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The Kura-Araxes phenomenon, represented by its trademark pottery, is one of the most intriguing examples of cultural expansion in the Bronze Age world. Technological analysis of pottery assemblages, providing insight into relations between producers, users, pots and the environment, can be a key to understand how the culture was maintained over tim...
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The high-altitude site of Karmir Sar is located around 2850 m a.s.l. on the southern slopes of Mt. Aragats (Armenia). Numerous stone structures (including vishaps, cromlechs, stone enclosures) are found all over the 40 ha-sized meadow, out of which three vishaps, four cromlechs and one circular stone structure have been investigated since 2012. Acc...
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... Sagona 1984;Kushnareva 1997;Palumbi 2003;Greenberg 2007;Kohl 2007;Iserlis 2009;Zuckerman et al. 2009;Iserlis et al. 2010Greenberg and Iserlis 2012;Palumbi and Chataigner 2014;Summers 2014;Iserlis 2015;Palumbi 2016;Sagona 2018;Ishoev and Greenberg 2019;Zaid 2019;Greenberg 2021). While KKW pottery was locally produced, mineralogical and technological studies have shown that KKW from many locales in the southern Levant and beyond share a series of principles affecting raw material selection and production techniques known across the Kura-Araxes expanse (for details see Iserlis 2009;Iserlis et al. 2010Iserlis et al. , 2015Iserlis and Greenberg n.d.). ...
... The diaspora groups tended to use materials available in the vicinity of settlements (while compromising on the quality of materials) with no correlation between tool types and raw materials; a tendency shared with the communities of their Transcaucasian origins (e.g. Batiuk 2000;Palumbi 2003;Batiuk and Rothman 2007;Iserlis et al. 2015;Hamon 2020). This is especially well illustrated by the pottery and lithic industries of the KKW communities (Iserlis 2009;Zuckerman et al. 2009;Iserlis et al. 2010Iserlis et al. , 2012Iserlis 2012, 2014;Greenberg et al. 2014;Wilkinson 2014;Greenberg 2021), which apply non-local manufacture technologies while exploiting nearby clay and flint sources. ...
The significance of ground stone tool technology and usage has been rarely discussed in the context of late prehistoric migration mechanisms. This paper examines specific aspects of a Kura-Araxes diaspora presence in the southern Levant, where such groups are dubbed Khirbet Kerak Ware (KKW) people, during the Early Bronze Age III (ca. 2,900/2,850–2,600/2,500 Cal BC). The study focuses on the traditions related to their ground stone – food processing and other – tool utilization and it involves typo-morphological and contextual analyses of the ground stone tools from a cluster of three sites in the Jordan Valley: Tel Bet Yerah, Tel Yaqush, and Tel Beth Shean. Thereby, we explore the potential of ground stone tool assemblages to reflect migration, marginalization and assimilation processes within early complex societies of the Near East. Our results show that regardless of notable differences in pottery, ground stone tool repertoires of
the indigenous population of the southern Levant and those of KKW communities do not exhibit great divergences in tool typology. However, there are traits in the assemblages’ compositions, morphometric parameters of tools, and distribution patterns, which suggest different preferences in tool utilization by these two entities. They reflect distinct approaches to foods and craft production and reinforce the view of the KKW people as marginalized communities in the social landscape of the southern Levant at that time.
... The location, size and architectural details of the V-shaped kites in both areas indicate that the traps could have been used to catch a range of target animals, although geology, topography and plant communities differ considerably between these regions. On another level, the similarities between these far-apart regions are yet another aspect of the well-established cultural connections between the Caucasus region and the southern Levant (for example, Iserlis et al. 2015). ...
The kites in the Negev and Sinai deserts1 (n = 57) are the most western of the large game traps in Asia in general, and the Middle East in particular (Plate 8.1). This area is distinctive in having almost exclusively only one relatively small kite type (Bar-Oz and Nadel 2013). The kites here can be divided into two geographical groups: a northern group in the Negev and north-east Sinai, and a southern group in south Sinai. The aims of this chapter are to a) describe the ecology of the region, b) present the general setting, architecture and dates of both kite groups, c) provide a general comparison between the two, and d) place them within the wider cultural and geographical context of the desert kite phenomenon.
... Due to the vast interregional diffusion of the Kura-Araxes (KA) culture (Chataigner and Palumbi, 2014), the different regional varieties of KA ceramics have already been subjected to numerous archaeometric analyses 2 . However, studies focusing specifically on the Southern Caucasus are still few and, with a few exceptions (Sos Höyük in NE Turkey: Kibaroglu, 2008;Kibaroglu et al., 2011;Azerbaijan province of NW Iran: Khazaie Kouhpar et al., 2015), they mainly concern Armenia (Hayrapetyan, 2008;Hovsepyan and Mnatsakanyan, 2011;Hovsepyan, 2014;Iserlis et al., 2010Iserlis et al., , 2015. ...
