Painted Pottery Research Articles

The Extended Life Course in Ancient Athens

Extended life course theory proposes that identities do not have to be embodied, meaning that the as-yet-unborn and the dead can have identities and personhood. Children are an apt case study for exploring whether societies envision identity extending beyond embodied existence, because non-adults exist towards the beginning of the life course and should they die before adulthood they have some predictable transformations outstanding. Literary sources indicate ancient Athenian ontology acknowledged extended life courses that deviated from embodied ones. Literary sources, burials, gravestones and painted pottery demonstrate juveniles existed both before birth and after death, and could retain prolonged identities following the latter. More rarely, their identities could be projected, moving juveniles further along the normative life course than they had corporeally experienced. This article argues that a social impetus for projecting identity in ancient Athens was acknowledging exceptional lost potential.

AI-Assisted Restoration of Yangshao Painted Pottery Using LoRA and Stable Diffusion

This study is concerned with the restoration of painted pottery images from the Yangshao period. The objective is to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of the restoration process for complex pottery patterns. Conventional restoration techniques encounter difficulties in accurately and efficiently reconstructing intricate designs. To address this issue, the study proposes an AI-assisted restoration workflow that combines Stable Diffusion models (SD) with Low-Rank Adaptation (LoRA) technology. By training a LoRA model on a dataset of typical Yangshao painted pottery patterns and integrating image inpainting techniques, the accuracy and efficiency of the restoration process are enhanced. The results demonstrate that this method provides an effective restoration tool while maintaining consistency with the original artistic style, supporting the digital preservation of cultural heritage. This approach also offers archaeologists flexible restoration options, promoting the broader application and preservation of cultural heritage.

The Role of Painted Pottery from Nakhchivan Tepe in Early Azerbaijani Civilizations

The article discusses the significance of the painted pottery found at Nakhchivan Tepe during the Chalcolithic period in terms of understanding symbols in early Azerbaijani civilizations. The archaeological importance of Nakhchivan Tepe is particularly evaluated by comparing its common features with the Halaf, Ubaid, and Dalma cultures. Additionally, the general characteristics of the painted pottery are examined, providing information about the forms, chronology, distribution, and usage of these artifacts. The symbolic and socio-cultural meanings of the geometric designs on the painted pottery are also discussed. Research reveals that the painted pottery provides clues about the ways in which ancient societies understood the world and contains valuable information about the daily lives of Chalcolithic period people. The pottery found at Nakhchivan Tepe has made valuable contributions to regional research, both archaeologically and culturally. This study helps us better understand the spiritual heritage of past civilizations through the comparison of such artifacts with other cultural elements.

Study of barium copper silicate pigments on painted pottery from the Qinhan Xincheng, Western Han Dynasty (207 B.C.–8 A.D.), Xi’an, Shaanxi province, China

Lead-barium silicate system products, represented by barium copper silicate and lead-barium glass, epitomize a unique artistic craftsmanship of ancient China. Specifically, barium copper silicate products were the only known artificially synthesized blue-purple inorganic pigments in ancient China. Painted pottery decorated with barium copper silicate pigment, predominantly found in elite tombs after 2nd century B.C., is exceedingly rare and holds immense archaeological significance. This case employed multi micro-scale analytical techniques, such as ultra-depth-of-field microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, µ X-ray Diffraction, and electron probe microanalysis, for comprehensive microscopic examination of a rare Chinese Purple (CP, BaCuSi2O6) pigments on painted pottery. The analytical results confirm that the purple pigment is BaCuSi2O6, accompanied by cinnabar for the red and bone white for the white sections, suggesting the probable use of organic residues as an adhesive. Additionally, the study reveals microstructural characteristics in CP faience and CP pigments, notably the encapsulation of CP particles by quartz particles. Therefore, it can be hypothesized that the process of manufacturing purple pigment was achieved by grinding faience into fine particles and then using an organic-based adhesive to adhere these particles to the pottery. This implies that the evolutions in CP products circa the 2nd century B.C. were driven not by technological advances from lead-barium glass, but rather by shifts in application methods, reflecting an adaptation process among different cultures. This study provides new perspectives and significant insights for comprehending the interplay between barium copper silicate and lead-barium glass, reconstructing ancient pottery painting techniques, and exploring the era’s technological and cultural interactions.

