Pottery Exchange Research Articles

Characterization of Clay from Isan Ekiti Deposits for Making the Ceramic Water Purifier

Introduction: Despite the efforts of Governments and non-governmental organizations in sponsoring ceramic water purifier (CWP) filter project across the globe, some rural communities in Ekiti State, Nigeria are yet to benefit from it. One of the major technical difficulties hindering the making of CWP filter cells in many places was the adaptation to the sand, clay and sawdust mixture necessary to obtain the correct filter properties.
 Aim: In this study, some salient properties of clay from orudi, arade and oturo deposits at Isan Ekiti were assessed in the light of their usefulness for making the ceramic water filter cells.
 Methodology: The particle size distribution analysis and consistency tests were carried out on the crude clay. Also the shrinkage, effects of percentage constituents of burnout on porosity, filtration rate and quality of filtrate were measured, using standard methods.
 Results: Results show that arade has the appropriate technical properties for making the filter cell. The chosen clay sample has its deposit less than 2 kilometers to the point of making. About 56% of its particles are less than 0.075mm equivalent spherical diameter (ESD). A composition of ratio 50:50 by volume mixture of clay to sawdust has the porosity of 54. 55% while that of ratio 40:60 is 55.56%. Samples made of these batches were capable of reducing the water turbidity Neflometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) of contaminated water by 95%. The 50:50 samples have the higher capacity of reducing total coliform count by 50.28% as against 25.07% for 40:60 samples.
 Conclusion: Given appropriate facilities and training, with the abundant clay at arade deposit, the pottery center is a place where CWP filter cell factory could be established.

Recapturing the Spirit in Ancient Cooking Pots

Cooking pots have been important in understanding ancient social and technological environments. In Ghana, the traditional cooking pot is a common sight in most rural communities; same can however not be said in the urban areas. This study thus revisits the traditional cooking pot, investigating its physical characteristics and its relevance in the modern Ghanaian society. The study was descriptive, using primary data collected from 222 respondents selected from selected pottery centres in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used in analyzing the data collected from the respondents with the help of the statistical package SPSS (version 22). The study established that the earlier techniques used in developing the traditional cooking pots stood the rigorous demands on their materials’ durability, making them survive for several centuries as evidenced by some archeological findings of early pottery products. The study also established that the ancient cooking pots had better fracture strength with higher ability to survive impact. It was observed that ancient cooking pots had better thermal conductivity and demonstrated higher skill level. However, the study observes that the traditional cooking pots have reduced in both purpose and symbolism and subsequently reduced in current usage. The study identifies the traditional cooking pot’s weak aesthetic appeal as a main factor driving its dwindling relevance. The study recommends the need for the pottery industry as a whole to be developed through a systematic integration of an improved quality of the various class of pottery product into societal demands and deliberately positioned to attract the needed patronage across the various societal engagements and needs. Keywords: Pottery, Cooking Pots, Clay DOI: 10.7176/ADS/97-03 Publication date: December 31 st 2021

EDUCATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL POTENTIAL OF POTTERY CENTERS AND SCHOOLS IN UKRAINE

Based on historical material, the article examines the current issue of researching the educational and professional potential of pottery centers and schools in Ukraine in the context of the problems of training specialists in decorative and applied art in educational institutions of our country in the 80s of the 20th century – at the beginning of the 21st century. Based on the study of a complex of diverse sources, it was found that traditional pottery centers were formed in the following regions: Kyiv Oblast, Kharkiv Oblast, Poltava Oblast, Chernihiv Oblast, Podillia, Kherson Oblast, Volyn, Halychyna, Hutsul Oblast, Transcarpathia. Each of these centers had unique signs of technology techniques, decoration, design, name, and shape of products. At the same time, the long-standing leading educational and professional trend in the formation and development of folk pottery in Ukraine was training masters of decorative and applied art directly by well-known potters. Workshop schools, art and industrial schools, vocational and technical schools, artillery schools, workshops of folk art, art schools, etc., were founded later at the end of the 19th – at the beginning of the 20th century. Those institutions, i. e., Poltava Pottery School-Workshop, Myrhorod Ceramic Technical School, Opishne Vocational Technical School - Opishne Factory «Artistic Ceramics,» Mezhehirsk Ceramic School-Workshop – Technological Institute of Ceramics and Glass, Kyiv Central Experimental Workshop of Folk Art at the State Museum of Ukrainian Art, Kyiv Art and Industrial Technical School, accumulated rich experience in training high-quality ceramic artists. It was found that in the 80s of the 20th century, the training of decorative and applied art specialists was started by culture colleges.

