Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2020) 12:180

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-020-01129-8

ORIGINAL PAPER

Ceramic raw materials: how to recognize them and locate the supply
basins: chemistry
Anno Hein 1 & Vassilis Kilikoglou 1

Received: 17 January 2020 / Accepted: 24 June 2020

# Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020

Abstract
Provenance studies of archaeological ceramics by analysis of their elemental composition are based on the assumption that clays
can be distinguished, which were used for pottery manufacture in different workshops or production centres. The clay pastes used
for the ceramic manufacture were prepared from natural raw materials extracted commonly in the vicinity of the production sites.
Due to different geological contexts of local raw material sources, differences of their elemental compositions can be expected,
which are propagated to elemental compositions of the ceramics. The general distinctiveness of natural raw material sources is
presumed in the ‘Provenience Postulate’, which, though, has to be verified in each case study. For investigation of ceramics and
raw materials potentially used for their manufacture, different practices of clay paste preparation have to be considered which
might confine the direct comparison. In the present paper, the study of raw materials will be introduced as integral part of ceramic
provenance studies. Issues, such as intra-source and intersource variation, elemental composition in context with clay type and
accessory mineral, clay paste preparation, and methodological constraints will be discussed by means of raw material and ceramic
data from Greece and the Greek islands.

Keywords Clays . Compositional variation . Clay paste preparation . Analytical performance . Ceramic provenance

Premise suitability of raw materials (Gualtieri 2020); the processing

This paper contributes to the Topical Collection (TC)
“Ceramics: Research questions and answers” aimed at guid-
ing researchers in the study of archaeological ceramics from
excavation to study and preservation in museum collections.
Each contribution has a tutorial approach covering one of
the main issues pertaining to the study of ceramics: research
questions and sampling criteria (Gliozzo 2020a); the chemical
(this paper) and mineralogical-petrographic (Montana 2020)
investigation of raw materials; the technological character and
This article is a Topical Collection on Ceramics: Research questions and
answers
(Eramo 2020) and modelling (Thér 2020) of clays; surface
finishing (Ionescu and Hoeck 2020) and ceramic firing
(Gliozzo 2020b); the investigation of different coatings such
as black glass-ceramic (Aloupi-Siotis 2020), terra sigillata
(Sciau et al. 2020) and glazes (Pradell and Molera 2020); the
isotopic study of particular types of products such as Chinese
ceramics (Henderson et al. 2020); the identification of post-
burial transformations (Maritan 2020); the dating of ceramics
(Galli et al. 2020); and the restoration and musealisation of
ceramics (de Lapérouse 2020). This Topical Collection con-
cludes with a tutorial on statistical data processing
(Papageorgiou 2020).

* Anno Hein Provenance studies of archaeological

a.hein@inn.demokritos.gr ceramics based on their elemental
composition
Vassilis Kilikoglou
v.kilikoglou@inn.demokritos.gr
Elemental analysis of archaeological ceramics
1
Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, National Centre for
Scientific Research “Demokritos”, Agia Paraskevi, Ceramic artefacts, in contrast to other archaeological finds,
15310 Athens, Greece such as glass or metal objects, came relatively late into the
 180 Page 2 of 17 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2020) 12:180