Shell Mounds of the Dian Lake

This article provides data on the search and study of the finds obtained during archaeological excavations of shell mounds in the region of Dian Lake in Yunnan Province, China. These objects represent a common, but at the same time, quite specific category of archaeological sources containing important information about the material and spiritual life of the population that left them. From the considerable number of Yunnan køkkenmøddings, the ancient fortified settlement of Guchengcun attracted the most attention, during the excavations of which it was possible for the first time to reveal the direct sequence of the Pre-Dian and Early Dian stages, dating back to the period of 3500– 2500 years BC, which are characterized by a unique set of ceramic and bronze implements. These finds give us the opportunity to express preliminary considerations regarding the origin of the Dian culture and state. Some part of the ceramics is similar to the vessels of the local Neolithic culture of Baiyangcun, which had contacts with the Neolithic painted pottery of the Yellow River valley; another part of it, as well as jade half-rings and sea shells, indicating a connection with the coastal cultures of Eastern China. Bronze knives and daggers are probably related in origin to the population of Northern China and adjacent territories. The interaction of these factors formed the basis of the Dian culture, while the contacts with the northern peoples outlined a line of interaction, following which the “horseback culture” later penetrated into Yunnan, shaping the formation of the Dian state.

新疆彩陶中的中华文化基因及其美学建构

新疆彩陶是中华文明史前交流的见证，纹饰艺术的发展历程书写着中华民族交流与融合的历史，其美学特色体现了早期的审美意识和文化精神。本文以新疆彩陶纹饰为切入点，指出纹饰和装饰美学特色的主要表现，并以此为线索分析审美意识在中华文明交流过程中的发展转变，进而探索新疆彩陶和国家形象的美学建构之间的关系和可能性途径。 Xinjiang painted pottery bears witness to the prehistoric exchanges of Chinese civilization, with the evolution of decorative art chronicling the nation’s exchanges and integrations. Its aesthetic features embody the early aesthetic consciousness and cultural spirit. This paper, focusing on the decorative patterns of Xinjiang painted pottery, identifies the primary expressions of these patterns and decorative aesthetics, using these insights to trace the evolution of aesthetic consciousness in the context of Chinese civilization’s exchanges. It then delves into the relationship and potential pathways between Xinjiang painted pottery and the aesthetic construction of national imagery.

A New X-ray Diffraction Spectrum-Based Untargeted Strategy for Accurately Identifying Ancient Painted Pottery from Various Dynasties and Locations in China

X-ray diffraction (XRD) is extensively used in archaeometric investigation. Herein, we provide a novel XRD spectrum-based untargeted strategy for the classification of ancient painted pottery for various dynasties. It was accomplished using the original spectrum without a phase identification. To eliminate the influence of baseline drift, a new baseline drift correction algorithm was specifically designed for XRD spectra. The algorithm was implemented using local minimum values in the analyzed signal in an iterative optimization manner. The results indicated that with the aid of the algorithm, the baseline drift problem can be successfully resolved, and the classification of ancient painted pottery can be greatly improved. Finally, the developed strategy was successfully used to discriminate ancient painted pottery from the Han and Tang dynasties in the cities of Guyuan and Zhongwei, China. The developed untargeted strategy had the remarkable advantage of almost automatic data analysis. The toolbox of our strategy can be obtained from the authors.

Objects of Visual Representation and Local Cultural Idioms

ABSTRACT In this paper, I reconsider the meaning of decorated objects like painted pottery and seal impressions with geometric and image-bearing motifs in prehistoric contexts. In northern Mesopotamia, the 6th millennium b.c., known more broadly as the Halaf Period, is a time when pottery with intricate painted motifs and stamp seals of a remarkably uniform style comprised a notable component of the cultural assemblage across a wide expanse. Following Alfred Gell, and using the site of Tell Kurdu, a peripheral Halaf Period 6th millennium b.c. site located in the Amuq Valley of Hatay, I highlight the ways in which such wares were used, and I strive to view them within their context-dependent settings. The region, on the fringes of this cultural entity provides a unique opportunity to identify a local Amuq identity and the nuances of hybridity that come with the appropriation of new elements of material culture, including Halaf Period painted pottery.