Characterization of Islamic Ceramic Production Techniques in Northeast Iberian Peninsula: The Case of Medieval Albarracin (Spain)

Ceramic objects found in the Islamic Taifa of Albarracin (Spain), 12th century CE, were studied to ascertain the main characteristics and influences of its manufacture. Production centers even from small kingdoms can add new insights in medieval ceramic technology. Several types of decorated ceramics, such as tin-opacified glazed, monochrome glazed and cuerda seca, were investigated. Ceramic bodies were analyzed by ICP-Optical Emission Spectrometry, and glazes were studied by Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry. All the ceramic bodies showed the use of Ca-rich pastes, although three groups could be distinguished and related to their decoration. Lead and silicon were the main components of the glazes, as well as scattered tin oxide in the case of white or green opacified glazes. Some features, such as calcareous bodies, double firing for tin-opacified glazes, glaze components, and coloring oxides, were common in Albarracin samples and other Islamic production centers in the Iberian Peninsula. However, some differences were also highlighted in lead/silica proportions and cuerda seca decoration, and several influences from northern or southern pottery centers. Lead isotope ratios, measured by ICP-Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry, revealed two different sources or suppliers of lead raw materials according to the type of glaze to be prepared.

Analysis of the Local Wisdom on Character Education within the Transmission System of Pottery Culture in Three Pottery Centres in Malang

A transmission system in arts education is the process of transferring an artistic skill from one generation to another, which also involves local wisdom on character education. This research aims at analysing the local wisdom on character education within the transmission system of pottery culture observed at three different pottery centres in Malang. The study was conducted extensively and thoroughly using a qualitative approach with a phenomenology research design. The researcher conducted intensive interviews, FGDs, observation, and literary study as vital instruments to collect the field data. The data were then reduced, presented, and verified using both data and technique triangulations, and finally analysed using an interactive and interpretative model. The findings of the study are: first, the local wisdom on character education values derived from the transmission system of traditional pottery detected an informal interaction that naturally involves the value of responsibilities, discipline, diligence, respect to the elder, and the awareness on the culture. Second, the local wisdom on character education values within the creative pottery transmission system have a more organized and integrated program of non-formal interaction, which results in the values of independence, creativity, logical thinking, and discipline.
 Keywords: character education values, transmission system, Malang pottery

Addressing the issue of the Early Neolithic pottery exchange through a combined petrographic and geochemical approach: a case study on LBK ware from Dzielnica (Upper Silesia, southern Poland)

The article presents the results of petrographic and geochemical analyses on Linear Band Pottery culture (LBK) ceramic materials from the Dzielnica site (Upper Silesia, southern Poland). The study area, situated in the northern foreland of the Moravian Gate, can be considered a melting pot for various cultural influences. This peculiar location resulted in multidirectional entanglements of the Early Neolithic inhabitants of the site. The aim of the present study is to elucidate the importance of pottery exchange in these foreign connections. The sherds ornamented in Alfold styles prove to be consistent with local geochemical and petrographic signature and, therefore, may be regarded as a result of implementation of exogenous decorative patterns. On the other hand, at least some of the vessels decorated in Sarka style should be considered to have been produced elsewhere. The archaeometric results indicate that the long-distance exchange of pottery was probably largely confined to occasional importation of vessels from the adjacent areas of Lower Silesia and northern Moravia. In addition, it may be tentatively suggested that some mundane, stylistically inconspicuous ceramics could have been passed through intra-regional circulation within the Upper Odra River basin.

Malowana, glazurowana, polewana, siwa… Językowe i estetyczno-artystyczne wyróżniki ozdobnej ceramiki rzeszowskiej (na podstawie wybranych etnograficznych opracowań popularnonaukowych)

Decorative pottery and derived from it decorative ceramic are firmly interwoven with Polish folk culture. The article discusses linguistic and artistic distinguishing features of ceramic created in the Rzeszów region. It describes specialist vocabulary related to pottery and ceramic preserved in four popular science ethnographic studies (such as names of various kinds of ceramic, vessels, materials, thechniques, activities, performers of the activities, decorative motives and pottery centers). The characterized lexis permitted to reconstruct the facts connceted with the traditional handicraft representative of old and contemporary Subcarpathian heritage.