focus of chemical investigation (Riederer 1981). One reason

might have been that wet chemistry was initially the only
available analytical method for determining chemical compo-
sition. The essential procedures for disintegration of silicates
and detection of individual components were comparably
complex and time-consuming. In fact the first chemical anal-
yses of archaeological ceramics were motivated by economic
interests of the modern ceramic industry, e.g. in reproducing
terra sigillata, rather than pure scientific interests. Even though
first assumptions emerged that pottery from different regions
might be distinguished by their chemical composition, sys-
tematic ceramic analyses in view of provenance became pos-
sible only when introducing instrumental analytical methods
at around the mid-twentieth century (Wilson 1978). Methods,
such as neutron activation analysis (NAA) (Sayre and Dodson
Fig. 1 Principal component analysis (PCA) of log-ratio transformed
1957), optical emission spectrometry (OES) (Richards and NAA data of 61 clay samples in Central and East Crete: Presented are
Hartley 1960) or X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF) the first two principal components of the clay compositions. The dashed
(Hofmann 1966), allowed for determining simultaneously ellipse indicates the compositional similarity of samples taken from four
deposits of the Viannos Formation (filled circles) compared with samples
large series of elemental concentrations in bulk samples of
from other Middle Miocene deposits (squares), upper Miocene deposits
ceramics and investigating potential compositional differ- (triangles) and Pliocene deposits (white circles)
ences between ceramics of different provenance.
et al. 2004a) using principal component analysis (PCA) of
‘Chemical fingerprint’ and provenience postulate log-ratio transformed NAA data.1 Particularly, the samples
taken from four separate deposits of the Middle Miocene
Essential basis for provenance studies of archaeological ce- Viannos Formation are considerably difficult to distinguish
ramics is the compositional variability of raw materials. The even though this particular formation extends to the
so-called ‘chemical fingerprint’ of pottery from a specific pro- Heraklion and the Mesara basin from the North to the South
duction group is distinct under the assumption that the raw Coast of Central Crete (Hein and Kilikoglou 2017). The var-
materials used for their manufacture can be distinguished in iation within the Ayios Syllas deposit, from which 14 samples
the first place. A certain level of compositional variation, how- were taken, exceeds in fact the variation between the four
ever, has to be expected also within a single raw material deposits.
source. The ‘chemical fingerprint’ of a specific raw material
source is indeed rather a pattern comprising ranges of elemen-
Elemental composition and variability
tal concentrations. In order to distinguish different raw mate-
rial sources, the compositional variation within the individual
The true elemental composition of an object is made up of
sources has to be smaller than the compositional difference
concentrations of all elements comprised in the object.
between the sources. This constraint has been formulated in
Major elements in raw materials derived from soil and accord-
the ‘Provenience Postulate’, which referred initially to tur-
ingly in ceramics are Na, Mg, Al, Si, K, Ca and Fe, which
quoise sources in Mesoamerica. The postulate presumes ‘that
together with oxygen make up approximately 99% of the ma-
there exist differences in chemical composition between dif-
terial in the Earth’s crust (Misra 2012, 297). For the hypothet-
ferent natural sources that exceed, in some recognizable way,
ical case that concentrations of each element could be deter-
the differences observed within a given source’ (Weigand
mined, which is not feasible, though, all element concentra-
et al. 1977). Clay deposits present a comparably high compo-
tions together would sum up to 100%. In a common analytical
sitional variation within sources due to their formation
study, however, the determined concentrations represent only
through weathering. Differences between clay sources in areas
a more or less substantial part of the true composition. The
of interest have to be investigated and identified, in order to
pattern of element concentrations determined in a sample i can
assess differences within and between local or regional ceram-
be described with a vector xi = (xi1, xi2,…,xip), where p is the
ic compositions, in which they are supposed to have been
number of elements measured (Papageorgiou 2020). The
propagated. The universal validity of the provenience postu-
‘chemical fingerprint’ is the reference pattern of a group of
late, though, cannot be proved, and it actually has to be veri-
similar compositions, representing for example the same raw
fied for each case study again. Figure 1, as example for a
rather ambiguous situation, presents the compositional varia- 1
For PCA and other methods of statistical analysis, see also Papageorgiou
tion of Neogene clay sources in Central and East Crete (Hein (2020), in this issue.
Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2020) 12:180
material source. It is represented by a vector comprising aver-
age element concentrations x = (x1,x2,…,xp). The average
concentrations are estimations of the expected values of the
true composition, which, though, is subject to variation. The
variation of the average concentration of a specific element x j
