Raw Materials and Technological Choices

Neolithic black pottery from continental Eurasia has attracted scholarly interest since the 1930s, yet its diverse production and use remains poorly understood. This study examined 165 black pottery sherds from Fenghuangzui, a walled town in the middle Yangtze River valley of China, to investigate raw materials and technological choices during the Upper Qujialing (5300–4500 cal BP) and Shijiahe (4500–4200 cal BP) periods. Raman analysis confirms that carbon black was the sole colorant, formed through the absorption of carbon particles. Microscopic examinations categorized 104 fine-paste sherds into 4 sub-groups based on surface texture, identifying 3 clay sources (AA, BB, and BB*) through chemical analysis. AA and BB were the primary sources during both periods, while BB and BB* were preferred in the Shijiahe period for higher-quality serving and drinking vessels linked to feasting. Thin-section petrography and thermal expansion curves indicate the use of local raw materials and firing temperatures of 820–920°C. The consistent clay sources and firing conditions suggest stable practices, while the correlation between certain clay sources and finer pots indicates the potter’s adaptability to specific needs, reflecting the active role of Fenghuangzui inhabitants in sociopolitical events during the Shijiahe period

Ancient history · Archaeology · China · Geography · Pottery · Yangtze river · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis · History · Metallurgy and Cultural Artifacts

• Variation of Rb/Sr Ratios in the Loess-Paleosol Sequences of Central China during the Last 130,000 Years and Their Implications for Monsoon Paleoclimatology

  Open Access•Jun Chen, Zhaolong An et al.•Quaternary Research•1999

  Incluir item

• The Use of Materials Science Techniques in the Study of Pottery Construction and Use

  Open Access•Gordon Bronitsky•Advances in Archaeological Method…•1986

  Incluir item

• Raman spectroscopic library of natural and synthetic pigments (pre- ≈ 1850 AD)

  Open Access•Ian M Bell, Robin J H Clark et al.•Spectrochimica Acta Part A:…•1997

  Incluir item

• The Neolithic Archaeology of China a Brief Survey of the Last Thirty Years

  Open Access•An Zhimin•Early China•1979

  Incluir item

• Ceramic raptors unearthed at the site of Shimao (2300–1800 BCE) in northern China

  Open Access•Limin He, Shuai Yao et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2023

  Incluir item

• Compositional analysis of black-slipped pottery from the Hulushan and Maoershan kiln sites

  Open Access•Wenjing Wang, Lin Fu et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2023

  Incluir item

• Pottery production at the Miaodigou site in central China

  Open Access•Tao Li, Pengfei Li et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2021

  Incluir item

• Compositional study of household ceramic assemblages from a Late Neolithic (5300–4500 cal BP) earthen walled-town in the middle Yangtze River valley of China

  Open Access•Tao Li, Shuai Yao et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2021

  Incluir item

• A preliminary assessment of the organization of ceramic production at Liangchengzhen, Rizhao, Shandong

  Open Access•Isabelle Druc, A P Underhill et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2018

  Incluir item

• Pottery vessels and technology of “colouring materials” in the central-western Mediterranean (Sardinia, Italy) during the Middle Neolithic

  Open Access•Laura Fanti, Barbara Melosu et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2023

  Incluir item

• Chemical variations of clays and pottery within a relatively small spatial extent

  Open Access•Pengfei Li, Ying Hu et al.•Archaeological Research in Asia•2024

  Incluir item

• Innovation, imitation, and identity

  Open Access•Sang-Won Nam, Rory Walsh et al.•Archaeological Research in Asia•2020

  Incluir item

• The emergence of walled towns in prehistoric middle Yangtze River valley

  Open Access•Siwei Shan, Limin He et al.•Archaeological Research in Asia•2021

  Incluir item

• I Want to Buy a Black Pot

  Open Access•William A Longacre, Jingfeng Xia et al.•Journal of Archaeological Method…•2000

  Incluir item

• Technology and organization of black pottery production on the north coast of Peru

  Open Access•Izumi Shimada, Ursel Wagner•Boletín de Arqueología PUCP•2019

  Incluir item

• Surface treatment of Neolithic vessels from Macedonia and Thrace

  Open Access•Paraskevi Yiouni•The Annual of the British School…•2001

  Incluir item

• Neolithic Black Ware in Greece and on the Danube

  Open Access•V Gordon Childe•The Annual of the British School…•1937

  Incluir item

• The Islamic Ceramic of the Santarém Alcaçova

  Open Access•Massimo Beltrame, Sitzia Fabio et al.•Archaeometry•2021

  Incluir item

• Handheld X-ray fluorescence analysis of pottery unearthed from the site of Xinjie in Shaanxi Province of Northern China

  Open Access•Xinyue Ao, Limin He et al.•Asian Archaeology•2023

  Incluir item

• The Appearance of Neolithic Black Burnished Ware in Mainland Greece

  Erik J Holmberg•American Journal of Archaeology•1964

  Incluir item

• Pottery production in chiefdoms

  A P Underhill•World Archaeology•1991

  Incluir item

• Ethnomineralogy of Ticul, Yucatan Potters

  Open Access•Dean E Arnold•American Antiquity•1971

  Incluir item

• Archaeological Research on Neolithic China

  An Zhimin•Current Anthropology•1988

  Incluir item