Investigating the Late Chalcolithic pottery production and consumption at Valencina de la Concepción (Seville, SW-Spain): An archaeometric analysis using petrographic and LA-ICP-MS techniques (original) (raw)

"Bronze Age ceramics in southwest Spain: An exploratory archaeometric study of technology and function."

Geoarchaeology. An International Journal 20 (3), 263-284, 2005

Pottery from the Bronze Age of southwest Spain has traditionally been approached from a “typological” stand seeking the establishment of chronological sequences. This article examines ceramics from two different Bronze Age sites, a settlement (El Trastejón) and a necropolis (La Traviesa), from an archaeometric viewpoint. The methodology involved includes mineralogical characterization by XRD and optical microscopy, chemical analysis by XRF, and morphometric analysis through digital processing of thin sections. The analytical results are contextualized within the general framework of our current archaeological knowledge of both sites and their general background, and then a preliminary interpretation is proposed in terms of the prehistoric technology of pottery manufacture and functionality

Archaeometrical study of Second Iron Age ceramics from the Northwestern of the Iberian Peninsula

Mediterranean Archeology and Archaeometry, Vol. 14, Nº 1, 2014

This paper presents for the first time, the archaeometric characterization of the ceramics of an archaeological deposit located in the Almar river Valley (Salamanca, Spain) and the study of some soil samples from this archaeological site. Colour characterization was performed according with Munsell Soil Color Chart. X-Ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and polarizing petrographic microscopy observations were carried out to determine the mineralogical composition of the ancient ceramics. Minor and major elements were studied by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Specific surface area was measured using BET methodology. Finally, a multivariate statistical analysis was performance in order to distinguish families of ceramics as a function of their geochemical and mineralogical composition.

GUIRAO, D., GARCÍA HUERTA, Mª del R., ACOSTA, A. and MIGUEL-NARANJO, P. (2021): "First archaometric study of the Iberian ceramic production from two sites in the Northern Oretania: Alarcos and El Cerro de las Cabezas (Ciudad Real, Spain)". Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry. vol. 21, Nº3

Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry , 2021

The oppida at Alarcos and El Cerro de las Cabezas (Ciudad Real, Spain) were two of the most important Iberian sites in the Proto-history (8 th-3 th centuries BC.) the Northern Oretania. Archaeological studies have been published since the 80s; however this paper is the first that provides archaeometric results from the chemical and mineralogical analysis of 107 ceramic fragments of Iberian common pottery. They have been analysed through X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF). From the chemical results, a statistical study has been carried out, which has allowed us to create reference groups (RG) and to determine the economic relationships between the two sites studied and their areas of influence. At a technological level, the results from the mineralogical analysis have allowed us to estimate the firing temperatures (EFT) and to classify the ceramic fragments into 3 fabrics with their respective temperature ranges.

POTTERY MANUFACTURING DURING THE NEOLITHIC IN THE NORTH OF SPAIN: RAW MATERIAL PROCUREMENT AND MODIFICATION IN THE CAVE OF LOS GITANOS (CASTRO URDIALES, SPAIN)*

Mineralogical and geochemical results derived from analyses of the pottery ensemble documented in the Cave of Los Gitanos (Castro Urdiales, Spain) are presented in this paper. This site contains an archaeological deposit formed in the mid-fifth millennium cal BC, which has yielded one of the oldest pottery assemblages in northern Spain. The analysis of the pottery remains has focused on both petrographic (thin-section and XRD) and geochemical characterization (SEM-EDS) of samples selected after a macroscopic study. The mineralogical analysis has revealed procurement of raw materials from different sources, as well as different manufacturing processes. In addition, the petrographic analysis has shown different methods of manufacture, such as pottery tempered with calcite, limestone, ophite (ophitic dolerite) and grog, and fabrics with non-modified clays. Variations observed between the oldest assemblage (Sub-levels A4 and A3) and the most recent one (Sub-level A2) suggest a modification in pottery-making practices between the fifth and the third millennia cal BC.

Archaeometric characterization of Late Antique pottery from the rural site of Ses Païsses de Cala d’Hort (Eivissa, Balearic Islands, Spain)

Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2017

This paper presents the results of an archaeometric characterisation of Late Roman Pottery from a rural site on the island of Eivissa (Balearic Islands, Spain). The ceramic samples, including common wares, amphorae and cooking wares, have been analyzed using X Ray Fluorescence for the chemical characterization, optical microscopy by thin-section analysis for the mineralogical and petrographic characterization and X Ray diffraction for the mineralogical analysis. The results show the importance of local/regional production for the common wares and amphorae, while for the cooking wares all the materials are imported, including some fabrics widely distributed in the Western Mediterranean.