can be estimated with the standard deviation σj of the concen-
trations xij measured in the individual samples i of the group. It
has to be considered, however, that the element concentrations
are not independent among each other. Element groups are
correlated as they are for example related to specific minerals
or affected by particular geochemical processes. Major ele-
ment concentrations, on the other hand, are commonly subject
to inverse correlation. This is because a higher absolute con-
tent of one element decreases the absolute concentrations of
the other elements. Correlations can be taken into account by
determining the covariance matrix Sx, which, however, is
meaningful only when determined based on a sufficient num-
ber of measured samples (Baxter 2001, Papageorgiou 2020).
Standard deviation or covariance can be theoretically
subdivided in parts representing different sources of variabil-
ity (Bieber et al. 1976, Beier and Mommsen 1994).
S x ¼ S x;N þ S x;S þ S x;A
Here, Sx,N represents the natural variability or variability of
the true composition, Sx,S is the variability introduced by sam-
ple selection and Sx,A is the variability due to analytical uncer-
tainties. The natural variability Sx,N is definite as it is related to
variability within and between raw material deposits and to
variation in ceramic manufacture and potential post-
depositional alteration. The contribution to the overall vari-
ability by sampling and by analysis, on the other hand, can
be controlled by the scholar through well-designed sampling
strategy and choice of a suitable analytical method. Pre-
condition for an effective ceramic provenance study as well
as raw material study, thus, has to be to keep the contribution
by sampling and analysis on a preferably low level so that
potential differences between compositional patterns, based
on their natural variability, will not be obscured (Hein and
Kilikoglou 2017).
Choice of analytical method
In the last decades, a considerable number of different
analytical methods have been applied in order to deter-
mine the elemental composition of ceramics and raw
materials (Hein 2018) (Table 1). A quite important cri-
terion for the selection of a method is the series of
elements; the concentrations of which can be deter-
mined, in terms of coverage, analytical performance
and significance. As mentioned above, it is infeasible
to determine the concentration of every single element
which, however, is actually not necessary for elemental
Page 3 of 17 180
analysis of ceramics in view of provenance. In general,
the number of variables certainly increases the probabil-
ity that different compositional patterns can be distin-
guished. In practice, though, the significance of concen-
trations of individual elements in view of distinguishing
patterns has proven to be diverse, due to potential geo-
chemical variability and mobility or due to variation in
ceramic manufacture. For this, an analytical method
should be chosen which allows for determining a rea-
sonable number of significant element concentrations
offering sufficient analytical performance. Most analyti-
cal methods provide for example sufficient analytical
performance for measuring major elements. On the other
hand, the absolute contents of major elements are com-
monly affected by the amount of non-plastic inclusions
in the initial clay paste. For this, they rather represent
the amount of the coarse fraction, such as sand, calcite
or feldspar, than the considerably more distinctive ele-
mental composition of the clay fraction. Concentrations
of minor and trace elements turned out to be essentially
more significant for this purpose. The chosen analytical
method, thus, provides preferable concentrations of a
sufficient number of minor and trace elements as well.
The geochemistry of clay deposits and the significance
of specific element concentrations will be discussed in
detail in the “Compositional variability of raw materials
as basis for provenance studies” section.
The analytical performance or ‘discriminative power’ of
a method is defined by its precision, accuracy and lower
limit of detection (LLD) in determining the concentration
of particular elements (Currie and Svehla 1994). Precision
is the reproducibility of analytical results, i.e. the expected
variation of element concentrations when measuring re-
peatedly an identical sample (Fig. 2). Precision depends
on statistical deviation of generation, detection and pro-
cessing of signals as well as on sample geometry and ho-
mogeneity. Accuracy is the closeness of the determined
concentration to the true concentration, and it depends
largely on the calibration of the method (Fig. 2). The
LLD, eventually, is the minimum amount of a specific
element in the sample so that an explicit signal is generat-
ed, which is distinct from any background noise. The LLD,
however, affects also the precision as small signals impli-
cate higher statistical uncertainties. Apart from this, other
factors also have to be taken into account, such as matrix
effects, which disturb signal generation and detection, and
interferences among signals belonging to different ele-
ments. For this, it is essential to be aware about the appli-
cability of the chosen method for measuring the concentra-
tions of specific elements in ceramics or raw materials in
order to assess precision and accuracy of the provided re-
sults. In view of comparability and long-term variation, it
is appropriate to standardize the analytical method as far as
 180