Оригинальные находки с поселения Бурла-3 эпохи поздней бронзы

The article discusses the results of the study of the original findings from the Late Bronze Age settlement Burla-3, located in the northern part of the Kulunda steppe of the Altai Territory. These are the bottoms of two vessels. Their thickness is unusual exceeding the thickness of bottoms of standard vessels by 3-3.5 times. The vessels were probably of unusual size, i.e. very large. A technical and technological analysis of the ceramics was carried out according to the method of A.A. Bobrinsky in order to compare the initial raw materials and the composition of molding masses with ceramics of different cultural and chronological groups from this site. As a result, it was established that they were made following an unusual recipe: clay + chamotte + organic matter of plant origin + animal hair. Several vessels were used for chamotte, one of which, in terms of raw materials, fully corresponds to one of the stands from the settlement. The technical and technological analysis of the remaining samples confirmed the previously recorded cultural traditions and skills in the selection of raw materials and the preparation of molding masses and revealed unusual—the addition of grit to one of the vessels made on a potter’s wheel, as well as several cases of the use of plant organic matter in high concentrations and animal hair. For this site, both the use of chamotte and the addition of animal hair are not typical. Organics of plant origin in this concentration are also rare. The obtained results confirm that the processes of interaction between different groups of the population took place at the site. The conclusion about the existence of a pottery center specializing in the production of circular ceramics in Altai in the Late Bronze Age is substantiated.

Lead and strontium isotopes as tracers for Early Formative pottery exchange in ancient Mexico

The sourcing of ceramics contributes to resolve questions about the nature of interactions between ancient societies. One such question concerns the primacy of the Olmec center of San Lorenzo in the development of the first unified iconographic style and its role in the early evolution of Mesoamerican civilization. Applying a combination of the isotopic systems of lead and strontium to a selection of ceramics dating to Early Formative period (1500-1000 BCE), this research evaluates the isotopic approach as an independent tool to address previously debated questions. The results demonstrate the capacity of isotopic analyses to discriminate between production centers, identify imports, relate unassigned samples to their production center and ceramics to raw material, and produce insights into production strategies (ceramics used locally versus exports). It subsequently shows how this approach can help solving existing hypotheses relying on ceramic provenance in the Early Formative period in Ancient Mexico. The findings discussed in this study more largely demonstrate that the isotopic approach constitutes a powerful tool to source ceramics and should be considered where contradictory hypotheses exist on their provenance.

Petrographic and chemical analyses of sherds from the Kurin Lapita site (Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia), ca. 3000–2700 BP

As part of a wider study of the transfer of Lapita pottery into and within New Caledonia, we studied a sample of Lapita sherds from the site of Kurin on Maré, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia. The Loyalty Islands lie between the Vanuatu island chain and the rest of New Caledonia, so it has been suggested that they may have been the first part of New Caledonia to have been colonized during the initial Lapita expansion. We examined 28 sherds by optical petrography, and compared these to archived thin sections of Lapita pottery from the islands of Erromango and Efate in Vanuatu. We also made chemical analyses by neutron activation analysis (INAA) of 11 of these 28 sherds, and later reanalyzed these 11, and 12 more, by inductively-coupled plasma (ICP) analysis as part of the analysis of 329 sherds from throughout New Caledonia. We find no evidence in this sample for the transfer of Lapita pottery from Vanuatu to the Loyalty Islands; the only demonstrably exotic pots are 5 sherds from the main island (Grande Terre) of New Caledonia. Our results offer some support to the view that the initial Lapita expansion was not a continuous wave of advance, but a discontinuous “leapfrogging” process that initially bypassed some island chains. We also note evidence for the existence of at least two mutually exclusive networks of exchange of Lapita pottery in New Caledonia after the initial colonization of the region.

