Analytical Characterization of Raw Materials and Manufacturing Processes in Vashtemia Ceramics, Site of the Early Neolithic Period in Albania

Erinda Ndreçka
University of Tirana, Faculty of History and Philology, Department of Archaeology and Culture Heritage, Tirana, Albania

Abstract

In this paper, not only the traditional approaches of the human sciences for the archaeological research of the field but also the scientific analyzes of the ceramic objects and their contexts selected from the site of the Early Neolithic period in Albania called Vashtemi have been combined. The main categories of ceramic objects selected for study from the Vashtemia site are monochrome red pottery and painted pottery, which occupy the main place, followed by monochrome dark gray pottery, which has more limited use. The study of the elemental composition by means of the X-Ray Fluorescence method, the categorization of the main types of minerals observed in the samples analyzed by means of µ-XRF spectrometry, their petrographic analysis and the investigation of the mineral phases by the X-ray Diffraction method X are some of the archaeometric techniques used in this paper. The results will help us understand more about the origin of materials, their processing based on the technological ability of past communities and undoubtedly a necessary expansion of knowledge on human behavior and social organization in prehistoric and historical periods. Keywords: raw materials, manufacturing processes, Early Neolithic, Vashtemia, spectrometry

Presentation