It’s What’s Inside that Counts: Developing a paste group typology in Belize

Jordan, Jillian M.; Peuramaki‐Brown, Meaghan M.; Chiac, Sylvestro; Saqui, Aurora; Tzib, Frank

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.103019

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…In-situ digital microphotography was, therefore, captured using a Dino-Lite Edge Digital Microscope (AM4515ZT) which provided powerful high-resolution images for detailed surface inspection (Figure 9). Dino-Lite instruments have been used to great effect for portable microscopy and image capture for a diverse range of archaeological artefacts including textiles [75], pigments on Classical statuary [60], metallurgy [76], ceramics [77], lithics [78], bone tools [79] and even close-range photogrammetry [80].…”

Section: Microphotographymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Vindolanda Vessel: pXRF and Microphotography of an Enamel-Painted Roman Gladiator Glass

Campbell

2023

Heritage

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Roman glass is well studied and known to have been produced from a mineral soda source and calcareous sand with variation between elements relating to naturally occurring minerals in the sands. While the common characteristics of colourants and opacifiers used in opaque and translucent glasses are well understood, the diverse elemental composition of colouring agents associated with the highly specialised, and largely unexplored, technique of enamel-painted glass has never been firmly established. There remains a significant gap in knowledge of pigments used for this technological innovation which is here addressed through the deployment of non-invasive portable X-Ray Flourescence (pXRF) analysis and microphotography on a unique Roman enamel-painted gladiator glass from Vindolanda fort. This vanguard research has successfully established, for the first time, a palette of pigments associated with this specialist technique. It is now possible to unravel previously unknown information on complex manufacturing processes and significantly expand the repertoire of the pigments bound up in enamelling recipes used to depict the striking iconographic scenes on the Vindolanda vessel and, potentially, other Roman enamelled glassware. The detection of Cinnabar, Egyptian blue, Orpiment and other pigments are ground-breaking discoveries that will have a transformative impact on early glassmaking studies and push the boundaries of scholarship into new directions of analytical approaches in heritage materials science to complement recent success in this field with Raman spectroscopy and other techniques. The methodology is unprecedented and has been validated through the high quality of the resulting data which permits the extrapolation of elemental compositions of enamelling materials from those associated with the base vessel. This unique approach provides remarkable insights that will revolutionise our understanding of enamelling technologies using the Vindolanda vessel as the investigative platform for forgotten practice.

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Section: Microphotographymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Vindolanda Vessel: pXRF and Microphotography of an Enamel-Painted Roman Gladiator Glass

Campbell

2023

Heritage

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“…It also appears as the standard construction material in the humblest of house platforms, making it the primary construction material in Alabama (Peuramaki-Brown & Morton, 2019b). It is also a natural inclusion in local clays and mortars as well as an intentionally added temper to ceramic pastes (Jordan et al, 2021).…”

Section: Bce-1500+ Cementioning

confidence: 99%

Using X‐ray fluorescence to examine ancient Maya granite ground stone in Belize

et al. 2022

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While ubiquitous among ancient Maya sites in Mesoamerica, archaeological analysts frequently overlook the interpretive potential of ground stone tools. The ancient Maya often made these heavy, bulky tools of coarse‐grained, heterogeneous materials that are difficult to chemically source, unlike obsidian. This paper describes an application of handheld, energy‐dispersive X‐ray fluorescence (XRF) to provenance ground stone artifacts (tools and architectural blocks) composed of granite: a nonhomogenous, phaneritic stone. We present a multicomponent methodology that independently tested whole‐rock, thin‐sectioned, and powdered samples by petrographic microscope, conventional, lab‐based XRF, and portable XRF units, which yielded comparable results. After establishing distinct geochemical signatures for the three geographically restricted granite plutons in Belize, we devised a field‐based XRF application on a whole rock that could replicate the compositional readings of lab‐based XRF on powdered materials with sufficient accuracy and reliability. We applied this multishot XRF technique to granite ground stone items from a range of ancient Maya sites throughout Belize; we discuss two specific case studies herein. Our results underscore the widespread potential of multishot XRF applications for determining the provenance of coarse‐grained, heterogeneous rock materials. These results can help push the boundaries from one‐dimensional, functional explanations of ground stone items to their social and ideological dimensions, alongside deeper understandings of granite resource management.

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Thoughts on Weeden Island pottery classification: the type-variety system (again)

Rice

Wallis

2022

Southeastern Archaeology

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It’s What’s Inside that Counts: Developing a paste group typology in Belize

Cited by 4 publications

References 30 publications

The Vindolanda Vessel: pXRF and Microphotography of an Enamel-Painted Roman Gladiator Glass

The Vindolanda Vessel: pXRF and Microphotography of an Enamel-Painted Roman Gladiator Glass

Using X‐ray fluorescence to examine ancient Maya granite ground stone in Belize

Thoughts on Weeden Island pottery classification: the type-variety system (again)

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