BYZANTINE GLAZED CERAMICS OF THE 13th CENTURY IN THE CRIMEA (short review)

Despite political and military upheaval in Byzantium in the 13th century, the most important of which were the conquest of Constantinople and the central territories of the empire by the Latins in 1204, and then the restoration of the state and the return of the capital by Michael VIII Palaeologus in 1261, the manufacture of marketable glazed tableware on its historical territory had not stopped. Moreover, delivery of this ceramic into the territory of the Crimea also continued. This was largely due to the new owners of the maritime market — Italian merchants, first Venetians, and then Genoese, who were active participants of the political and military conflicts in the Eastern Mediterranean and Byzantium. At the same time, the composition of the imported ceramic was not stable. Finds from well-dated archaeological deposits known from the excavations of archaeological sites in the Crimea, as well as the surrounding area, provide the information as for the volume of the Byzantine import and changes in the imported pottery assemblage during the 13th century. First of all, these are the cultural remains with the layers of fire and destruction on the territory of the medieval towns in southern and south-western Crimea with the coins of 1250—1260s; shipwreck near the Novy Svet village south-west to Sudak, which wrecked not earlier than 1260—1270s; two pits in the harbor part of Soldaia / Sudak with coins of the 1266 and 1270s, which, according to stratigraphy, were filled after the mentioned catastrophe; sites in south-eastern Crimea with coins of the last quarter of the 13th — early 14th century, so on. Correlation of data from these contexts leads to the following conclusions. 1. Quantity of Byzantine ceramics imported into Crimea during the 13th century was quite significant. It accounts for up to 70 % and more of the ceramics assemblages. 2. The range of glazed ware remained approximately the same from the beginning until the middle — third quarter of the 13th century. The MBP (mainly «Incised Sgraffito Ware», less often «Champlevй» and others); GWW with monochrome green glaze as well as green and brown painted variants; «Zeuxippus Ware» (class IА&II) prevailed. 3. Since the last third of the 13th century less elegant and cheaper vessels («Sgraffito with Concentric Circles», jugs with stripes of white engobe) from different workshops, which in large quantities arise on the Byzantine and surrounding lands, start to come to the Crimea and Northern Black Sea Region. Their activities were stimulated by the intensification of maritime trade and the growing demand for cheap glazed pottery. 4. Cessation of some groups of import, especially MBP from Chalcis, may be due to the ousting of the Venetians from the Crimean market and their temporary difficulties with novation in the Black Sea after 1261. At the same time, the sales crisis could lead to the decline of some large pottery centers and to the emergence of new focused on more promising trading intermediaries, which the Genoese became.

AKÇAOVA ÇÖMLEKÇİLİĞİNİN DÜNÜ VE BUGÜNÜ

Akcaova is a town of pottery, which is 53 km away from the city centre in Aydin province, Cine District, on Aydin-Mugla highway with 2.289 population. The archaeological excavations performed in the ancient city, Aydin Tralleis, the ruins of Terracotta pottery belonging to the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods, 2. Century BC have been recovered. Pottery which is known to have a history in Aydin province is known to exist in Akcaova as well. Pottery in Akcaova handed down from father to son as in all pottery centres. Traditionally produced products still continue to be produced and used in Akcaova. Akcaova pottery continues its tradition and originality in terms of product forms and production technology. In this study, the production stages, mud preparation methods and product varieties of today's Akcaova pottery were investigated. Attempts for the survival of pottery, subsequent developments and relevant stages are discussed in detail.

The Effect of the Decline on Pottery in Ghana and Socio-Economic Implications on Potters

Demand for pottery in Ghana is declining according to empirical studies and this has socio-eco­nomic implications on the potters. The perpetuation of the potter’s trade is vital to maintaining and preserving humankind’s culture and livelihood. This paper used qualitative and quanti­tative approaches to discuss the effect of the decline in pottery and its socio-economic impli­cations on potters. The study sampled 500 practising potters from four centres in Ashanti and Bono regions of Ghana; Appiadu, Pankrono, Afari and Tanoso. Findings showed that there has been a decline on pottery in Ghana which inadvertently has socio-economic implications on the potters. The study established that there has been a decline in pottery activities. Analyses revealed that there is an appreciable socio-economic variance between potters who solely de­pended on pottery as opposed to others who combined it with other jobs. Location was a highly influential factor in determining the potters’ economic condition (p≤0.05). The effect of the declining demand on retention was highly significant in terms of potter’s willingness to quit or remain in the industry (p<0.05). The paper recommends teaching artists must intervene in developing the skills of these potters, a development of traditional in-depth design exploration through workshops.
 Keywords: Pottery, socio-economic effect, pottery centres, potters, clay