Beyond painted pottery: a longue durée story of ceramic technology in prehistoric Northwest China

AbstractThis paper presents a study of ceramics from Northwest China from the Neolithic and Bronze Age (c. 3300–600 BCE), providing insights into variations in human–ceramic interactions over time and space. Based on macroscopic and petrographic analysis of ceramics from 10 sites, this paper shows that there is much more complexity in ceramic technology than previously thought. It identifies a development from a bi‐modal distinction between painted fine ware and rusticated coarse wares shared among communities across Northwest China to strongly localised ceramic traditions with new fabrics, vessel shapes, and decorations, some of them potentially of outside origin, reflecting considerable societal change.

Manufacturing technique analysis of Early Harappan painted pottery from the Jhang Bahatar Site, Pakistan, by using a multi-analytical approach

Only a limited number of scientific or technological studies regarding Harappan pottery have been conducted so far. To address the knowledge gap, this study investigates the raw materials and manufacturing techniques evidenced in the painted pottery sherds excavated from the Jhang Bahatar site, Pakistan of the late period of early Harappan culture (also identified as the Kot Diji period 2800-2600BC). This study employs a variety of integrated analytical methods including production process observation, X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy, and Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). The investigation revealed that the raw materials in the pastes used to manufacture these painted potteries are common fusible clay characterized by minimal levels of silicon oxide and alumina and elevated levels of flux oxide. The pottery was decorated with an initial basecoat of ochre consisting of hematite (Fe2O3), mixed with pottery paste clay, while the main mineral material of black pigment was magnetite (Fe3O4) and the white pigment was created using dolomite (CaMg (CO3)2).

Lydian pottery in the Roman tradition: An archaeometric study of production at Sardis

AbstractThe emergence of Sardis as an urban centre in the early Iron Age coincided with local production of fine painted pottery in a distinctive regional idiom. Examples of Lydian-style pottery found across western Anatolia from the eighth century BC attest the city’s growing cultural and economic contacts as well as consistent materials and craft methods. Archaeo- metric study using neutron activation analysis (NAA) at the University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR) examined representative specimens of Lydian-style ceramics from Sardis and compared their composition with later examples of red-gloss and red-slipped pottery, fine grey wares and transport jars commonly found at the site. The results confirm the sustained activity of local workshops from the early Iron Age into later historical periods, as Lydia became part of the Seleucid and Roman empires and Sardis a centre of regional innovation.

A Study of Pigment, Adhesive, and Firing Temperature in Pottery Figurines Excavated from the Tomb of Qibi Ming, China

Some painted pottery figurines were excavated from the tomb of Qibi Ming of the Tang Dynasty. A series of analytical techniques were employed to understand the craftsmanship of these painted pottery figurines. The pigment, cross-section, adhesive, and firing temperature were analyzed using microscopy (OM), energy X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDX), micro-Raman spectroscopy, pyrolysis–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS), and a dilatometer (DIL). The results demonstrated that the surface of the pigment layers had degraded to different degrees. The pigment particles were litharge, gypsum, malachite, cinnabar, hematite, minium, white lead, and carbon black. The cross-sectional images show that the painted layer of figurines 10-0966 and 10-0678 included a pigment layer and a preparation layer. The preparation layer of both pigments was lead white. Animal glue was used as an adhesive. The firing temperature of the pottery figurines was likely 1080 °C. This study can provide more accurate information with regard to the composition of the raw materials utilized in the making of these artifacts and support the selection of appropriate substances for the purposes of conservation and restoration of the painted pottery figurines.

Painted Pottery Decorative Patterns in the North-Eastern Anatolian Plateau during the Late Iron Age (8th–7th century BC to 330 BC)

The article offers a brief overview of the painted pottery decorative patterns on the north-eastern Anatolian plateau during the Late Iron Age. In this study, the author has examined painted pottery sherds of nine archaeological sites: Boğazköy, Alaca Höyük, Alișar Höyük, Ҫadir Höyük, Kerkenes Dağ, Ușaklı Höyük, Mașat Höyük, Kușaklı-Sarissa, Kaman-Kalehöyük. The total amount of painted pottery sherds examined is 344. Based on the evidence of the decorative painted patterns on the ceramic vessels dated to the Late Iron Age, the author has investigated the frequency and distribution of decorative types among the archaeological sites.