Ca 50 samples of Early Bronze Age (late 4th-3rd millennium BC) pottery from the South-Caucasian province of Shida Kartli (Georgia), most of them from the site of Khashuri Natsargora, were submitted to archaeometric investigations aiming to their characterisation and to the determination of raw materials (provenancing) and production technology. The main aim of the study was to identify the distinctive features of the Kura-Araxes end Early Kurgan (Martqopi and Bedeni) pottery groups. The analytical methods included powder-XRD, OM on thin section, ICP-AES and ICP-MS for major, minor and some trace elements, WDS microanalysis on single minerals. The analyses proved that in all cases local clays were employed. They were often used as found, but sometimes tempered with volcanic sands whose composition reflects the regional geology of the production area and sometimes with the addition of grog (for the Kura-Araxes) or crushed obsidian (for the Bedeni fine group). The study of rock fragments present in the temper allowed in most cases a clear differentiation between the Kura-Araxes Ware and the Bedeni wares. Most vessels were handmade but, in the case of Bedeni fine ware, they were occasionally finished with a slow wheel. Significant differences between the Kura-Araxes and Bedeni groups were also observed in surface treatment. Firing temperatures resulted mostly in the interval of 600–800 °C.
... Boness et al. 2015;Cohen-Weinberger and Goren 2004;Cohen- Weinberger et al. 2017;Gilboa et al. 2015;Iserlis 2009;Iserlis et al. 2015;Maeir et al. 2019;Waiman-Barak et al. 2014). However, it is worth stating that despite great interest in petrography, the vast majority of research has been published by a relatively small number of scholars. ...
By way of an introduction to this volume, we look to provide a brief review of recent approaches to ceramic studies in Levantine archaeology, and to the way that the results of laboratory-based investigations have been integrated within these. As we are interested in using ceramic data to address questions that extend beyond single-site studies, we pay particular attention to the information potential offered by the large-scale integration of ceramic and petrographic data from multiple archaeological projects. We will begin by highlighting some of the weaknesses of traditional approaches to pottery in Levantine archaeology and how these have continued to limit the interpretive potential of ceramic data. The strengths and weaknesses of petrographic research in the region to date will be discussed, and observations made regarding the use of petrography and geochemistry to address wider issues. The question of how new approaches, and the large-scale integration of ceramic data, might be used to address key social and economic questions in Levantine archaeology will form the subject of the concluding paper of this volume.
... All these fabrication in pottery samples implying to the different manufacturing processes, which should be studied in more detail. 15 Such a diverse fabric groups are reported from the Armenian sites as well (Iserlis et al., 2015). ...
The region that is known today as Syunik in the south/southeastern part of Armenia is geographically a close neighbour of the southern part of the Araxes river basin in today Iran. Political upheavals and boundaries hindered fieldwork in these areas for many years. The archaeological project of the Araxes valley (APAV) is one of many other projects that launched in 2013 in this region and focused on the southern basin of the Araxes River. The results of the excavations of two sites, Kohne Pasgah Tepesi and Kohne Tepesi, and the intensive survey carried out in this area, enable us to shed more light on the settlement dynamics, material culture and economic/social networks of this area and its neighbors.
The period from the 6th up to the middle part of the 4th millennium BC represents the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods in this region. The material culture of both periods shares many common characteristics with contemporary traditions at sites of the southern Caucasus. Later, in the last part of the 4th millennium BC, a cultural tradition that originated in the southern Caucasus, known as the Kura-Araxes cultural tradition, expanded over a vast area, including the southern part of the Araxes river basin. Based on the study of the pottery styles and obsidian, the patterns of interconnection between regions, communities, and sources, and commodity flows are examined. The role of the Araxes River and its tributaries in this interplay over the stated time span is the other inquiry of this article. Furthermore, I will investigate whether spatial propinquity had any impact on commodity flows and exchange, and if so, did this impact affected the material culture and technological practices or not.
... The results obtained from petrographic, XRD and XRF studies contribute to the discussion of how local communities interacted with various cultural spheres of influence and the existing resources. The compositional analysis and previous observations (local production of the Kura-Araxes/ETC and use of the local area resources; Mason and Cooper 1999;Batiuk 2000;Iserlis 2009;Schwartz et al. 2009;Iserlis et al. 2010;Kibaroglu et al. 2011;Iserlis et al. 2015;Khazaie Kouhpar et al. 2015, 2017 lead to the following results. ...