Influence of British Pottery on Pottery Practice in Nigeria

The pottery narratives of Nigeria majorly linked with the activities of a great British potter Michael Cardew who Established pottery centres in Nigeria, and trained many Nigerians in Pottery. Cardew studied under Bernard Leach (1887 – 1979) who travels extensively and taught pottery around the world.Leach studied pottery under Master Kenzan VI in Japan and returned to England in 1920 to establish his own pottery at St. Ives with Shoji Hamada. The impact in pottery created by Cardew in Nigeria from 1950 is a direct British Pottery influence imparted to him by leach at St. Ives. A British potter and artist, Kenneth C. Murray studied pottery under Bernard Leach at St. Ives in 1929 and returned back to Uyo in Nigeria to produce and teach students pottery. Murray produced pottery wares from the Kiln he built at Uyo and took his students to exhibit the ware along with other art works at Zwember gallery (Britain) in 1937. Chief Adam Joshua Udo Ema also studied pottery in 1949 in Britain and later returned to work as a pottery officer at Okigwe Pottery centre as well as established three pottery centres in Nigeria Namely; Ikot Abasi Pottery centre at Etinan, Pottery centre at Mbiafun Ikono, and pottery centre at Ikot Ntot in Abak. Many other Nigerian studied pottery in Nigeria. Lady Kwalii pottery experience was influenced by Michael Cardew. Her pottery influence seen pottery products exhibited in various parts of the world depicted a coordination of Niger and British Pottery influences. A case study design is considered for methodological approach. Data were taken from primary and secondary sources and analyzed respectively. British influence on Nigeria is indeed outstanding.

Influence of British Pottery on Pottery Practice in Nigeria

The pottery narratives of Nigeria majorly linked with the activities of a great British potter Michael Cardew who Established pottery centres in Nigeria, and trained many Nigerians in Pottery. Cardew studied under Bernard Leach (1887 – 1979) who travels extensively and taught pottery around the world.Leach studied pottery under Master Kenzan VI in Japan and returned to England in 1920 to establish his own pottery at St. Ives with Shoji Hamada. The impact in pottery created by Cardew in Nigeria from 1950 is a direct British Pottery influence imparted to him by leach at St. Ives. A British potter and artist, Kenneth C. Murray studied pottery under Bernard Leach at St. Ives in 1929 and returned back to Uyo in Nigeria to produce and teach students pottery. Murray produced pottery wares from the Kiln he built at Uyo and took his students to exhibit the ware along with other art works at Zwember gallery (Britain) in 1937. Chief Adam Joshua Udo Ema also studied pottery in 1949 in Britain and later returned to work as a pottery officer at Okigwe Pottery centre as well as established three pottery centres in Nigeria Namely; Ikot Abasi Pottery centre at Etinan, Pottery centre at Mbiafun Ikono, and pottery centre at Ikot Ntot in Abak. Many other Nigerian studied pottery in Nigeria. Lady Kwalii pottery experience was influenced by Michael Cardew. Her pottery influence seen pottery products exhibited in various parts of the world depicted a coordination of Niger and British Pottery influences. A case study design is considered for methodological approach. Data were taken from primary and secondary sources and analyzed respectively. British influence on Nigeria is indeed outstanding.

X-Ray, Synchrotron and Mass-Spectrometric Methods for the Study of Ceramic Objects of Cultural Heritage

Fragments of stamped amphorae (south Pontic (Sinope, III–I BC) and Mediterranean (Thasos, IV–III BC, and, presumably, Chios, III–II BC)), found in excavations on the Crimean Peninsula, have been investigated using X-ray diffraction, generalized semiquantitative X-ray fluorescence analysis, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The data obtained have been subjected to comparative analysis. A comparison of the mineralogical and elemental compositions of samples has revealed the characteristic distinctions between the products fabricated at different ancient pottery centers.

Moroccan clay deposits: Physico-chemical properties in view of provenance studies on ancient ceramics

Features of clayey raw materials from most important traditional pottery centers in the vicinity of the main medieval sites in Morocco, and their fired products were investigated. Besides clay from the North of Morocco, the used raw material was illitic clays (10–100%) and smectite-rich clays (0–67%) with variable amount of kaolinite, quartz and feldspars. Chlorite was also present in a small amount. The main major oxides were Si2O, Al2O3 and CaO. The fired tests (800–1100 °C) displayed a decrease in open porosity of the sintered clay by raising the temperature, mainly from 1000 °C due to the inception of melting. This change was coupled with the change in mineralogical composition. New crystalline phases as Ca-silicates (diopside and gehlenite), hematite, spinel and mullite occurred during firing process, attesting to the inception of melting and were responsible for porosity reduction.Reference clays for pottery were established based on the clay mineralogy and chemical composition. The present study would help to answer some archeological questions concerning possible sourcing areas for archeological ceramics, to determine techniques for the production of artefacts, and then to interpret cultural influences. Furthermore, the obtained results will support the inception of development of a compositional database for Moroccan pottery.

