recipes and suggest the use of different clay deposits and tempering materials from locations within ca. 5 km of the site. Implications of this compositionally diverse pottery assemblage are considered, possibly linking this initial phase of ceramic production in the Faynan with a kind of foraging-farming economy.