Examining Sources of Glazed Ceramics In Mesopotamia in Late Antiquity

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Cross-Cultural Petrographic Studies of Ceramic Traditions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Estimation of provenance in fine ceramics is a challenging task. Documenting the trade in glazed Sassanian and Islamic ceramics into southeast Asia and China has driven an interest in identifying the sources of these ceramics. We have defined three hypothetical provenance groups 1) Greater and Lesser Zab catchment (Arbil area), 2) Tigris, 3) Middle and lower course (Baghdad and/or Basra). Based on comparison of ceramic fabrics with regional geology, reference soil samples, LA-ICP-MS, INAA, and petrography of Mesopotamian glaze-decorated ceramics These provenance groups express possible areas where glazed-decorated ceramics were produced. Compositional difference in the ceramic pastes provide evidence for localized production of glazed ceramics and their circulation across Mesopotamia.

Cite this Record

Examining Sources of Glazed Ceramics In Mesopotamia in Late Antiquity. David Hill, Jan Petrík, Karel Novácek, Ali Ismail Al-Juboury. Presented at The 84th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Albuquerque, NM. 2019 ( tDAR id: 451524)

Spatial Coverage

min long: 26.191; min lat: 12.211 ; max long: 73.477; max lat: 42.94 ;

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22970