FROM RAW MATERIALS TO UTILISATION. CERAMICS ASSOCIATED WITH THE METALLURGICAL ACTIVITY AT VALENCINA DE LA CONCEPCIÓN (SEVILLE, SPAIN): TECHNOLOGICAL CHOICES AND SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS

The assessment and analysis of the metallurgical activity at Valencina de La Concepción facilitated the identification of a complex production system, where archaeological indicators point to a technological development of a higher and more diversified level compared to other contemporary sites. Moreover, the social context and the technological and spatial division of labor detected for the site suggest the existence in the settlement of a specialised smelting quarter . This paper illustrates the technological process characterising the manufacture and use of ceramic products (i.e. crucibles and tuyéres) associated with metallurgical activity, by implementing a methodology based on textural, petrographical, chemical and mineralogical analyses. As regards the manufacture of crucibles and tuyéres, the results of the petrographic and chemical analyses suggested the use of similar raw materials sourced locally. However, from a technological point of view, crucibles and tuyéres show differential treatment in relation to the preparation of the ceramic pastes. Finally, the information provided by the mineralogical and textural analyses allowed an estimation of the temperature reached by the vessels during the metallurgical process. In the case of the crucibles, the data corroborate the figures provided by the textural and chemical analyses of scoriaceous adhesions (Saez et al., 2003).

Pottery Production Strategies in the Upper Guadalquivir Valley during the Middle and Late Bronze Ages of Southern Iberia. The Cases of Peñalosa and Cabezuelos (Jaén, Spain)

In Bartelheim, M., Contreras Cortés, F. & Hardenberg, R. (Eds.): Landscapes and Resources in the Bronze Age of Southern Spain (Ressourcenkulturen 17). Tübingen University Press, 2022

This paper is about the pottery productions from two sites located in the Upper Guadalquivir, studied as a morphometric perspective: the Argaric site of Peñalosa (Baños de la Encina, Jaén, Spain) and the Bronze Age site of Cerro de Cabezuelos (Úbeda, Jaén, Spain). The ideal contextualisation and dating of the ceramics from these sites will provide a broad perspective on the cultural change between the Middle Bronze Age and the Late Bronze Age in the Upper Guadalquivir valley. Despite the fact that both sites are close and strategically located in the territory, the results obtained from pottery studies have shown that there is no tradition at a formal level in the production of ceramics in this region. Furthermore, from the spatial distribution of the ceramics, different uses of space between the two sites can be observed.

Archaeometric characterization of regional late antique cooking wares from the area of Vallès (Catalonia, Spain): The case of two rural sites

This contribution presents the results of the archaeometric characterization of coarse wares from the rural sites of Can Gambús and Horts de Can Torras in the area of Barcino-Barcinona (current Barcelona) in the northeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula. A total of 57 sherds have been analyzed with X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy for their chemical characterization, and with thin-section analysis for their petrographic characterization. The results suggest a regional provenance for the ceramics. Two main compositional groups have been identified, one with a clear predominance of granitic components and the other with granitic and metamorphic inclusions. The results contribute to a better understanding of local/regional Late Antique and Early Medieval ceramic production in the area, which have previously been poorly studied from an analytical point of view.

Archaeometry and Analysis of Ceramic Materials from Ávila (Spain): Late-Vetton Evidence

Sustainability

From the archaeological excavations carried out during 2019/2020 in the walled Ávila city (Spain), numerous ceramic fragments of different chronologies have appeared that have allowed us to find settlement sequences in this city that place its beginnings before Romanization. The latest interventions allow us to know that the wall of Ávila has a Roman origin, and it was developed on an indigenous nucleus from the 1st century BC that received the Romanizing influence during the 1st century AD. In addition, it was possible to establish that the materials used for their preparation are consistent with the materials of the geological environment, which suggests a local origin. This paper presents the study of a set of ceramic samples using XRD, ICP/MS, SEM/EDX, and linescan analysis. A statistical analysis of the samples using the minor elements concentrations has suggested that even though the local origin, there were several production centers within painted ceramics that until now wer...