Autochthonous or Allochthonous, the Prehistoric Pottery of Cueva de Los Postes

Abstract

Cueva de Los Postes is located in the southern part of the Spanish Extremadura region, in the Fuentes de León municipality. This study analyzed pottery found during archaeological excavations in Cueva de Los Postes. The aim was to determine whether the raw materials had common or separate origins and determine whether or not the origin of the pottery raw material was regional. In this regard, several pottery fragments were found in different phases (Neolithic and Copper Age) of the Holocene occupation of Cueva de Los Postes. These were analyzed using ATR-FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy). The analyzed samples demonstrated no strong differences in their composition. In order to identify a possible origin for the kaolinite of the analyzed pottery, six samples of clay sediments were taken from inside and around the cave and subjected to ATR-FTIR. This was done to compare their compositions and check for a possible correlation with the pottery. The analyzed pottery, from different stratigraphic units, shows homogeneity in raw material. This finding, and the analyses made of the regional sediments, confirm that the raw material was regional and that there was a continuous use of it.

Keywords

• geochemistry
• Cueva de Los Postes
• Extremadura
• ATR-FTIR
• pottery composition
• sediments