Geochemical analyses result of prehistoric pottery from the site of Tol-e Kamin (Fars, Iran) by pXRF

Abstract

A series of pottery samples from the Iranian site Tol-e Kamin, ranging from pre-historical period to the New Elamite, were analyzed in order to study the geochemical variability of the pottery assemblage. A total amount of 168 measurements were obtained using a portable XRF device and were statistically handled. The results could successfully distinguish the geochemical composition of potteries from the chalcolithic to the New Elamite periods in the Kur River Basin. A major shift in the use of different clay sources could be detected since the Proto Elamite period and afterward, in which the carbonated and marl content clays represented by Ca, Ba and Sr shifted to clay sources with a tendency to non-carbonate silty clay Al, Ti, and Fe from a different geological background. The results stress the importance of further provenance studies to address issues of trade and exchange possibilities in southwestern Iran.

Cathodoluminescence microscopy for interpreting the fabric and heating process of ancient pottery: Preliminary study on the technological features of pottery from the Kur River basin

“…Archaeologically, the Kur River Basin has been well surveyed for decades (Alden et al, 2005; Eslami et al, 2020; Sumner, 1972), However, archaeometric studies on the pottery manufacturing technology in the KRB is yet in its infancy. The KRB served as a corridor to the Iranian Plateau and was home to a diversity of settlements from the Neolithic period to time of the Achaemenid Empire and afterward.…”

“…Based on Pincé et al (2016), there have been huge differences between Bakun ware to Mushki, Qaleh, Shogha, and Taimuran ware (Pincé et al, 2016). Further, the provenance study of pottery samples from the site of Tol‐e Kamin (dating to the second half of the second millennium BCE) demonstrates the efficacy of geochemical analysis for the purposes of grouping materials based on the compositional variability within the pottery assemblage (Eslami et al, 2020). However, modification of pottery compositions is often temporally driven and seems to coincide with socio‐economic challenges over time in this region.…”

Investigating ancient technology and ceramic composition at Al‐Khidr site (Failaka Island, Kuwait): Geochemical analyses of Bronze Age pottery by pXRF and thin‐section petrographic analyses

“…Furthermore, provenance studies have supported more in-depth discussions about human agency, such as ceramic recipe choices, the trade of preferred raw materials, technological skills and material culture manufacturing technology. In the Arabian Gulf and the adjacent region, characterisation studies have employed laser ablation (LA-ICP-MS), laboratory XRF, portable XRF spectrometer and petrographic thin section (Ashkanani, 2014;Ashkanani & Tykot, 2013;Ashkanani et al, 2020;Eslami et al, 2020;Magee & Karacic, 2018;Makovicky et al, 2014;Méry et al, 2012). The latter techniques have been used to characterise aspects of the ancient trade network of the Arabian Gulf.…”

“…Also, the instrument was set up to provide quantitative results for trace elements, including rubidium (Rb), strontium (Sr), yttrium (Y), zirconium (Zr), niobium (Nb) and barium (Ba). Previous archaeological studies have successfully used the latter trace elements to distinguish ceramic groups and discuss production methods in the Arabian Gulf (Ashkanani et al, 2020;Ashkanani & Tykot, 2013;Eslami et al, 2020).…”

The pottery production from the Deh Dumen Bronze Age graveyard (South-Western Iran): a chemical, mineralogical and physical study

“…Studies of vessels from late Neolithic and Chalcolithic sites such as Sialk (central Iran) [15], Rahmatabad (southwestern Iran) [16], various archaeological sites from Fars (south-central Iran) [17], Tehran Plain (north-central Iran) [18] and from Tappeh Zagheh in Qazvin Plain [19] show relatively similar compositions and homogeneous microstructures as well as significantly high firing temperatures. Furthermore, researches carried out on potteries from later periods such as those from Tappeh Yahya (north-central Iran) [20,21], Tol-e Kamin and Malyan (south-central Iran) [22,23], Sistan region and Shahr-i Sokhta (eastern Iran) [24][25][26], Godin Tepe and Kolyaei plain (western Iran) [27,28], the ceramics from the middle Elamite sites (second millennium BC) of Haft Tappeh and Chogha Zanbil [29,30], as well as Middle Chalcolithic ceramics from Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari province (5th -4th millennium BC) [31] show the use of local raw materials and the preservation of traditional ceramic production, even though evidences of ceramic trades are also visible. These studies revealed some interesting aspects of pottery production in prehistoric Iran, regarding for example the choice of raw materials, the additives and the conditions of the firing process.…”