Within Iran, there is little archaeological evidence for relationships between newly arrived Early Trans‐Caucasian (ETC) or Kura‐Araxes settlers and earlier inhabitants, for contact with neighboring cultures, or for its apparently abrupt end. Based on the evidence, it is important to stress that the Iranian Kura‐Araxes was not a simple ‘copy' of the Caucasian Kura‐Araxes package. Ceramic traditions show local peculiarities and all are elements suggesting that the Kura‐Araxes traditions went through processes of adaptation, change, and re‐elaboration according to local tastes and technologies. In this study, an archaeometric approach on ceramics in Kolyaei Plain contributes to the discussion of contact and exchange between indigenous communities and several cultural spheres of influence on the Early Bronze Age (beginning of the fourth millennium BC). Morphological data, as well as the mineralogical and chemical composition of ceramics, was applied to determine the major and trace elements of the pottery shards. Based on the trace element profiles it can be suggested that all of the pottery shards are in the same group and they strongly are local products. The ceramic provenance indicates the same patterns of material interactions during the ETC or Kura‐Araxes in all of the sites at Kolyaei Plain.
... Она включает горшки для приготовления пищи, жаровни и глиняную подставку. Методы формовки, обработка поверхности и состав сырья исследовались визуально и анализировались методами оптической минералогии [Iserlis et al., 2015;Whitbread, 1995]. Цвет и ориентация основного компонента теста определялись и описывались в соответствии со справочным руководством по описанию почвенных шлифов [Handbook…, 1985]. ...
... Для каждого из них в естественном и обожженном гончарным способом виде были изучены шлифы. Для проверки пластичности, усадки и условий обжига изделий были подготовлены специальные тестовые брикеты [Iserlis et al., 2015]. ...
IV тыс. до н.э.-один из феноменов в археологии и истории Евразии. Керамическая коллекция по-селения Усть-Джегута, расположенного в предгорьях Северо-Западного Кавказа, может служить источником важной информации о гончарных технологиях и гончарах. В статье приводится информация о географическом положении и гео-логии территории в районе памятника. Раскрывается методика исследования керамической коллекции. По результатам петрографического анализа выделены рецепты формовочных масс. На основе оптико-минералогического исследования определены источники сырья. Исследованная коллекция отличается разнообразием технических и технологических прие-мов (специфические отбор сырья, приемы конструирования сосудов и обработки поверхности). Проведена корреляция ти-пов сосудов и теста. Основное внимание уделяется рассмотрению гончарных техник. Прослежена связь между типами изделий и рецептами формовочных масс. Выделены три майкопские индустрии посуды. Установлено, что сосуды были из-готовлены гончарами, различающимися по степени квалификации. Массивные изделия-пифосы, крупные чаши-созданы высококвалифицированными мастерами. Основная часть сосудов сделана гончарами среднего уровня. Сосуды для варки пищи изготавливались в рамках домашнего производства. Сформулирован вывод о сложившейся специализации в гончар-ном производстве и сохранении домашнего производства. Ключевые слова: майкопский феномен, Северный Кавказ, Усть-Джегута, гончарные технологии. M. Iserlis The Maikop culture of the 4th millennium BC has long been recognized as one of the most intriguing phenomena in the archaeology and history of Eurasia. A pottery assemblage of Ust-Dzheguta, located on the northern slope of the Greater Caucasus, should provide an insight into Maikop society and its technological and social choices. The article provides information on geographical location and geological settings of the Maikop site. Based on optical mineralogy analysis, potential raw materials and geological maps, fabrics and their possible geological sources were defi ned. The pottery assemblage exhibits technical and technological heterogeneity, including the use of a variety of raw materials and techniques. Correlation between types of vessels and fabrics is traced. Three Maikop pottery industries have been identifi ed. Most of massive and sophisticated basins and pithoi were produced by highly skilled and specialized potters. The majority of vessels were manufactured by part-time potters. Cooking vessels were made as part of household production. The conclusion is provided about the established specialization in the pottery manufacture and preservation of household production.
... During the last 15 years, the controversial debate on the origin and diffusion of the burnished ware has been enriched by several archaeometric studies. All of the petrographic and geochemical analyses performed on the assemblages from the southern Caucasus, Eastern Anatolia, western Iran, the Upper Euphrates, Amuq valley, and South Levant seem to suggest that the pottery production was local and nonspecialized (Angle et al., 2002;Batiuk, 2000;Batiuk, 2005;Batiuk and Rothman, 2007;Iserlis, 2009;Iserlis et al., 2010;Greenberg and Iserlis, 2012;Iserlis et al., 2015;Greenberg and Goren, 2009;Kibaroğlu et al., 2011;Mason and Cooper, 1999;Schwartz et al., 2009;Trojsi et al., 2002;Zuckerman et al., 2009). ...