A multi‐analytical approach to understand El Alto‐Ancasti's painted pottery (north‐western Argentina): Non‐invasive and micro‐invasive analyses of vessel's paintings from El Taco 19

AbstractArchaeometric analysis applied to the study of pre‐Hispanic pottery is a growing field in archaeological research in north‐western Argentina. Most of these investigations have focused on intra‐style variability, comparing samples from the same style but obtained in different sites throughout large regions. In this study, we propose to shift the approach and adopt a local micro‐scale perspective to deepen knowledge regarding pottery manufacturing. As a case study, pottery sherds from different styles discovered in the archaeological site El Taco 19 (El Alto‐Ancasti Mountain, Catamarca) were selected. To this end, we proposed a multi‐analytical approach employing non‐invasive and micro‐invasive analytical techniques.

Сравнительное изучение антропологических аспектов греческой вазописи и этрусской живописи

Introduction. The fine arts of archaic Greece and Etruria experienced a noticeable influence of the East. The transition from archaic to classical time influenced the forms of depicting the morphological features of a person in antique art. Comparative study of the anthropological features of the antique population of the Mediterranean on the greek painted pottery and etruscan murals of the archaic and classical times was the purpose of our study. Materials and methods. The material was collected in the online-collections of ancient collections of museums. We used the method of a composite portrait in a digital version, the calculation of the frequency of features in our study. Studied features was – beard growth, hair color and nature of the hair. Results and discussion. On the etruscan murals of the archaic period, the frequency of depicting straight nature of the hair in women is the highest (7,7 %) in all samples; for different groups of painted pottery, it does not exceed 7 %. The degree of beard growth according to vase painting and etruscan murals is characterized by a strong and very strong growth. A greater manifestation of hair pigmentation polymorphism according to painted pottery is noted in the images of the classical period. Dark hair predominates in all groups, grey-haired was depicted only in male characters. Hair depigmentation on painted pottery is observed in images of the classical and late classical periods and did not exceed 6 % in the total sample. Pigmentation on etruscan murals indicates a lightening of the hair in the group towards reddish-red shades, depigmentation does not exceed 8%. Features of the depiction of pigmentation in to vase painting and murals, despite the different technique and coloring, reveal common tendencies of variability characteristic of the Mediterranean groups. Composite portraits based on painted pottery reflect the historical transformation of the anthropo-aesthetic ideas of the greeks through the fine arts of the archaic and classical times. Conclusion. Color in greek painted pottery performs not only a decorative function, but is also an artistic means of conveying morphological variability. Involvement of antique written sources of the description of population and the philosophy of color in antique culture can help in the anthropological reading of vase painting and further study of pigmentation polymorphism. @ 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license

Neolithic Traditions on the Northern Periphery of the Dalmatepe Culture

The purpose of the study is to reveal the factors that determine the features of the Neolithic-Chalcolithic transition in the South Caucasus and the spread of the Dalmatepe culture in the region during this period.
 The novelty of this study lies in the confirmation of the Neolithic traditions of Azerbaijan in the Nakhchivantepe layer of the Dalmatepe period, as well as the identification of the boundaries and distinctive features of the northern periphery of the Dalmatepe culture.
 The results of the study indicate that Nakhchivantepe was the main center of Dalmatepe culture in the South Caucasus. Pottery samples found in the nearby settlements of Uchan Agyl, Uzunoba, Bülovgaya, as well as in the settlement of Godedzor on the territory of Zangazur, make it possible to include the Nakhchivanchay river valley and the Zangazur ridge in the northern periphery of the Dalmatepe culture.
 The settlement of Nakhchivantepe is the main center of this periphery and demonstrates a transition from the Neolithic to the Chalcolithic culture in its stratigraphy. The pottery found in the settlement is divided into four main categories: simple chaff-tempered pottery, surface-manipulated pottery, red-slipped pottery, and painted pottery.
 Simple chaff-tempered pottery (Group I) reflects the characteristics of the Kültepe culture (6372-5200), which appeared in the Neolithic period in the Nakhchivanchay valley. Neolithic traditions are also traced in the typology of simple ceramic vessels. Other groups of ceramics (II-IV) are similar to the materials typical for the Dalmatepe culture sites. However, in contrast to the south, ceramics with surface-manipulated ornaments are even more ancient on the northern periphery of the Dalmatepe culture. Some of the specimens are similar to the surface-manipulated ceramics of the Late Neolithic sites of Mil-Karabakh. The findings of this study confirmed the influence of the Azerbaijani Neolithic cultures on the Dalmatepe culture and identified the factors responsible for its spread.

Ancient Mitochondrial Genomes Provide New Clues to the Origin of Domestic Cattle in China.

