Beneath the surface: Exploring variability in pottery paste recipes within Vinča culture

Abstract

This study applies thin-section petrography to a wide selection of ceramic and geological samples from four archaeological sites (Belovode, Pločnik, Gradište-Iđjoš, and Potporanj) belonging to both the Neolithic and Chalcolithic phases of the Vinča culture phenomenon (c. 5350 to 4600 BC) to track intra-and interregional traditions of pottery production with a focus on paste recipes. The results of this study suggest that Vinča pottery manufacturing traditions possess general technical similarities, with significant differences resulting from both environmental constraints and deliberate choices. The comparison of these results with those of other petrographic studies in the Neolithic/Chalcolithic Balkans further emphasises that Vinča pottery reflects numerous communities of practice that fall under the umbrella of 'Vinča culture'. This is visible in the varying processes of selecting and manipulating raw materials for ceramic production. Therefore, differences between Vinča pottery assemblages reflect various models of interaction between people and their landscape as well as different technological traditions. Overall, this approach allows us to discuss the problem of similarities and differences in material culture from a perspective that emphasises the socially constructed nature of ceramics.

Shared traditions and shard conservatism: pottery making at the Chalcolithic site of Radovanu (Romania)

“…grog tempering), forming, and decorative techniques are consistent throughout the timespan in which the site was inhabited. This suggests that the transmission of knowledge for pottery manufacture at the site was probably vertical and direct from parents to offspring (Cavalli-Sforza and Feldman 1981) and marked by firmly installed and long-lasting apprentice networks as it was observed in contemporary sites (Amicone 2020b).…”

“…al. 2019;Amicone et al 2020b). Within Vinča culture, for example, grog has been used to temper vessels with thick walls such as storage and cooking pots (Amicone et al 2020b).…”

Forging a New World Order? Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Management of Metalworking and Ideological Change in the Late Bronze Age Carpathian Basin

“…The addition of grog (crushed sherds added into clay paste) as a temper, noted in fabric 4, is typical of the domestic pottery and mould production. This is a common practice among potters in the Balkans at least from the end of the Late Neolithic period (Amicone et al, 2020a(Amicone et al, , 2021. It is, however, difficult to evaluate whether this tradition continued uninterrupted down to the Late Bronze Age due to the lack of extensive research for later periods.…”

Pondering pottery: Elemental characterization of Early Eneolithic pottery from Šanac-Izba near Lipolist

“…The first step was to examine the similarities and differences in the chemical compositions of different types of vessels, as well as the correlation between the type of vessel and their inclusions and fabric. There are studies that have addressed the issues of the operational chain and paste recipes in the Vinča culture in Serbia (Amicone et al, 2020;Perišić et al, 2016;Spataro, 2018), but such analyses have not been performed on Eneolithic material from western Serbia.…”