A new look at old material: ceramic petrography and Neo\Eneolithic pottery traditions in the eastern Ljubljansko barje, Slovenia

Abstract

In this article, a new look at old material, pottery, is presented, as the technology and operational sequences of pottery from the Neolithic and Eneolithic in Slovenia is mostly understudied. Here, the focus is on 5th and 4th millennia BC artefacts from the eastern part of Ljubljansko barje and sites, such as Resnikov prekop, Maharski prekop and Breg near πkofljica. The pottery was studied with a hand lens and petrographically, using an optical polarising microscope. The results were then compared to analyses of locally gathered clays and sediments. Pottery traditions at Resnikov prekop and Breg were different from those at Maharski prekop, although the vessels from all three sites were produced locally and mostly made from local material, but with different recipes or fabrics. The selection of raw material, the shaping and decorating of pots, their firing and use were probably more related to different traditions and individual choices of potters at these sites than to purely technological choices.

Keywords

• Ljubljansko barje
• Neolithic/Eneolithic
• pottery technology
• petrography
• chaîne opératoire