Cattle are one of the six livestock species that have occupied an important place in Chinese history. Previous ancient DNA studies have indicated that Chinese taurine cattle (Bos taurus taurus) are exotic, but the exact route and diffusion by which they were introduced to China is unknown. In this study, we extracted the mitochondrial genomes of 34 cases of ancient taurine cattle (from the late Neolithic to Qin and Han dynasties) excavated from sites in northern China and the eastern Eurasian steppe, and successfully obtained 14 mitochondrial genome sequences. The results of ancient DNA analysis reveal that with cultural exchange and trade, there was close genetic exchange between domestic taurine cattle in different regions. The haplotypes shared by domestic cattle have genetic continuity, reflecting the strong cultural influence of the large capital city sites such as Taosi, Shimao and Erlitou on the surrounding areas. This study suggests that ancient northern Chinese taurine cattle may have accompanied the westward transmission of agricultural or painted pottery culture and thus had a maternal genetic contribution to modern Tibetan cattle.

True Blue? Locality of pottery decorations during the Middle Bronze: The case of Red, White and Blue Ware

Around 30 painted pottery sherds were selected for pXRF and Raman Spectroscopy testing to study the chemical and mineralogical composition of their pigments. These sherds originated from two significant Middle Bronze Age sites located in the Southern Levant, i.e., Ashkelon and Tel Azekah, and belong to a ceramic group referred to by scholars as Red, White, and Blue Ware (RWB). Examples of this type of ceramic ware have been unearthed at multiple sites during the last century. However, hitherto no analysis of the pigments’ composition has been performed. Our results demonstrate the use of three well-known pigment recipes: Red Ochre, White Lime, and Carbon Black and indicate that the pottery and pigments were locally made from available materials at each site. It is possible that the specific way in which Carbon Black was applied to the pottery was an attempt to imitate Egyptian decoration style.

A Perilous Sailing and a Lion: Comparative Evidence for a Phoenician Afterlife Motif

Abstract This essay introduces new evidence for an eschatological Phoenician motif that alludes to a final sailing and its perils, represented by a monstrous lion attacking or sinking a boat. The lion-and-boat motif was, so far, only documented in a Phoenician funerary stela from late classical Athens, the Antipatros/Shem stela. Excavations at the fifth-century BCE Tartessic site of Casas del Turuñuelo in southwestern Spain has revealed a set of ivory and bone panels that decorated a wooden box, bearing relevant iconography in the so-called orientalizing style. Additional comparanda from the Levant, Iberia, and Tunisia in various media (coins, ivories, amulets), add weight to this interpretation. Our analysis highlights how the artists behind the Athenian and Tartessic artifacts were innovative in their way of representing a theme that was not codified iconographically. Most remarkable is the use of an ivory-carving convention (the Phoenician palmette motif) to portray the stylized boat, a choice corroborated by a painted pottery sherd from Olympia. This “palmette-boat” depiction, in our view, is coherent with Egyptian Nilotic boats, but also with the use of flat or shallow river-boats in the Tagus and Guadiana region, illustrating mechanisms of local adaptation of Phoenician sailing and life-death “passing” symbolism. If, as we suggest, this representation can be added to that in the Athenian document, we now have testimonies of two different local adaptations of a Phoenician theme at the two ends of the Mediterranean oikoumene between the archaic and late classical periods.

Red and Black Paints on Prehistoric Pottery of the Southern Russian Far East: An Archaeometric Study

This paper considers the results of an examination of painted pottery from prehistoric sites of the Prmor’ye region (Southern Russian Far East) in the northwestern part of the Sea of Japan basin. Red-painted and black-painted ceramic wares occur here only in the remains of the Yankovskaya archaeological culture dated to the 1st mil. BCE. Red painting appears as a colored surface coating, and black painting is represented by very simple drawn patterns. Until recently painting decorations have not been intentionally studied. The objects of our investigation are a small series of red-painted and black-painted ceramic fragments originated from archaeological sites. The methods of optical microscopy, SEM-EDS, and Raman spectroscopy were applied to the study of research materials. As a result, the data on characteristics of texture and composition of red and black paints were obtained. Both were determined to be pre-firing paints. Red paint is a clayish substance mixed with natural ochre pigment containing the hematite coloring agent. Black paint is carbon-based. Black carbon and burnt bone are recognized as colorants. The presented materials are new evidence of pottery paint technologies in prehistoric Eurasia.