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Este artículo analiza los orígenes del ánfora de cuello, conocida como “urna de la Cruz del Negro”, típico en contextos fenicios e indígenas de la Edad del Hierro en la península ibérica. Se desarrollan tres aspectos: tipología, crono-secuencia y función. Según las evidencias, la forma evolucionó de unos contenedores utilizados en contextos domésticos y funerarios del levante meridional durante el Bronce Tardío. Distinguibles morfológica y decorativamente de las jarras de cuello anillado, ambas formas y sus variantes evolucionaron paralelamente, aunque de manera heterogénea y con influencias cruzadas. Una versión con una sola asa de estas jarras viajó a ultramar con otras formas cerámicas levantinas a finales del Hierro Medio y principios del Hierro Tardío (segunda mitad del siglo IX y principios del VIII a.C.), comenzando entonces su producción. El ánfora de cuello apareció como una derivación de ese tipo en el Mediterráneo occidental en la segunda mitad del siglo VIII a.C. Por el contrario, en el Mediterráneo central se prefirió la variante de una sola asa. Aunque muchas de sus particularidades permanecen inciertas, las dos variantes repitieron funcionales levantinas en entornos fenicios e indígenas. Sin embargo, ambas funcionaron como urnas cinerarias, una innovación respecto a sus homólogas levantinas. This article analyzes the origins of the neck amphora, known as “Cruz del Negro urn”, and typical in Phoenician and indigenous contexts of the Iron Age in the Iberian Peninsula. Three aspects are developed: typology, chrono-sequence and function. According to the evidence, the shape evolved from containers used in domestic and funerary contexts in the southern Levant during the Late Bronze Age. Morphologically and decoratively distinguishable from the ring-necked jugs, both forms and their variants evolved in parallel, although in a heterogeneous manner and with crossed influences. A single-handled version of these jars traveled overseas with other Levantine ceramic forms in the late Middle and early Late Iron Age (second half of the ninth and early eighth centuries BC), when production began. The neck amphora appeared as a derivation of that type in the western Mediterranean in the second half of the 8th century B.C. In contrast, the single handled variant was preferred in the central Mediterranean. Although many of its peculiarities remain uncertain, the two variants repeated Levantine functionalities in Phoenician and indigenous settings. However, both functioned as cinerary urns, an innovation compared to their Levantine counterparts.

The Neolithic site of Bylany (CZ) is one of the largest and most thoroughly described Neolithic settlement in Central Europe. Although a comprehensive understanding has been achieved of the household development and pottery assemblage, little is known about household economies, dietary practices and animal exploitation strategies at the site. Nowadays such information can be tracked through the molecular and isotopic composition of organic lipid residues preserved in porous walls of archaeological potsherds (e.g. Cramp et al., 2014; Whelton et al., 2017). The pottery assemblage of Bylany is very abundant and this approach had previously been applied to one of the later settlement phases (later LBK, phase 19) revealing a meat- and plant-based diet and an exploitation of both ruminant and non-ruminant animals. To examine the economy over a longer settlement period of Bylany, ceramic material from the oldest part of the settlement was chosen. More than 130 rim potsherds attributed to the early LBK settlement phases 2 to 5 were analysed using a lipid biomarker approach combining chromatographic, spectrometric and isotopic methods. The analyses revealed that the fats absorbed in the ceramics were well-preserved with almost 90% of the sherds containing lipids. The lipid concentration varied in different vessel shapes with higher concentrations in dishes compared to bowls and jars. The stable carbon isotopic compositions of palmitic and stearic fatty acids, the major fatty acids present in the total lipid extracts, revealed that ruminant carcass products were the predominant animal products processed in the vessels. Plant product processing were confirmed by the presence of fatty alcohols, dicarboxylic acids and terpenic compounds. Detection of biomarkers produced at high temperature confirmed the thermal stress observed in some of the vessels. Although ruminants probably played a dominant role in the early phases of Bylany, as seen in the later phase 19, dairy fat residues were not detected in the analysed potsherds. These results thus shed light on the dietary strategies practiced in Bylany and are in agreement with the studies of other Central European Neolithic sites.

