The introduction of Corded Ware Culture at a local levely:An exploratory study of cultural change during the Late Neolithic of the Dutch West Coast through ceramic technology

The introduction of the Corded Ware Culture (3000–2500 BCE) is considered a formative event in Europe's past. Ancient DNA analyses demonstrate that migrations played a crucial role in this event. However, these analyses approach the issue at a supra-regional scale, leaving questions about the regional and local impact of this event unresolved. This study pilots an approach to ceramics that brings this small-scale impact into focus by using the transmission of ceramic technology as a proxy for social change. It draws on ethno-archaeological studies of the effects of social changes on the transmission of ceramic production techniques to hypothesise the impact of three idealised scenarios that archaeologists have proposed for the introduction of Corded Ware Culture: migration, diffusion, and network interactions. Subsequently, it verifies these hypotheses by integrating geochemical (WDXRF), mineralogical (petrography), and macromorphological analysis of ceramics with network analysis. This method is applied to 30 Late Neolithic ceramic vessels from three sites in the western coastal area of the Netherlands (Hazerswoude-Rijndijk N11, Zandwerven, and Voorschoten-De Donk). This study concludes that the introduction of Corded Ware material culture is a process that varies from site to site in the western coastal area of the Netherlands. Moreover, the introduction of the Corded Ware Culture is characterised by continuity in technological traditions throughout the study area, indicating a degree of social continuity despite typological changes in ceramic

The production and composition of Chinese lead-barium glass through experimental laboratory replication

Lead-barium glass appeared during the late Warring States period in China (457 -221 BCE) and was considered as a Chinese invention due to the unique presence of high barium. There is no indication as to how it was made. A set of twenty-four different combinations of possible raw materials were melted to test and systematically evaluate the possible recipes for lead-barium glass. Specifically, the function and source of sodium in lead -barium glass were explored. The results show that sodium source is crucial for lead-barium glass forming in this particular system. This paper explores an alternative formulation since sodium flux is not reported in historical Chinese sources, in which the Na2O is provided by including soda-lime glass in the mixture. This particular formulation provides a potential explanation for the source of the sodium in lead-barium glass.Material Culture Studie

Technological connections in the development of 18th and 19th century Chinese painted enamels

Chinese painted enamel is an artistic tradition of enamelled copperwares developed during the Kangxi period (1662-1722), commonly referred to as Canton enamel after the Wade-Giles spelling of Guangzhou. In this study, enamel fragments from areas of damage in the decorated surface of ten Chinese painted enamel objects dating to the 18th and early 19th century in the collections of the Ashmolean and Fitzwilliam Museums were nondestructively analysed with ESEM-EDX (Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy - Energy Dispersive XRay Spectroscopy). After analysis, the enamel fragments were reattached to the objects using a conservation grade adhesive. Quantitative EDX elemental analysis is presented for the white enamel, underdrawings, eight painted enamel colours, outlines, and gilding. The enamel-glass composition, opacifier and colourants are discussed and compared to ceramic, glass, and enamelled metal technologies in use during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).The results show that Chinese painted enamels combine Chinese and European technology to create a new and distinct art form

Understanding ceramic variability: an archaeometrical interpretation of the Classical and Hellenistic ceramics at Duzen Tepe and Sagalassos (Southwest Turkey)

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Pedogenic provenance analysis

This chapter is dedicated to pedogenic provenance analysis. The case studies demonstrate how techniques like SEM-EDX and WD-XRF are helpful to answer questions about the provenance of elements and soil materials