Typological and Archaeometrical (pXRF) Study of Final Bronze Age Ceramics of Cuccuruzzu, Corsica

Summary

The construction of large stone fortresses, the casteddi, is a defining phenomenon of the Bronze Age period of the Mediterranean island of Corsica (France). However, the function and the precise chronological setting of these structures are still debated. The summer 2015 preventive intervention at the fortress of Cuccuruzzu has revealed some new information on the socio-economic context of ceramic production during the Final Bronze Age (1200-850 BC). The typological study of the material indicated the existence of two distinct categories of ceramics, a fineware and a coarseware. In order to determine if these two types of ware corresponded to differential patterns of production and distribution, a portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (pXRF) was used to establish the chemical composition of sixty-seven artifacts and compare it with local clay sources. Multiple spots were analyzed on each sample, and multivariate statistics applied to trace elements Rb, Sr, Y, Zr and Nb. The results suggest that while most of the coarseware sherds had a similar chemical composition and were presumably manufactured with local clay, a large proportion of the fineware was made with imported or unusual raw material.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16546