POTTERY PRODUCTION AT THE MESOLITHIC SITE OF KABBASHI HAITAH (CENTRAL SUDAN): AN INTEGRATED MORPHOLOGICAL, PETROGRAPHIC AND MINERALOGICAL ANALYSIS
Authors/Creators
- 1. LAMA – Laboratory for the Analysis of Ancient Materials, University Iuav of Venice San Polo 2468, 30125 Venice (Italy)
- 2. Department of Cultural Heritage – University of Salento, 73100Lecce (Italy)
- 3. Department of Geosciences, Univesity of Padova, Via Gradenigo 6, 35131 Padova (Italy)
Description
This paper presents the results of an interdisciplinary archeometric study on Early Mesolithic pottery from
the prehistoric site of Kabbashi Haitah, located 35 km north of Khartoum (central Sudan), along the Nile
Valley. A large set of potsherds, selected after a preliminary macroscopic analysis of 1075 fragments
representing the various vessels (mainly plain and globular in shape, with various rim diameter),
macrofabrics and decoration types (either with or without incised or stamped decorations, i.e. incisedwavy
line and rocker stamp) was analysed to define the type of the raw materials used and their manufacturing
technology. The mineralogical and petrographic features, determined by optical microscopy and X-ray
powder diffraction, indicate that the pottery was produced using an illitic clay tempered with quartz and/or
K-feldspar derived from granite/syenite grinding, and fired in the temperature range between 750 and
900°C.
Files
1_Antonelli et al 18(5).pdf
Files
(1.6 MB)
| Name | Size | Download all |
|---|---|---|
|
md5:79ed2cf2d2999b1d22843bbfda162da4
|
1.6 MB | Preview Download |