Chemical and Mineralogical Analyses of the Late Neolithic Ceramics From Şah Valley (Singuber), Turkey

Abstract

Numerous settlements have been identified during the surveys in Şırnak province (Turkey) since the beginning of the 19th century. The potsherds found in the central of such settlements have been thought to be affected by Mesopotamian culture, and the ones from the hillside of the Şah Valley were considered as the most eastern examples of the Hassuna Samara culture. This study presents the results regarding one of the first detailed archaeometric investigations carried out for the Late Neolithic ceramic findings unearthed from Şah Valley (Şırnak province, Turkey). The ceramics were initially characterized by means of portable X-ray florescence (p-XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) in order to enlighten the chemical and mineralogical features of the samples, respectively. The results indicated use of calcareous raw material sources and a low firing temperature range (ca. 700-800oC). The potsherds were also investigated through petrography which showed the presence of quartz, opaque minerals, plagioclase and biotite as the minerals, and clay, claystone and marl rock contents as the rock types for the samples, in general. Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was additionally applied for the potsherds. This complementary technique provided information about the vibrations of the chemical bands in the ceramics which displayed the characteristic bond vibrations of decisive minerals in the ceramic fabrics, such as calcite, clay minerals and quartz. Considering the whole archaeometric data, it can be deduced that the Neolithic ceramics of the Şah Valley have been subjected to low firing temperatures which could be assigned to a basic production procedure presumably claiming daily-use wares.