Table 1 Overview of the most common instrumental analytical methods applied to archaeological ceramics

Method Acronym Application Performance Sample References

Page 4 of 17

Neutron activation analysis • NAA • Bulk composition • High precision • Powder (c. 0.1 g) Sayre and Dodson
• High accuracy (1957)
• ~ 0.1 ppm
Optical emission spectroscopy • OES • Bulk composition • Low precision • Powder (c. 0.1 g) Richards and Hartley
• Low accuracy • Acid dissolution (1960)
• ~ 100 ppm
X-ray fluorescence analysis • WD-XRF (wavelength dispersive) • Bulk composition • High precision • powder (> 1 g) Hofmann (1966),
• High accuracy Picon et al. (1971)
• ~ 1 ppm
• ED-XRF (energy dispersive) • Bulk composition • Fair precision • Powder (> 1 g) or non-invasive Hall et al. (1973)
• Surface analysis • High accuracy
• Micro analysis • ~ 1 ppm
• pEDXRF (portable) • Bulk composition • Fair precision • Non-invasive Morgenstein and Redmount
• Surface • Low accuracy (2005), Goren et al. (2011)
• ~ 10 ppm
Scanning electron microscopy • SEM-EDS (energy dispersive) • Micro analysis • Fair precision • Fragment (< 1 g) Hofmann and Theissen (1965),
• EMP (electron microprobe) • Surface analysis • Fair accuracy Noll et al. (1975)
• Bulk composition • ~ 100 ppm
Atomic absorption spectroscopy • AAS • Bulk composition • Low precision • Powder (c. 0.1 g) Hughes et al. (1976), Hatcher et al. (1980)
• Low accuracy • Acid dissolution
• ~ 100 ppm
Inductively-coupled plasma spectrometry • ICP-ES (emission spectroscopy) • Bulk composition • High precision • Powder (c. 0.1 g) Hart et al. (1987),
• High accuracy • Acid dissolution Hatcher et al. (1995)
• ~ 0.1 ppm
• ICP-MS (mass spectrometry) • bulk composition • High precision • Powder (c. 0.1 g) Mallory-Greenough et al. (1998)
• High accuracy • Acid dissolution
• ~ 0.01 ppm
• LA-ICP-MS (laser ablation) • Bulk composition • High precision • Non-invasive Neff (2003)
• Surface analysis • Fair accuracy
• Micro analysis • ~ 0.1 ppm
Particle/proton induced X-ray emission • PIXE • Micro analysis • High precision • Non-invasive Swann et al. (2000)
or gamma emission • PIGE • Surface analysis • High accuracy
• Bulk composition • ~ 10 ppm
Archaeol Anthropol Sci

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy • LIBS • Micro analysis • High precision • Non-invasive Anglos (2001),
• Surface analysis • Low accuracy Melessanaki et al. (2002)
• Bulk composition • ~ 10 ppm

