CHEMICAL AND MINERALOGICAL ANALYSES OF THE LATE NEOLITHIC CERAMICS FROM ŞAH VALLEY (SINGUBER), TURKEY

Year 2023, , 327 - 351, 29.03.2023

Murat Bayazit , Esra Kaynak , Nilgün Coşkun

https://doi.org/10.59313/jsr-a.1206576

Abstract

Numerous settlements have been identified during the surveys in Şırnak province (Turkey) since the beginning of the 19th century. The potsherds found in the central of such settlements have been thought to be affected by Mesopotamian culture, and the ones from the hillside of the Şah Valley were considered as the most eastern examples of the Hassuna Samara culture. This study presents the results regarding one of the first detailed archaeometric investigations carried out for the Late Neolithic ceramic findings unearthed from Şah Valley (Şırnak province, Turkey). The ceramics were initially characterized by means of portable X-ray florescence (p-XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) in order to enlighten the chemical and mineralogical features of the samples, respectively. The results indicated use of calcareous raw material sources and a low firing temperature range (ca. 700-800oC). The potsherds were also investigated through petrography which showed the presence of quartz, opaque minerals, plagioclase and biotite as the minerals, and clay, claystone and marl rock contents as the rock types for the samples, in general. Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was additionally applied for the potsherds. This complementary technique provided information about the vibrations of the chemical bands in the ceramics which displayed the characteristic bond vibrations of decisive minerals in the ceramic fabrics, such as calcite, clay minerals and quartz. Considering the whole archaeometric data, it can be deduced that the Neolithic ceramics of the Şah Valley have been subjected to low firing temperatures which could be assigned to a basic production procedure presumably claiming daily-use wares.

Keywords

Materials characterization, Archaeometry, Late Neolithic, Ceramics, Şah Valley

Thanks

We gratefully thank Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ali Akın Akyol (Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University), Prof. Dr. Yusuf Kağan Kadıoğlu and Assist. Prof. Dr. Kıymet Deniz (Ankara University, Earth Sciences Application and Research Center; YEBİM), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sema Tetiker and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mahmut Aydın (Batman University), and Gülşen Albuz Geren (Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University, Materials Research and Conservation Laboratory; MAKLAB) for their support in application of the analytical techniques. We also thank the laboratories for preparation of the samples and application of the analyses; Dicle University Science and Technology Application and Research Center, Batman University Central Research Laboratory, Ankara University Earth Sciences Application and Research Center, Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University Materials Research and Conservation Laboratory. This paper covers the data of the master thesis submitted by Esra Kaynak to the Department of Archaeometry at the Institute of Science, Batman University (2019).