International audience; Investigating the organic content of archaeological pottery has largely focused on identifying food commodities, but their use and mode of processing still need to be thoroughly investigated. The present study aims to explore the diversity of organic residue absorption patterns, over a wider range of functions than previously studied by experimentation, by analysing ceramics still in use today. A field survey in Bedik Country, Senegal, where the use of pottery is still alive, was conducted to document the uses of ceramics and to interview potters and users of the vessels. As a preliminary study, nine ceramics whose use was recorded were investigated through 59 samples for their absorbed molecular profiles, lipid concentrations, and the preservation of triglycerides and C-18 unsaturated fatty acids. The interpretations were first carried out as a blind test and then compared with the actual use. Lipid concentrations and molecular profiles indicated a diversity of contents, and the comparison of samples taken along the vertical transects of the vessels resulted in pottery function hypotheses that were broadly aligned with the actual uses. Cooking pots for fat-rich products were successfully identified, but the various documented patterns showed that lipid accumulation in ceramics is more complex than expected. Although caution is required to adopt this approach for archaeological pots, the vessel for fermenting plant products has been identified. Last, this work pointed out that ceramics can be used for a wider range of purposes than those usually considered for archaeological pottery, such as steaming or cooking non-food products.

International audience; Les supports trapus décorés sont une forme céramique attestée tout au long du Bronze Moyen dans la vallée de l'Euphrate, particulièrement autour du coude de Tishrin. Des objets identiques sont également attestés en grand nombre sur le site de Hama, dans la vallée de l'Oronte, où ils sont également présents sur le long terme. En dehors de ce site, cette forme est totalement absente du répertoire de l'ouest de la Syrie. En revenant sur les origines de cette forme céramique dans la vallée de l'Euphrate, différentes hypothèses sont proposées pour expliquer sa présence à Hama. La fonction de l'objet est également interrogée: support destiné aux jarres à eau, ou bien lampes destinées à des chandelles de graisse animale ?

International audience; The excavation of the protohistoric site of Cuciurpula (South Corsica, France) revealed a significant amount of potsherds, often bearing visible surface crusts, sometimes very thick. This exceptional case in the Mediterranean region, suggesting a good preservation of organic substances, provided a unique opportunity to address questions related to pottery function and natural organic substances exploited in Corsica during the first half of the 1st millennium BC. The molecular analysis (GC and GC/MS) of organic residues from three houses of the site, preserved in both pottery walls and charred surface crusts, highlighted the wide diversity and the various roles of substances contained and processed in ceramic vessels: animal fats, plant oils and waxes, beeswax, and conifer resin. These molecular data, considered together with the shapes of the vessels and their location into the habitation units, revealed the diversity of pottery function (culinary and technical) and spatial organisation of domestic activities between houses or in a house (distinction between storage and cooking areas).

In the context of the BEFIM project (“Meanings and Functions of Mediterranean Imports in Early Iron Age Central Europe”) the life history of (drinking) vessels from the Early Celtic hillfort settlements of the Heuneburg was examined, studying the way of production and use. In order to do so, we set up an extensive experimental program of dozens of experiments directed at a better understanding of the way this pottery was made and used. The participation of an experienced potter allowed us to reproduce exact replicas of the supposed drinking ware and explore in detail the traces of production and the effect of temper, baking temperature and so forth on the development of production traces and wear. Especially variations in the temper material, like the frequently observed addition of calcite in the archaeological pottery, strongly affected the characteristics of the use-wear marks that developed from the preparation of different products (grape wine, honey wine, different kinds of porridge etc.). The influence of alcohol production, including fermentation, on the pottery was explored. We also tested the effect of different gestures of preparing food and drink (mixing, stirring, pounding), different ways of storage and handling, and the manner of consumption like decanting using various kinds of utensils. The traces we observed on the experimental vessels, using an integrated low and high power approach, formed the basis for our interpretation of the archaeological vessels from the Heuneburg.

International audience; The paper discusses aspects of cooking pottery technology and operation through observations made in a series of experiments, utilizing the results of archaeological ceramic analysis in Neolithic northern Greece. The first stage of experiments focused on the experimental manufacture of three types of cooking pots, following the Neolithic techniques, from raw material processing to firing. In the second stage the pots were used in cooking performances, using structures, fuel and contents identified in the archaeological record. The qualitative data generated allow for testing a series of archaeological assumptions on ceramic technology, particularly vessel building and firing, along with the effects of cooking on pots. Moreover, experimental cooking provided insight to the relations between the different participant parts, highlighting the pivotal relation of cooking pots to fuel and different cooking modes. This pilot study aspires to endorse ceramicists to refine protocols for future experiments and analyses on cooking technologies.