While the focus of the present paper is on bulk analysis, some of the methods are applied rather to surface or point analyses. A rough assessment of the analytical performance is provided as well as an
estimation of the necessary sample amount. The references concern in each case the first applications of the methods to archaeological ceramics
(2020) 12:180
Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2020) 12:180
Fig. 2 Analytical precision and
accuracy illustrated with a target
possible and, after an initial calibration using for example
certified standard reference materials, to monitor regularly
its performance (Hein et al. 2002a, Georgakopoulou et al.,
2017). In this way, it is possible to process and utilize
thoroughly reference data collected in former studies, ex-
tending the data base and avoiding unnecessary re-
measurements of already analysed materials (Mommsen
et al. 2002).
Apart from analytical performance, the necessary sample
size has to be considered when studying archaeological ce-
ramics taking into account that commonly remains of unique
ceramic artefacts and occasionally even intact vessels are in-
vestigated. Depending on the analytical method, the sample
quantity can amount from several milligrammes up to several
grams. The integrity of the object has to be balanced with the
representativeness of the analysed sample and the expected
significance of the analytical results. Even though this does
not apply to the analysis of raw materials in view of compa-
rability of the results, the same analytical methods should be
used for ceramics as well as for potential raw materials.
Table 1 provides an overview of the most common analyt-
ical methods applied to ceramics and clays, including an esti-
mation of sample size necessary for trace analysis.
Sampling strategy in ceramic provenance studies
Basic scope of ceramic provenance studies is commonly the
comparison of ceramics of unknown origin with reference
patterns of ceramics of supposedly known or confirmed
Page 5 of 17 180
origin. In order to establish reference patterns for specific pro-
duction places, the sampling strategy should focus, thus, on
forming clear compositional reference patterns providing not
only an estimation of average values but also an estimation of
the expected variation. For this, a sufficient number of repre-
sentative and expectedly similar samples of a presumed pro-
duction group should be selected for analysis. An optimized
sampling strategy should be based on integrated pre-
examination of the material, combining for example typolog-
ical and microscopic study of the material.2 Reasonable might
be also initial in situ analysis of a larger number of potential
samples using for example portable energy dispersive XRF
(pEDXRF) (Hein et al. 2018). After all, provenance of a spe-
cific ceramic object from a particular production place can
only be verified if a reference pattern of the respective produc-
tion place or potential raw materials exist either formed in the
same study or on databases providing prior results. Thus, the
sample selection cannot be focused purely on one-of-a-kind
objects, the origin of which is planned to be investigated. The
sample selection has to include clear reference groups of ce-
ramics with expectedly similar elemental composition and
preferably assumed origin.
In order to determine the composition of ceramics or of the
clay paste initially used for their manufacture, essentially the
bulk composition of the ceramic body has to be analysed.
Surfaces commonly exhibit a different elemental composition
compared with the actual ceramic body, due to surface
2
For sampling strategy, see also Gliozzo (2020a), in this issue.
 180 Page 6 of 17
treatment, such as painting, application of slips3 or even bur-
nishing or polishing,4 and potentially due to use of the ce-
ramics or post-depositional alteration.5 For this, ideally, a ho-
mogenized powdered sample of the ceramic body should be
analysed. This can be taken either by grinding a fragment,
from which the surface has been removed beforehand, or by
drilling the ceramic body of a fragment or even an entire
artefact. Alternatively, a sample can be taken by laser ablation
combined with simultaneous analysis. Methods, such as LA-
ICP-MS or LIBS, provide for example measurements series
going stepwise into the sample. In the case that a non-invasive
method is applied, such as pEDXRF, it is essential to select
spots with missing or cleaned surface or sections and fresh
breaks. Several measurements of the same sample provide
additionally an assessment of precision and potential devia-
tions at specific spots due to surface contaminations.
Data management
Statistical data evaluation, which will be discussed in
detail in this issue by Papageorgiou (2020), requires
reliable input data, in terms of precision and accuracy.
For this, the evaluation of raw data towards determina-
tion of elemental concentrations has to follow standard-
ized and calibrated routines, which are adequately doc-
umented. Otherwise, the data evaluation possibly intro-
duces additional variability or even generates artificial
bias and patterns. Only if the results are effectively
calibrated, data collected in different measurement series
can be compared. In this case, it is also possible to
compare data collected in different laboratories using
the same analytical method or up to some extent even
data collected by using different methods if concentra-
tions of the same elements were determined (Hein et al.
2002a).
In order to avoid unnecessary re-measurements, the
collected data preferably should be documented and sys-
tematically stored in digital databases, which can be
accessed by scholars working with the same or similar
materials (Hein and Kilikoglou 2011). For this, it is
necessary to include adequate metadata, such as geo-
graphical information, so that significant sample data
can be easily allocated (Fig. 3). In the database, data
sets with elemental compositions can be also combined
with other types of data, such as mineralogy or petrog-
raphy described in this issue by Montana (2020),
allowing for integrated data examination and evaluation.
3
For investigation of different types of coating, see also Aloupi (2020),
Pradell and Molera (2020), and Sciau (2020), in this issue.
4 mineral rich in rare earth minerals (Ce,La,Nd,Th)PO4 or allanite,
For investigation of burnishing and polishing, see also Ionescu and Hoeck
(2020), in this issue.
5
For post-depositional alteration, see also Maritan (2020), in this issue.
Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2020) 12:180
Compositional variability of raw materials
as basis for provenance studies
Geochemistry of clay deposits
Raw materials used for ceramic manufacture are typically
mixtures of sedimentary rock, in which the actual clay frac-
tion, defined by grain size and prevalent platy particle geom-
etry of phyllosilicates, accounts only for one more or less
substantial part. Crystal structures of phyllosilicates as well
as their elemental composition depend on the parent rock
and the conditions and progress of their formation process
(Schulze 2004). While kaolinites and illites for example derive
rather from granitic rocks, smectites form prevalently in mafic
environments (Cox and Lowe 1995, Veizer and Mackenzie
2011). The clay mineral type affects primarily the content of
major elements in the clay fraction (Velde and Meunier 2008,
17–34). Silicon and aluminium cations are in general the main
components or in the case of pure kaolinite Si2O5Al2(OH)4
even the only components. In other clay mineral structures,
such as micas, smectites or chlorites, the aluminium cations
Al3+ are substituted by cations, such as Na+, Mg2+, K+, Ca2+,
Ti4+, Mn2+ or Fe2+/3+, which are present in the parent rock
(Schulze 2004). During a weathering process, the cations in
the crystal structure can be further substituted through absorp-
tion of other elements in aqueous solution, such as for exam-
ple alkali metals, alkaline earth metals or transition metals
(Bauer and Velde 2014, 62). Through adsorption at the sur-
face of the clay minerals, also cations of lanthanides or acti-
nides can be incorporated in the clay fraction (Coppin et al.
2002). The trace element composition of the clay fraction thus
depends not only on the clay mineral structure, which is relat-
ed to the source rock, but also on the sequence of weathering
and sorption in the particular clay deposit.
The trace element composition of natural clays is also af-
fected by non-plastic constituents. Common minerals, such as
quartz, feldspar or carbonates, which constitute the sand frac-
tion of natural clays, are usually rather poor in trace elements.
Particularly, the quartz or calcite content affects primarily the
level of absolute concentrations of trace elements comprised
in smaller grain size fractions (Fig. 4). In a statistical evalua-
tion, this can be taken into account by examining element
concentration ratios or applying a best relative fit
(Mommsen and Sjöberg 2007). Feldspars, though, potentially
comprise considerable amounts of alkali or alkaline earth
metals, such as rubidium, strontium, caesium or barium.
Thus, variable feldspar contents in raw materials or ceramics
produced from them increase the variation of these minor
elements.
Minor accessory minerals, such as monazite, a phosphate
a silicate mineral (Ca,Ce,La)2(Al,Fe2+,Fe3+)3(Si3O12)(OH), on
the other hand, comprise lanthanides and actinides and can
Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2020) 12:180 Page 7 of 17 180