References

• [1] Eramo, G., Laviano, R., Muntoni, I. M. and Volpe, G. (2004). Late Roman cooking pottery from the Tavoliere area (Southern Italy): raw materials and technological aspects. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 5(2), 157-165.
• [2] Arcasoy, A. (1983). Seramik Teknolojisi, Marmara Üniversitesi Yayınları, Istanbul.
• [3] Bayazit, M., Adsan, M., Genç, E. (2020). Application of spectroscopic, microscopic and thermal techniques in archaeometric investigation of painted pottery from Kuriki (Turkey). Ceramics International, 46, 3695-3707.
• [4] Bayazit, M. and Akyol, A.A. (2015). Medeniyetler arasındaki etkileşim köprüsü: seramik (arkeometrik yaklaşım), 9. Uluslararası Eskişehir Pişmiş Toprak Sempozyumu, 5-20 Eylül 2015, Eskişehir, 69-78.
• [5] Bayram, G. (2018). Güneydoğu Anadolu’nun Neolitik Çağ totemleri ve ritüel nesneleri. AMİSOS, 3(4), 67-89.
• [6] Özüşen, B. and Yıldız, Z. (2012). Buzul Çağı’ndan İlk Çağ’a Tüketimin Tarihi. Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi Vizyoner Dergisi, 4(7), 1-16.
• [7] Efecan, S. (2011). Geç Neolitik Döneme ait Hacılar Kazılarında Bulunmuş Terracota Figürlerin Çağdaş Yorumlarla Biçimlendirilmesi, Yüksek Lisans Tezi, Arkeoseramik Anasanat Dalı, Güzel Sanatlar Enstitüsü, Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi.
• [8] Coşkun, N., Ayman, İ., Yumruk, Ş. and Aşkar, İ.T. (2019). 2017 Yılı Şırnak İli Merkez, Güçlükonak, Uludere ve Beytüşşebap İlçeleri Yüzey Araştırması, 36. Araştırma Sonuçları Toplantısı (7-11 Mayıs 2018, Çanakkale), Ankara, 175-194.
• [9] Erinç S. (1980). Kültürel çevrebilim açısından Güneydoğu Anadolu. In H. Çambel and R.J. Braidwood (Eds.), Güneydoğu Anadolu Tarihöncesi Araştırmaları, İÜ Edebiyat Fakültesi, İstanbul, pp. 65-72.
• [10] Çelik, B. (2010). Şırnak ve çevresinin obsidyen ticaretinde yeri ve önemi. Anadolu / Anatolia 36, 1-11.
• [11] Yakar, J. (2007). Anadolu'nun Etnoarkeolojisi: Tunç ve demir çağlarında kırsal kesimin sosyo-ekonomik yapısı (çev. S.H. Riegel, ed. B. Avunç), Homer Kitabevi.
• [12] Tekin, H. (2015). Yukarı Mezopotamya'nın ilk boyalı çanak-çömlekleri: Hassuna, Samarra ve Halaf: yeni yorumlar ve yaklaşımlar. Bölüm 1: Hassuna ve Samarra. OLBA, 23, 1-57.
• [13] Tekin, H. (2017). Tarihöncesinde Mezopotamya: Yeni yaklaşımlar, yeni yorumlar ve yeni kronoloji, Bilgin Kültür Sanat Yayınları, Ankara, 476 p.
• [14] Bayazit, M. (2018). Archaeometric study of possible Ninevite-5 pottery from upper Tigris region using SEM-EDS, PEDXRF, and OM. X-Ray Spectrometry, 47, 92-104.
• [15] Kibaroğlu, M. (2005). Sedimentary geochemical approach to the provenance of the noncalciferous north Mesopotamian Metallic Ware. Archeometriai Muhely, 2, 48-51.
• [16] İssi, A. (2012). Estimation of ancient firing technique by the characterization of semi-fused Hellenistic potsherds from Harabebezikan/Turkey. Ceramics International, 38 (3), 2375-2380.
• [17] Bong, W.S.K., Matsumura, K. and Nakai, I. (2008). Firing technologies and raw materials of typical early and middle Bronze Age pottery from Kaman-Kalehöyük: a statistical and chemical analysis. Anatol. Archaeol. Stud., 17, 295-311.
• [18] Cultrone, G., Rodriguez-Navarro, C., Sebastian, E., Cazalla, O. and De La Torre, M.J. (2001). Carbonate and silicate phase reactions during ceramic firing. Eur. J. Miner. (13), 621-634.
• [19] Fabbri, B., Gualtieri, S. and Shoval, S. (2014). The presence of calcite in archeological ceramics. J. Eur. Ceram. Soc., 34, 1899-1911.