International audience; The excavation of the site of Cuciurpula (South Corsica, France) revealed a significant amount of potsherds, often bearing visible surface crusts, sometimes very thick. This exceptional case in the Mediterranean region, suggesting a good preservation of organic substances, provided a unique opportunity to address questions related to natural organic substances exploited in Corsica during the first half of the 1st millennium BC.Organic residues from three houses of the site, both preserved in pottery walls and in charred crusts adhering to the surface, have been examined macroscopically and studied by molecular analysis (GC and GC/MS) to investigate the function of both ceramic vessels and natural organic products.Adhesive substances (birch bark tar and conifer resin sometimes mixed together or with beeswax) were mainly extracted from visible charred residues. The diversity of their appearance, adherence to the surface and distribution on the sherds suggests that these substances were not only contained and transformed in ceramics, but also used during pottery manufacture and maintenance. Their study provided thus exceptional data to understand the complex technical system related to adhesives, from their manufacture process (including heating and mixing of substances) to their various functions (repair of pottery, coating of inner or outer surfaces).Invisible residues absorbed inside ceramic walls provided data to understand pottery use and highlighted the wide diversity of substances contained and processed in ceramic vessels: animal fats, plant oils and waxes, beeswax, and conifer resin. Pottery function was investigated using several proxies: (i) natural origin of the substances contained in ceramic vessels; (ii) macroscopic and molecular markers of heating; (iii) potential waterproofing of the walls; and (iv) spatial distribution inside the house. This study revealed a clear distinction between pottery used for culinary and technical activities, apparently employed in the same area of activities at the household scale.

While the studies of Neolithic ceramic assemblages in the Near East have largely focused on the pottery styles and techniques, they have seldom taken the function of ceramic vessels into consideration. Yet, the use of pottery, found in large amounts in the Early Pottery Neolithic settlements, allows us to access to many aspects of daily life of prehistoric societies— in particular food practices. In order to characterise the culinary practices of Levantine societies at the end of the 7th millennium cal. BC, an exploratory study was undertaken on the use of Yarmukian pottery. The multidisciplinary approach combines typometry (shape, size, volume, wall thickness) with use-wear (residues and abrasions) of Neolithic vessels. The first results show that the Yarmukian populations of the late 7th millennium used their pottery for storing, transporting, cooking and consuming various substances. For cooking porridges, communities chose specific vessels within the available range of pottery types, put them in the middle of a fireplace and heated foodstuffs for a large group of people. The food habits of Yarmukian communities in the Southern Levant seem different from those of the contemporary Pre/ Proto-Halafian populations in Mesopotamia who apparently used their vessels much less for long-term storage but more frequently for transporting and cooking staple foods., Si les études de corpus céramiques du début du Néolithique céramique au Proche-Orient se sont largement cristallisées sur les caractéristiques stylistiques et techniques des poteries, elles se sont peu attardées sur les aspects fonctionnels des récipients en terre cuite. Connaître l’usage des poteries souvent retrouvées en grande quantité sur les sites permet, pourtant, d’appréhender de multiples facettes de la vie quotidienne des groupes préhistoriques – en particulier leurs habitudes alimentaires. Dans la perspective d’une restitution holiste de l’alimentation des sociétés levantines de la fin du 7e millénaire av. J.-C., une enquête exploratoire a été entreprise sur l’usage des céramiques yarmoukiennes. L’approche pluridisciplinaire combine les aspects morpho-dimensionnels (forme, taille, volume, épaisseur des parois) et les traces d’utilisation (résidus et usures) des vases néolithiques. Les premiers résultats acquis montrent que les populations yarmoukiennes de la fin du 7e millénaire ont utilisé leurs poteries pour stocker, transporter, cuire et consommer leurs nourritures. Lors de la cuisson de préparations bouillies, les communautés ont choisi des vases spécifiques au sein de leurs services, les ont placés au centre du foyer préhistorique et ont chauffé de la nourriture pour un groupe de personnes élargi. Les habitudes alimentaires des communautés yarmoukiennes de la fin du 7e millénaire av. J.-C. semblent différentes de celles des populations pré/ proto-halafiennes de Mésopotamie qui utilisent plus rarement leurs vases pour stocker mais s’en servent davantage pour transporter et cuire les produits., Vieugué Julien, Garfinkel Yosef, Barzilai Omry, Van den Brink Edwin C. M. Pottery function and culinary practices of Yarmukian societies in the late 7th millennium cal. BC: First results. In: Paléorient, 2016, vol. 42, n°2. Connections and Disconnections between the Northern and Southern Levant in the Late Prehistory and Protohistory (12th – mid-2nd mill, BC) pp. 97-115.

