Archaeometric analysis of ceramic production in Tiwanaku state (c.500–1000 ce): An exploratory study

Abstract

The chemical and mineralogical characterization of seven ceramic fragments produced within Tiwanaku state (c.500–1000 ce) is reported. The instrumental techniques used included X‐ray elemental and mineralogical chemical analysis, Raman spectroscopy, and scanning and light microscopy. The results indicate there are several clay types, although they show similarities, such as the use of a plant‐based temper. The red colour of the decoration is hematite, and manganese oxides such as jacobsite are present in the black. The white colour is a mixture of gypsum and clay, and the orange is a mixture of hematite and clay. The use of colours, the quality of the clays and the temperatures reached during pottery firing point to expertise in ceramic production and to complex decision‐making processes. The multi‐elemental archaeometric approach documented here could become an important tool to shed a light on ancient ceramic technology and the internal variance of Tiwanaku pottery.

Ritualidad fúnebre e identidad en el Quero y el tazón Tumilaca de Moquegua, Perú

“…Otro puente de continuidad cultural con el Horizonte Medio es la decoración cromática del estilo Tumilaca, compuesta de los colores rojo, negro, blanco y anaranjado. Luego -y tal como ocurre en piezas altiplánicas de estilo Tiwanaku ya estudiadas (Ogalde et al 2020)-, es muy probable que los colores rojo y negro se elaborasen a base de hierro y manganeso, respectivamente, y se aplicaran antes del eslabón de cocción, pues resisten altas temperaturas (aprox. 900 °C).…”

“…del altiplano(Ogalde 2015;Ogalde et al 2020), muchos de los cuales muestran evidencias claras de una utilización sistemática en la ingesta de chichas (color,…”

Automated SEM Mineralogy and Archaeological Ceramics: Applications in Formative Period Pottery From the Atacama Desert

“…This method has also been tested in different archaeological contexts to gain new insights into ceramic composition and technology (e.g., Menzies et al, 2015;Hilditch et al, 2016). More recently, some petrographic studies based on standard optical petrography have contrasted and successfully complemented with automated mineralogical analyses (e.g., Frigolé et al, 2019;Acevedo et al, 2020;Ogalde et al, 2020). In addition, Ward et al (2018) used automated mineralogy to determine petrographic constraints of archaeological sediments and soils.…”

Novel method of ancient pottery analysis based on radioactive isotope ratios: a pilot study

“…That is why, even in the early days of the discipline, archaeology has continued to develop methods of examining ceramic finds based on a typology of shape and decoration, macroscopic observations of the production techniques, raw materials and the supposed functions of certain forms. Contemporary research into archaeological pottery includes several scientific methods in order to trace the raw material sources for pottery production, a s this is extremely important in reconstructing the economy, manufacturing methods, organization and social dimensions of ceramic production [3,4]. The other aspect is to trace the dispersion of pottery over certain areas forgiven periods of time, identification of production centres as well as the trade and transport networks.…”