• [20] Broekmans, T., Adriaens, A. and Pantos, E. (2004). Analytical investigations of cooking pottery from Tell Beydar (ne-Syria). Nuclear Instruments & Methods in Physics Research Section B, 226, 92-97.
• [21] Shoval, S., Gaft, M., Beck, P. and Kirsh, Y. (1993). The thermal behavior of limestone and monocrystalline calcite tempers during firing and their use in ancient vessels. J. Therm. Anal., 40, 263-73.
• [22] Rice P.M. (1987). Pottery analysis: A sourcebook, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 584p.
• [23] Akça, E., Kapur, S., Özdöl, S., Hodder, I., Poblome, J., Arocena, J., Kelling, G. and Bedestenci, Ç. (2009). Clues of production for the Neolithic Çatalhöyük (central Anatolia) pottery. Scientific Research and Essays, 4(6), 612-625.
• [24] Mazzocchin, G.A., Agnoli, F. and Colpo, I. (2003). Investigation of roman age pigments found on pottery fragments. Analytica Chimica Acta (478), 147-161.
• [25] Gadsden, J.A. (1975). Infrared Spectra of Minerals and Related Inorganic Compounds, Butter worth & Co Publishers, London, 277 p.
• [26] Iglesias, J.E. and Serna, C.J. (1985). The IR spectra of hematite-type compounds with different particle shapes. Miner. Petrogr. Acta, 29A, 363-370.
• [27] Palanivel, R. and Velraj, G. (2007). FTIR and FT-Raman spectroscopic studies of fired clay artifacts recently excavated in Tamilnadu, India. Indian Journal of Pure and Applied Physics, 45, 501-508.
• [28] Faust, G.T. (1953). Huntite, Mg3Ca(CO3)4, a New Mineral. American Mineralogist, 38, 4-24.
• [29] Farmer, V.C. (1974). Infrared Spectra of Minerals, Ed. Mineralogical Society, London, 539 p.
• [30] Ion, R.M., Dumitriu, I., Fierascu, R.C., Ion, M.L., Pop, S.F., Radovici, C., Bunghez, R.I. and Niculescu, V.I.R. (2011). Thermal and mineralogical investigations of historical ceramic, A case study. J Therm Anal Calorim, 104, 487-493.
• [31] De Benedetto, G.E, Laviano, R., Sabbatini, L. and Zambonin, P.G. (2002). Infrared spectroscopy in the mineralogical characterization of ancient pottery. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 3, 177-186.
• [32] Ellid, M.S., Murayed, Y.S., Zoto, M.S., Music, S. and Popovi, S. (2003). Chemical reduction of hematite with starch. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 258 (2), 299-305.
• [33] http://rruff.info/ (Access date 30.05.2019).
• [34] Maravelaki-Kalaitzaki, P. and Kallithrakas-Kontos, N. (2003). Pigment and terracotta analyses of Hellenistic figurines in Crete. Analytica Chimica Acta 497, 209-225
• [35] Maden Tetkik ve Arama Genel Müdürlüğü. “İl Maden Haritaları-Şırnak”, 29.04.2019, http://www.mta.gov.tr/v3.0/sayfalar/hizmetler/maden-haritalari/Sirnak.pdf
• [36] Maden Tetkik ve Arama Genel Müdürlüğü. “İl Maden Haritaları-Mardin”, 29.04.2019, http://www.mta.gov.tr/v3.0/sayfalar/hizmetler/maden-haritalari/mardin.pdf
• [37] Maden Tetkik ve Arama Genel Müdürlüğü. “İl Maden Haritaları-Batman”, 29.04.2019, http://www.mta.gov.tr/v3.0/sayfalar/hizmetler/maden-haritalari/batman.pdf
• [38] Maden Tetkik ve Arama Genel Müdürlüğü. “İl Maden Haritaları-Van”, 29.04.2019, http://www.mta.gov.tr/v3.0/sayfalar/hizmetler/maden-haritalari/Van.pdf
• [39] Maden Tetkik ve Arama Genel Müdürlüğü. “İl Maden Haritaları-Hakkari”, 29.04.2019, http://www.mta.gov.tr/v3.0/sayfalar/hizmetler/maden-haritalari/hakkari.pdf
• [40] Semiz, B., Duman, B. (2017). Tripolis’te bulunan Geç antik Çağ Unguentariumları’nın Arkeometrik yönden değerlendirilmesi, Tripolis ad Maeandrum I, Tripolis araştırmaları (Ed.: Duman, B.), Ege Yayınları, 165-180.