This research focuses on the domestic pottery production related to the Chalcolithic settlements of Tor Pagnotta, Casetta Mistici, Osteria del Curato-Via Cinquefrondi, Torre della Chiesaccia and Valle dei Morti. All of the analysed contexts are located South of Rome and are chronologically dated between the half of the IV and the end of the III millennium B.C. The settlements analysed in this research play a major role in the understanding of the occupation of this area, such densely populated during the prehistoric period and geographically limited between the Tiber river, the Aniene river and the Colli Albani volcano. This study aims to reconstruct the technological and functional choices involved in the pottery production in order to define and highlight patterns of continuity or discontinuity, which are useful to investigate the occupation dynamics of the area. The localization of the settlements (very near one to each other) allows to develop the research both over a synchronic and a diachronic perspective, identifying differences and similarities between contemporary productions and in a diachronic perspective, underlying transformations happening over time within different cultural traditions. This research falls into a moment where studies focused on the function of prehistoric productions are mostly related to tools made of other types of materials (e.g flint, hard animal materials etc) than pottery, which has rarely been taken in consideration from this point of view. So far, the few use wear analyses performed on pottery, focused on the reconstruction of the vessels’ use, not taking into consideration its technology, intended as production techniques, not allowing the development of a universal terminology or a specific methodological approach. For these reasons this research proposes a methodological framework comprising an integrated approach of wear analysis and experimentation, which allowed to produce relevant data on this matter. The methodology here presented allows a detailed examination of a pottery production based upon the decomposition of the vessel. Starting with the compositional analysis of clay pastes (petrographic analysis on thin sections, XRF) it was possible to reconstruct the sourcing strategies, locate the clay sources exploited in the area and define clay recipes. Furthermore, a detailed analysis of the vessel construction and pottery firing techniques was performed. A major role in this research is played by the analysis of the samples under a microscope, applying a low power approach, and by a dedicated experimental framework that allowed to study and define the modeling techniques, surface treatments, decorations techniques, along with the exploited tools, in order to reconstruct the involved gestures, which are only hypothesised trough the study of traditional contexts. Trough this approach it is possible to take the whole aspects of a pottery production such as the choices that distinguish individual traditions and the manufacturing features allowing to define the figure of “the potter” or his role in a prehistoric community highlighting possible forms of craft specialization. Moreover, from the application of this methodology it emerged that it is not possible separate the study of technological choices from the use, as every vessel is produced to be used. For this reason technological features, as modeling and surface treatments and the choice of clay pastes are studied in relation to the functional requirements, with an integrate approach involving microscope observations, residue analysis and experimentation, focused on the definition of the actual use of a pottery vessel.

This study is aimed at the molecular characterisation of solid organic (food) residues preserved in an assemblage of vessels recovered from an indigenous settlement dating back to the Iron Age and Roman period at Uitgeest – Groot Dorregeest (The Netherlands). Analytical thermal-fragmentation techniques such as Curie-point pyrolysis Mass Spectrometry and Direct Temperature-resolved Mass Spectrometry gave information about a wide range of compound classes as diverse as lipids, waxes, polynuclear aromatic compounds, oligosaccharides, small peptides and protein fragments, and a variety of thermally stable (more or less condensed) polymeric char structures. Multivariate analysis identified different chemotypes: groups of residues with comparable chemical characteristics. The biomolecular origin of these chemotypes was identified by comparison with experimentally charred reference materials and the application of complementary analytical techniques such as FTIR and 13C CP/MAS NMR. The chemotypes A1 and A2 consist of charred residues identified as starch-rich foods (mixed with either animal or plant products), chemotype C consists of protein-rich charred animal products without starch, chemotype B contains smoke condensates from wood fires, and chemotype D consists of special protein-rich and lipid-free foods or non-food products. Although many molecular characteristics of the original foods have been lost as a result of extensive thermal degradation and interpretation remains limited to general food groups, the results give valuable direct evidence of ancient diet and vessel-use.

National audience

The development of a research field at the border between analytical chemistry and archaeology, namely biomolecular archaeology, provides new methods for the study of organic remains highly sensitive to natural decay. Using infrared spectroscopy, gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, it is now possible to chemically identify a series of natural substances preserved in archaeological environments. This paper details the amorphous organic residues discovered in ancient pottery or adhering to flint tools and presents an overview of the analytical methodology developed in our laboratories for the characterization of such remains. Various natural products could be identified, such as animal or plant fats, beeswax or birch bark tar, this latter substance being an adhesive made by a controlled heating of white birch bark.

Recent development in chemical analyses of organic remains in archaeological ceramics gives new possibilities to the study of pottery use. They could be of crucial importance in assessing vessel’s use, especially when combined with contextual, technomorphological and use-alteration analysis data. Using the example of the late Neolithic pottery from Makriyalos, Northern Greece, we discuss some of the problems in determining the use of the vessels from archaeological context, and show the benefits of integrating chemical analysis of organic remains in approaching this issue.