... With the exception of four samples belonging to the ryholitic group, the HBW is always tempered with vegetal fibers (Fig. 5h-i) from different parts of cereal plants (stems, spikes, glumes, seeds, leafs). Grog tempering, which is a common practice elsewhere (Mason and Cooper, 1999;Batiuk, 2005;Iserlis et al., 2012Iserlis et al., , 2015, occurs only in two samples of periods VIB1 and 2. There are no differences, either in raw materials or in paste recipes that seem to distinguish monochrome from red-black vessels. ...
This paper reports the results of the petrographic and geochemical analyses of 69 Late Chalcolithic 3 to Early Bronze Age 1b (3800–2800 BCE) handmade burnished ceramics from Arslantepe-Malatya in south-eastern Turkey. The samples exhibit a high variety of raw materials and paste recipes, which do not simply reflect non-standardized domestic production modes, but rather the exploitation of wider areas for pastoral purposes. Choices in paste preparation are aimed at obtaining multi-purpose vessels, particularly suitable for mobile strategies of subsistence. The typical bichromatic pattern of vessel surfaces also influenced the paste preparation modes. Archaeometric results point to a diachronic increase in standardization in parallel with the occurrence of a more accentuated sedentariness. Close affinities with cooking pots and strong differences with Mesopotamian-like vessels were noticed.
This study focuses on the archeological characterization of potsherds from Tigranakert in Artsakh belonging to different centuries (from 9–13 century) using SEM/EDS technique. Archeometry and archeological science correspond and refer to the application of scientific techniques to the analysis of archeological materials, as well as the processes involved in their manufacture (Williams, Late Roman Coarse Wares, Cooking Wares and Amphorae in the Mediterranean: Archaeology and Archaeometry, BAR International Series, London, 2005; Vigil de la Villa Mencía and García Giménez, La Ciencia y el Arte: Ciencias Experimentales y Conservación del Patrimonio Histórico. Instituto del Patrimonio Histórico Español, Madrid, 2008; Martinón-Torres and Killick, The Oxford Handbook of Archaeological Theory, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2015). This paper presents a study of a set of ceramic samples using stratigraphic analysis coupled with SEM/EDX technique. Ceramic materials provide information on the clay materials employed in their manufacture (Hradil et al., Appl Clay Sci 165:135–147, 2018; Giannossa et al., J Cult Herit 43:242–248, 2020), hence facilitating the assignment of their autochthonous or allochthonous character (Kordatzaki et al., J Archaeol Sci Rep 7:526–529, 2016; Montana, Anthropol Sci12:175, 2020; Hein and Kilikoglou, Anthropol Sci 12:180, 2020). Analysis of the cross-section provides the stratigraphic evaluation of the ceramic body (holes, cavities, imperfections, granulometry, inclusions, and color), the glaze, or other superficial layers (glazes, transparency or opacity, color and saturation, defects, and other). SEM images showed that the potsherds have a quite poor vitrification degree and heterogeneous grain distribution, suggesting a simple firing technique.
Potsherds are very important for the archaeological research because they may date a site, reveal clues about art, technology, and subsistence of people. Potteries show the relationships and exchanges between people from different regions. The Kelar Hill (from now on Tapeh Kelar), Kelardasht region, is one of the most important prehistoric sites in the west of Mazandaran, in north-western Iran. Tapeh Kelar contains cultural materials from the Late Chalcolithic in the fourth millennium BC up to the Islamic Age. The Kura-Araxes context is one of the most significant discoveries of this area. Because Kura-Araxes culture originated far from Tapeh Kelar (in the Southern Caucasus), the primary concern of the present study focused on the structure of the potteries of the site in transitional phase from the Late Chalcolithic to Kura-Araxes and on finding the changes or differences. The study also tries to find the answer to the question whether the Kura-Araxes pots emerged due to exotic agents or not. Twenty five pieces of potsherds from the Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age and Middle Bronze Age periods were studied by petrographic method to compare the mineralogical texture of the Late Chalcolithic and the Middle Bronze Age potsherds with those of Kura-Araxes. Studies show that the pots of Kura-Araxes at this site are local products despite some changes in their texture due to source change; therefore, the idea that Kura-Araxes tradition potteries were first brought by way of exchange or trade and then copied by local potters is negated.