Fig. 3 Simplified database

structure combining analytical
data, such as elemental
compositions, with metadata: The
simplified structure is based on
the implementation of the
ceraDAT online database
(ceradat.net). Archaeological
ceramics and potential raw
materials used for their
manufacture are for example
related through geographical
vicinity of finding sites of the
ceramics, if they conform with
production sites, and the sampling
sites of raw material deposits
(Hein and Kilikoglou 2011)

conspicuously increase the concentrations of these elements in formation of the clay deposits, raw materials with rather similar
the clay (Kohn 2014) while spinel minerals, such as chromite compositions can be found over large distances, as in the case
Fe2+Cr2O4, or other oxides, such as ilmenite Fe2+TiO3, common- of spacious marine or lacustrine deposits or aeolian clay de-
ly related to mafic environments increase the content of specific posits (Hein and Kilikoglou 2017). Examples in the Eastern
transition metals (Heinrich and Candela 2014). Due to larger Mediterranean Region are Miocene deposits in Central Crete
grain sizes compared with the clay minerals, though, the acces- (Hein et al. 2004a) or Pliocene deposits in Northern
sory minerals might be not evenly distributed in the raw material
enhancing compositional variation (Fig. 5). For this, the presence
of these minor accessory minerals in coarse ceramics or bulk
samples of raw materials potentially implicates considerable un-
certainty of the concentrations of elements, which they comprise
(Buxeda i Garrigos et al. 2003, Hein and Kilikoglou 2017).

