Surface treatment of red painted and slipped wares in the middle Yangtze River valley of Late Neolithic China: multi-analytical case analysis

Abstract

Red slipped and painted wares (RSW and RPW) were manufactured to cook, serve, or store foods and liquids in the middle Yangtze River valley (MYRV) of China some 8500 and 7800 years ago, respectively. Their primary use narrowed down to serving and drinking in the Upper Qujialing (5300–4500 cal BP) and Shijiahe (4500–4200 cal BP) periods when initial states (bang guo) took shape and developed in the region. The increasing social complexity in MYRV correlated with the formation of community and neighborhood identity through rituals and socio-economic ties involving the widespread use of RSW and RPW. How the two wares were produced and used helps us understand the relationships among productive activities, identity, and social inequality in MYRV. This paper presents the first overview of RSW and RPW in the Neolithic MRYV. It introduces a multi-analytical study of the two wares—mostly dating to the Shijiahe period—unearthed from the site of Fenghuangzui in Xianyang City of Hubei Province, China. Optical microscopic examination revealed that the paint of RPW—50 μm thick on average—was applied using a brush while the slip of RSW is thinner and finer and possibly formed by self-slipping. Handheld X-ray fluorescence (hhXRF) and benchtop micro-XRF analyses ascribed the red paint or slip to iron and iron oxide. Raman and X-ray absorption fine structure analyses confirmed that iron was present in the paint or slip in the form of hematite with a poorly developed crystalline structure. Furthermore, thin-section petrography implied that different pastes were used to produce RPW and RSW, and hhXRF data indicated that the Upper Qujialing and Shijiahe pottery differ in the concentrations of five elements (Zr, Fe, Mn, Ti, and Ba), which might be helpful in future provenance studies of RSW and RPW. Our study discloses the complexity of the manufacture of RSW and RPW at Fenghuangzui. More details of RSW and RPW production and use from our ongoing project shall reveal the role of the two wares in the social dynamics of the Late Neolithic MYRV. Graphic Abstract

Red and Black Paints on Prehistoric Pottery of the Southern Russian Far East: An Archaeometric Study

“…According to the research data, the chemical and mineralogical compositions of the ochre specimens from the Chapaevo site and the Baranovskii ochres have similar characteristics ([16] p. 127; [38] pp. 38,40). Supposedly, ochre pieces unearthed in the Chapaevo prehistoric settlement were mined at the Baranovskii ochre deposit.…”

“…Probably, in some cases, the red paint may be determined as red slip, taking into account the observations of Samples R1, R2, and R3, which show the application of red-colored mass directly on the ceramic body. The term "red slip" is used for the description of red-colored clayish coatings [13,40]. The thickness of the red-colored layer and quality of burnishing treatment varied significantly, influencing the external performance of red decoration on the ceramic ware's surface.…”

“…As a whole, black paints used for the decoration of Yankovskaya culture pottery fall into the category of carbon-based or organic-based paints defined separately of mineralbased black paints containing the iron or/and manganese as main coloring agents [1,2,13,23] (pp. [31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43]. Note that ethnographical records from various regions of the Russian Far East give the evidence of the use of carbon-based black paints to decorate leather, wood, and cloth materials.…”