engleski

White paste inlay – on the trail of the manufacturing sequence

White paste or incrustation represents a very characteristic technique of decorating prehistoric ceramic vessels, especially within the framework of pottery traditions in the area of the Carpathian Valley and the Balkans. Due to its very attractive decorative style, the first researches were focused on stylistic analysis, but in the last 10 years, following the development and application of analytical methods in archaeology, the technology of making the white paste began to interest scientists. To this date, several scientific papers have been written about the mineral and chemical composition of the white paste material and its origin. The results showed that the basic component of various recipes consists of calcite or hydroxyapatite – the bone material, and aragonite – carbonate polymorph, found in bivalves and mollusc shells. However, the process of making a paste, especially regarding the binding agents, is still unknown. Yet, there is no focused research on the manufacturing sequence which could enable discussion on characteristics of social practice related to raw material or the process itself. This paper presents preliminary results of experiments that are aimed at the manufacturing process and procedure of applying white paste inlay. The initial archaeological experiment was designed following published scientific research results and the results of compositional analysis of encrustation of the Copper and Bronze Age pottery in Croatia. Accordingly, animal bone material and river mollusc shells were used in experiments. The result showed that the organic binder is not effective and that the homogenisation and strength of the material is a result of applying one of the oldest chemical processes known to man – slaking of quicklime. In addition to establishing a production sequence, the research goal is to create experimental reference samples of white paste and to conduct mineralogical and chemical analyses of paste comparing the analysis results with the archaeological material, in order to create the foundation for scientifically based technological analysis.

pottery, decoration, incrustation, white paste, technology, experiment

nije evidentirano