Curbing Youth Criminality through Creative Employment: Ushafa Pottery Centre Abuja in Focus

Pottery production, like many other forms of indigenous technology, has responded to the domestic and commercial aspirations of the Ushafa people and has affected their personal and corporate economy for centuries now. This study attempts a criminological exploration of the nexus between craftsmanship, economic empowerment and reduction in crime rate. Surveyed samples were drawn from Ushafa community and Ushafa pottery Centre Abuja. The study was aimed at assessing the contribution of the pottery center to the Ushafa rural economy in terms of employment potentials and reduction in crime rate. Results confirmed that the pottery center has indeed impacted positively on the lives of those engaged in it. It was also noted from the result that as more youth are engaged in the pottery craftsmanship, crime rate correspondingly drops. It is thus recommended that the pottery center be upgraded to serve a wider range of beneficiaries. The Government, the security institutions and policy makers are also called upon to retool in order to strategically check youth criminality via productive engagements. Finally, it is hoped that should the center deploy the uniqueness of product and aesthetic upgrading suggested in this study, the income potentials of potters would be enhanced.

Evidences of Seismogenic Destruction of Tile Kiln at the Medieval Pottery Production Center in Arroyo of the Suatkan Spring in Bakhchisarai district, Crimea

The Suatkan pottery center was located in the mountainous region of Crimea in the proximity of one of the medieval centers of economic and political life in this region formed around Mangup and Eski-Kermen fortresses. This center specialized in ceramic building materials, i.e., roof tiles. An archeological excavation of Suatkan has recovered two pottery kilns in the territory of the production center; one of them (kiln 12) has specific deformations caused by seismic effect. It features systematic southward-oriented failures of arch structural elements of its firing chamber and rotations of parts of a partition lining of its heating chamber. Our investigations revealed that kiln 12 was destroyed as a result of a strong earthquake. The seismic nature of the kiln destruction is supported by a dissimilarity in deformations to other known medieval kilns from the Southwestern Crimea (in Chersonesus, on the outskirts of the Mangup and Bakla fortresses, and in the area of Sudak) and to earlier kiln 10 of the Suatkan center unearthed further down the slope, which, by the time kiln 12 was in operation and destroyed had been completely graded to the surrounding terrain under heavy destruction layers. Regretfully, the precise timing of the destruction of kiln 12 cannot be determined in the context of the archeological find; it can only be approximated as the beginning of the 10th century to the middle of the 13th century. Provided that the maximum seismic vibrations that led to its destruction propagated from the south-southeast, that is, from side of the South Crimean seismogenic zone, the most likely earthquake to have caused this destruction appears to be an event that occurred in the early years of the 11th century. The local intensity of seismic shakings was I = VII–VIII degrees on the MSK-64 scale.

Provenance analysis of pottery from the Neolithic Diaolongbei site, Hubei Province, China by using NAA and petrography analysis

The Neolithic Diaolongbei site in Zaoyang city, Hubei Province, China is located in an important communication channel called as the Sui-Zao corridor between north and south China. Many artifacts from diverse cultures including: Yangshao culture in north China, Daxi and Qujialing culture in south China as well as local artifacts were found at the site. In this study, some pottery sherd samples from these four different culture styles found in different phases at this site were tested through instrumental neutron activation analysis (NAA) and petrographic analysis to discuss the provenance of the pottery and culture communication. The results indicate that during the first phase of the Diaolongbei Site (6300–5800 BP), all samples with Yangshao culture style were from the same source. During the second phase (5800–5300 BP), the source of all samples with Yangshao, Daxi or local culture styles was also the same and there was a manufacturing technique spread. During the third phase (5300–4800 BP), the imported pottery was identified so both cultural diffusion and pottery exchange existed in this phase. According to the results and the archaeology background, it is deduced that there was a close connection between the Diaolongbei site and other cultural regions and the imported sample supports that the Diaolongbei site might be a trade center.