The Ceramic Assemblage of Tse Dura (Indyer Mbakuv) Rockshelter in Benue State, Central Nigeria

The Shahrizor Prehistory Project has targeted prehistoric levels of the Late Ubaid and Late Chalcolithic 4 (LC4; Late Middle Uruk) periods at Gurga Chiya (Shahrizor, Kurdistan region of northern Iraq), along with the Halaf period at the adjacent site of Tepe Marani. Excavations at the latter have produced new dietary and environmental data for the sixth millennium B.C. in the region, while at Gurga Chiya part of a burned Late Ubaid tripartite house was excavated. This has yielded a promising archaeobotanical assemblage and established a benchmark ceramic assemblage for the Shahrizor Plain, which is closely comparable to material known from Tell Madhhur in the Hamrin valley. The related series of radiocarbon dates gives significant new insights into the divergent timing of the Late Ubaid and early LC in northern and southern Mesopotamia. In the following occupation horizon, a ceramic assemblage closely aligned to the southern Middle Uruk indicates convergence of material culture with central and southern Iraq as early as the LC4 period. Combined with data for the appearance of Early Uruk elements at sites in the adjacent Qara Dagh region, this hints at long-term co-development of material culture during the fourth millennium B.C. in southeastern Iraqi Kurdistan and central and southern Iraq, potentially questioning the model of expansion or colonialism from the south.

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Mineralogical and Microstructure Analysis for Characterization and Provenance of Ceramic Artifacts from Late Helladic Kastrouli Settlement, Delphi (Central Greece)

Geosciences ◽

10.3390/geosciences11010036 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 36

Author(s):

Vayia Xanthopoulou ◽

Ioannis Iliopoulos ◽

Ioannis Liritzis

Keyword(s):

Raw Materials ◽

Analytical Techniques ◽

Sem Analysis ◽

Petrographic Analysis ◽

Ceramic Assemblage ◽

Thin Sections ◽

Central Greece ◽

High Calcium ◽

Local Geology

The present study deals with the characterization of a ceramic assemblage from the Late Mycenaean (Late Helladic III) settlement of Kastrouli, at Desfina near Delphi, Central Greece using various analytical techniques. Kastrouli is located in a strategic position supervising the Mesokampos plateau and the entire peninsula and is related to other nearby coeval settlements. In total 40 ceramic sherds and 8 clay raw materials were analyzed through mineralogical, petrographic and microstructural techniques. Experimental briquettes (DS) made from clayey raw materials collected in the vicinity of Kastrouli, were fired under temperatures (900 and 1050 °C) in oxidizing conditions for comparison with the ancient ceramics. The petrographic analysis performed on thin sections prepared from the sherds has permitted the identification of six main fabric groups and a couple of loners. The aplastic inclusions recognized in all fabric groups but one confirmed the local provenance since they are related to the local geology. Fresh fractures of representative sherds were further examined under a scanning electron microscope (SEM/EDS) helping us to classify them into calcareous (CaO > 6%) and non-calcareous (CaO < 6%) samples (low and high calcium was noted in earlier pXRF data). Here, the ceramic sherds with broad calcium separation are explored on a one-to-one comparison on the basis of detailed mineralogical microstructure. Moreover, their microstructure was studied, aiming to estimate their vitrification stage. The mineralogy of all studied samples was determined by means of X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), permitting us to test the validity of the firing temperatures revealed by the SEM analysis. The results obtained through the various analytical techniques employed are jointly assessed in order to reveal potters’ technological choices.

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The emergence of pottery in Africa during the tenth millennium cal BC: new evidence from Ounjougou (Mali)

Antiquity ◽

10.1017/s0003598x00099245 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 83 (322) ◽

pp. 905-917 ◽

Cited By ~ 53

Author(s):

E. Huysecom ◽

M. Rasse ◽

L. Lespez ◽

K. Neumann ◽

A. Fahmy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

East Asia ◽

Ceramic Assemblage ◽

Subsistence Strategy ◽

New Evidence

New excavations in ravines at Ounjougou in Mali have brought to light a lithic and ceramic assemblage that dates from before 9400 cal BC. The authors show that this first use of pottery coincides with a warm wet period in the Sahara. As in East Asia, where very early ceramics are also known, the pottery and small bifacial arrowheads were the components of a new subsistence strategy exploiting an ecology associated with abundant wild grasses. In Africa, however, the seeds were probably boiled (then as now) rather than made into bread.

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The Early Second Millennium Ceramic Assemblage of Dinkha Tepe

Iran ◽

10.2307/4300507 ◽

1974 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

pp. 125 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Carol Hamlin

Keyword(s):

Ceramic Assemblage

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A Late Antique Ceramic Assemblage at Burgaz, Datça Peninsula, South-west Turkey, and the ‘Normality of the Mixed Cargo’ in the Ancient Mediterranean

The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology ◽

10.1111/1095-9270.12110 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 44 (2) ◽

pp. 300-311 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Justin Leidwanger ◽

Elizabeth S. Greene ◽

Numan Tuna

Keyword(s):

Late Antique ◽

Ceramic Assemblage ◽

South West

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Ceramic Types from Late Prehistoric Sites along the East Fork of the Trinity River

Index of Texas Archaeology Open Access Grey Literature from the Lone Star State ◽

10.21112/ita.2015.1.70 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Wilson Crook ◽

Mark Houghston

Keyword(s):

Direct Evidence ◽

Red River ◽

Late Prehistoric ◽

East Texas ◽

Ceramic Assemblage ◽

Trinity River ◽

Late Prehistoric Period ◽

Prehistoric Culture ◽

The Trinity

Ceramics are one of the key diagnostic artifacts that define the Late Prehistoric culture of the peoples that lived along the East Fork of the Trinity and its tributaries. We are completing a 42 year re evaluation of the Late Prehistoric period of the area and have st udied nearly 32,000 artifacts, of which over 10,200 are ceramic sherds. From this study, 20 distinct ceramic types have been recognized. Plain ware, both shell tempered and sandy paste/grog tempered, are the predominant ceramic types present, comprising ov er 90 percent of the total ceramic assemblage. While there is little direct evidence for indigenous manufacture, the abundance of these types suggests they were produced locally. Lesser quantities of decorated ware of distinct Caddo ceramic types from the Red River and East Texas suggest they are likely the product of exchange. There is also a small amount of Puebloan material indicative of a longer distance exchange.

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