Variability in coiling technique in LBK pottery inferred by experiments and pore structure micro-tomography analysis

Klára Neumannová; Jan Petřík; Ivana Vostrovská; Jindřich Dvořák; Tomáš Zikmund; Jozef Kaiser

doi:10.35686/AR.2017.11

Authors

Klára Neumannová Institute of Archaeology CAS, Prague, Letenská 4, CZ-11801 Praha 1
Jan Petřík Institute of Geological Sciences, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 267/2, CZ-611 37 Brno Department of Archaeology and Museology, Masaryk University, Arne Nováka 1, CZ-60200 Brno https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5269-2411
Ivana Vostrovská Archaeological Section of Department of History, Palacký University Olomouc, Na Hradě 5, CZ-779 00 Olomouc https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2650-9908
Jindřich Dvořák CEITEC, Brno University of Technology, Purkyňova 656/123, CZ-612 00 Brno
Tomáš Zikmund CEITEC, Brno University of Technology, Purkyňova 656/123, CZ-612 00 Brno
Jozef Kaiser CEITEC, Brno University of Technology, Purkyňova 656/123, CZ-612 00 Brno

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35686/AR.2017.11

Keywords:

forming techniques, coiling, Linear Pottery culture (LBK), archaeological experiment, micro-tomography

Abstract

The article aims at identifying the origin of voids left by burnt-out organic material within the ceramic paste of Neolithic pottery from the Czech Republic territory. In methodological terms, an experimental reference collection was created and compared with the original early Neolithic pottery from the sites of Bylany by Kutná Hora and Těšetice-Kyjovice. The key analytical procedure consisted in non-destructive 3D microtomography (uCT) analysis, which is especially well suited for the study of the internal spatial organization of voids and temper. It allows to determine whether it is possible to define different manufacturing techniques employed for vessel construction on the basis of internal distribution of voids. The research identified cow dung as the probable organic temper within the original LBK ceramic paste. The ‘S’-forming technique, consisting in pressing the coil to the vessel wall, most closely corresponded to features observed at the Neolithic vessels.