engleski

Bronze Age pottery in NW Croatia – raw materials and technology

A Bronze Age pottery technology in the area of Turopolje and Podravina in northwest Croatia has been studied. The main goal of this study is to determine the availability and types of raw materials, as well as to reconstruct the technological processes (preparation of raw material and firing technique) of pottery making at archaeological sites: Kurilovec-Belinščica and Selnica in Turopolje and Podvratnec, Podgorica and Močvar in Podravina. These sites belong to the broader cultural horizon of the Urnfield culture (Virovitica cultural group dating from 15-12 century BC, (i.e. the end of the Middle Bronze Age and the beginning of the Late Bronze Age). For this reason samples of clayey materials, outcropping in the vicinity of the archaeological sites, were collected. Detailed mineralogical/petrographic, as well as chemical, analyses were performed on samples of potential raw material, samples of experimental ceramics made from these materials, as well as on samples of pottery fragments. Results of the study showed that raw materials were collected in the vicinity of the settlements and that the grog is the most commonly used temper in the analysed samples. The vessels were built by combining different techniques (coiling, slab building and pinching) and were fired under the reduction and incomplete oxidation atmosphere at great span of temperatures. Possible archaeological implications, such as the extent of environmental influence on technological processes (availability of raw materials) and socio economic factors (matter of choice), will be discussed as well.

ceramics; archaeometry; Bronze age; provenance of raw material; technology

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