The Missing Step of Pottery chaîne opératoire: Considering Post-firing Treatments on Ceramic Vessels Using Macro- and Microscopic Observation and Molecular Analysis

Post-firing treatments, produced by the interaction of an organic material with the hot surface of a ceramic, are frequently described in ethnographic literature, but have rarely been identified in archaeological ceramic assemblages. In order to address this question, this paper describes a methodology that combines macro- and microscopic observation and molecular analysis. The study of experimental ceramic vessels provided diagnostic tools to identify the type of substances, their liquid or solid state, and their mode of application and attested that the post-firing treatments do not completely waterproof the ceramics. The difficulty to observe macro- and microscopic evidence of post-firing treatments when pots are fired in reducing atmosphere suggests that these processes are probably underestimated in archaeological assemblages. Furthermore, the identification of molecular thermal transformation markers, such as ketones, calls into question their classical interpretation as markers for the cooking of fatty content. This pioneering work highlights the complexity of studying post-firing treatments, which leave small traces that are easily missed or misinterpreted. In order to address this issue, we propose a multi-analytical approach, which can serve as a basis for future studies to explore the full diversity of post-firing treatments mentioned in ethnoarchaeological literature.