Presentation Type
Poster
Elemental Analysis of Neolithic Croatian Ceramics to Establish the Possibility of Trade and Commerce
Abstract
This study was conducted on ceramic pottery sherds coming from two agricultural sites in southwestern Croatia, the early Neolithic site of Pokrovnik and the middle Neolithic site of Danilo. Additionally, there were two separate locales within the Danilo site which were examined. In total, 84 samples were examined, 42 from Danilo, including 20 from the Trench E part of the site, and 42 from Pokrovnik.
X-ray fluorescence (XRF), which has become a widely used method for analyzing trace elements in ceramics, as well as other materials, was the type of analysis chosen for this study. XRF was the preferred method of analyzing ceramics because while it is non-destructive, the analysis can be as quantitative as other methods. Through the portable XRF analysis, each artifact was examined to determine its origin.
Most of the results suggest a common source for the ceramics found at Danilo and Pokrovnik, with a modest number of outliers suggesting sources from outside the area. There seems to be a slightly higher number of potential imports found at the Danilo site, which can be explained by the prevalence of trading in the Middle Neolithic – but this requires further testing.
Categories
Social Sciences
Research Type
Course Related
Mentor Information
Prof. Robert H. Tykot
Elemental Analysis of Neolithic Croatian Ceramics to Establish the Possibility of Trade and Commerce
This study was conducted on ceramic pottery sherds coming from two agricultural sites in southwestern Croatia, the early Neolithic site of Pokrovnik and the middle Neolithic site of Danilo. Additionally, there were two separate locales within the Danilo site which were examined. In total, 84 samples were examined, 42 from Danilo, including 20 from the Trench E part of the site, and 42 from Pokrovnik.
X-ray fluorescence (XRF), which has become a widely used method for analyzing trace elements in ceramics, as well as other materials, was the type of analysis chosen for this study. XRF was the preferred method of analyzing ceramics because while it is non-destructive, the analysis can be as quantitative as other methods. Through the portable XRF analysis, each artifact was examined to determine its origin.
Most of the results suggest a common source for the ceramics found at Danilo and Pokrovnik, with a modest number of outliers suggesting sources from outside the area. There seems to be a slightly higher number of potential imports found at the Danilo site, which can be explained by the prevalence of trading in the Middle Neolithic – but this requires further testing.
