Based on the available material evidence, it has been proposed that for the most past of the Middle Chalcolithic period, populations were organized in individual households within relatively...Show moreBased on the available material evidence, it has been proposed that for the most past of the Middle Chalcolithic period, populations were organized in individual households within relatively egalitarian societies (Knapp, 2013, p. 241). However, during the second part of this period, certain signs of social inequality are traced in the archaeological record (Knapp 2013, p. 241-244; Peltenburg 2013; Steel 2004, p. 93). Following this “rise of individual status” there is an informational/occupational hiatus, detected at the site of Kissonerga-Mosphilia and probably also at Lemba-Lakkous, and it is dated at the transitional period between the Middle and Late Chalcolithic periods (Knapp, 2013, p. 246; Peltenburg, 1993, p. 15; Steel, 2004, p. 106). Concerning Pottery production, the production of the once ubiquitous Red-on-White vessels gradually receded, while there was a simultaneous rise in the production of Red Monochrome Pottery (Bolger, 2007, p. 173; Knapp, 2013, p. 229). Finally, following this transitional period was, as Peltenburg interpreted, a time of social equality reconstitution within the Late Chalcolithic societies (Peltenburg, 1998, p. 252). Chlorakas-Palloures, in the Paphos region, southwest of Cyprus, is one of the very few archaeological sites that possess safely stratified material remains from the transitional stage between the Middle and the Late Chalcolithic periods (Bolger et al., 2004, p. 112; Düring et al., 2021, p. 681). Therefore, an analysis of its Pottery assemblage might shed more light into the knowledge gap of this period. In the present pilot study, I analyze 32 thin sections, sampled from ceramic vessels which appertain to the Red-on-White, Red Monochrome Painted and Plain White Chalcolithic Pottery categories, coming from Chlorakas-Palloures. As means to their analysis, I implement the method of Thin-section Ceramic Petrography and my main research question is: “What can a petrographic analysis show about the technological evolution and variability of production of Red Monochrome, Red-on-White and Plain White Chalcolithic Pottery, at the site of Chlorakas-Palloures?”. My goal is to describe the chaȋne operatoire of each Pottery ware under study, in order to contribute any possible information regarding the steps of their technological production and their technological evolution. Finally, I intend to evaluate whether there was any type of specialization in ceramic production, such as the ones of the possible pendant-maker workshop at Kissonerga-Mosphilia and the conspicuously luxurious production of pendants and figurines at Laona (Knapp, 2013, 209, 239; Steel, 2004, p. 89).Show less
Understanding the provenance of the ceramics is crucial for outlining how people interacted with the landscape and ascertaining the extent of trade connection or distance from the raw clay sources....Show moreUnderstanding the provenance of the ceramics is crucial for outlining how people interacted with the landscape and ascertaining the extent of trade connection or distance from the raw clay sources. The main question pursued in this research was to reconstruct the human-landscape interaction through the appreciation and integration of technological and provenance data on ancient ceramics and clay materials recovered at the Mayales Subbasin (Chontales, Nicaragua) with a particular focus on the largest site in the area, Aguas Buenas. Aguas Buenas (AD 500-1522) is agglomeration with 379 human-made mounds of circular shape and arranged in circular patterns. This study provides the results of the first clay survey and ethnographic investigation of the area, developed together with archaeometrical analyses of clay and ceramic materials. The elaboration of the compositional analysis produced substantial geological information and divided the valley into distinct geological compositional groups, improving the limited geological knowledge that was available. Furthermore, the soil samples retrieved in this research are stored and preserved at the Faculty of Archaeology (Leiden University), constituting the first comprehensive clay reference collection throughout Nicaragua. The methodological framework employed and the combination of the petrographic and compositional (p-XRF) analysis of ceramic materials with the clay samples generate information to support a number of hypotheses about the nature of Aguas Buenas and its role among the other communities of Mayales Subbasin. Therefore, several ideas for clay procurement drawing on the cultural ecology perspective, functionalist approach, and sociocultural interpretations are discussed and applied in the research, which provides a solid framework of investigation that can be employed in the future to carry out a more detailed and extensive study on the Mayales Subbasin, or elsewhere.Show less
