Some Archaeometrical Determinations on a Lot of Cucutenian Ceramic Materials of site Feteşti-La Schit (Adâncata commune, Suceava County)

Abstract

In order to analyze prehistoric pottery samples, the authors used a X ray dispersal spectral analyser, EDX type 900 HS (Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (EDX) spectrometry), of high sensitivity and resolution, to highlight the chemical composition of these artefacts. In the paper are presented the results of this experimental research, performed on the batch of ceramic samples from the archaeological site Feteşti-La Schit, Suceava County. In this paper, the authors present the measurements made on some Copper Age ceramics (Cucuteni A and Cucuteni B), using Vickers hardness test to determine the hardness of different types of archaeological ceramics, as physical and mechanical indicator of these artefacts. Porosity, along with other physicochemical and mechanical characteristics, is a feature that can be used in evaluating the quality of archaeological artefacts. The authors propose a number of high techniques for the analysis of this characteristic and present the results of the digital image analysis using specialized software.

Keywords

• archaeological ceramic
• porosity
• mechanical property
• prehistoric pottery
• spectral analysis
• chemical composition
• hardness
• spectroscopy