6533b7defe1ef96bd127691e

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Early Bronze Age painted wares from Tell el-'Abd, Syria: A compositional and technological study

Ruth SiddallChristoph BertholdSilvia AmiconeSilvia AmiconeGiulia RussoPaola Sconzo

subject

Archeology060102 archaeologyMesopotamia010401 analytical chemistryContext (language use)Ceramic technology Compositional analysis Early Bronze Age Painted pottery Syrian Middle Euphrates06 humanities and the artsCeramic petrography01 natural sciencesArchaeology0104 chemical sciencesStyle (visual arts)Bronze AgeMonochromeAssemblage (archaeology)0601 history and archaeologyPotterySettore L-OR/05 - Archeologia E Storia Dell'Arte Del Vicino Oriente Antico

description

Abstract The ‘Euphrates Monochrome Painted Ware’ (henceforth EMPW) is a ceramic style attested in the Middle Euphrates region in northern Syria at the beginning of the Early Bronze Age, ca. 2900–2700 BCE. This style is not an isolated phenomenon; rather, it must be understood in the context of a general, albeit short-lived, re-introduction of painted ceramics into local assemblages of Greater Mesopotamia. In the present study, we investigate the technology and provenance of the painted pottery from Tell el-'Abd (North Syria) and its relation to contemporary ceramics retrieved at this site. We apply a combination of macroscopic observations, ceramic petrography, and micro X-ray diffraction (μ-XRD2) in order to reconstruct the manufacturing process and to define the mineralogical and chemical composition of the sherds as well as of the pigments used for the painted decoration. The results of these analyses are then compared to the local geology in order to identify possible raw material sources. Based on the evidence, we provide the first interpretation of the provenance and technology of the Euphrates Monochrome Painted as well as unpainted ceramics of the assemblage.

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2018-10-01Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2018.08.005