Compositional variability and spatial variation

In order to assess the feasibility for distinguishing clusters of

pottery manufacture in a specific region by their use of different
raw material sources, it is essential to investigate the spatial
variation of clay compositions (Gliozzo et al. 2018). Pottery
manufactured in different workshops or production sites can
be distinguished only if the raw materials used for their manu-
facture can be distinguished. As discussed above, the
‘Provenience Postulate’ in fact has to be verified for each case
study from the beginning. For this, the study of potential raw
materials and their compositional variation should be integral
part of archaeometric pottery studies in view of production and
dissemination. At this point, though, it has to be noted that
compositional difference of raw materials does not correlate
with spatial distance of the deposits. Depending on the initial
Fig. 4 Absolute lanthanum and thorium concentrations in ppm (μg/g) of
26 samples taken from the Viannos Formation, Central Crete (Hein
et al. 2004a): The absolute concentrations present comparably high var-
iations (Ayios Syllas Deposit: La 23.5 ± 1.5 ppm, Th 8.1 ± 0.7 ppm). This
is largely related to variable content of the coarse fraction. The concen-
trations in fact appear to be generally correlated. An exception is one
particularly coarse sample from the Ayios Syllas Deposit, which presents
a comparably low thorium concentration. The dashed line indicates the
La/Th ratio in the upper continental crust (McLennan 2001)
 180 Page 8 of 17
Fig. 5 SEM micrographs of polished sections of a Rhodian amphora
(left) and a ceramic crucible mould from Athens (right): The amphora
fabric contains comparably large chromite inclusions (O c. 24 wt%, Cr c.
Peloponnese (Xanthopoulou, 2018). Chemical provenance
studies of pottery from the two regions frequently provide un-
satisfactory results in terms of distinguishing individual pottery
production places, when these specific clays were used (Day
et al. 1999, Hein et al. 2002b). On the other hand, the inhomo-
geneous distribution of accessory minerals in clay pastes, which
have been prepared with raw materials from the same source,
can falsely indicate compositional differences among pottery of
the same production site. An example is a case study in a
Spanish pottery production village, in which a monazite-
bearing red clay is used as component of the clay paste imped-
ing the definition of reference patterns (Buxeda i Garrigos et al.
2003). For this, the investigation of raw material deposits in a
region with ancient pottery manufacture in terms of composi-
tion and variation provides substantial information about the
distinctiveness of pottery compositions, which can be expected.
Provenance studies of pottery are further complicated by tech-
nology transfer and movement of craftspeople. When a specific
pottery ware type was produced at several sites, craftspeople
were prospecting at each site for similar raw materials in order
to achieve the preferred properties and appearance of the
manufactured ceramics (Michelaki et al. 2015). Based on their
experience, they had preferences for particular clays with similar
properties, in terms of plasticity, shrinkage and firing behaviour.
Thus, even though diverse raw material sources might have been
accessible close to a specific production site, the selection of raw
materials was confined to deposits, which were geologically as
well as geochemically related to deposits at other production
sites, at which similar pottery was manufactured.
Effect of clay paste processing and ceramic
manufacture
The direct comparison of elemental compositions measured in
archaeological ceramics and elemental compositions of raw
Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2020) 12:180
35 wt%, Fe c. 14 wt%; estimated by SEM-EDS) while the crucible fabric
contains monazite inclusions (O c. 10 wt%, P c. 17 wt%, La c. 10 wt%,
Ce c. 30 wt%, Nd c. 20 wt%, Sm c. 3 wt%; estimated by SEM-EDS)
materials which are suspected to have been used for their
manufacture not always provides meaningful results (Arnold
et al. 1991). It has to be considered that raw materials com-
monly were more or less thoroughly processed in order to
achieve a workable clay paste with suitable properties in terms
of moulding and firing.6 In a first step, the raw materials com-
monly have been refined by removing large non-plastic inclu-
sions particularly when they were used for the manufacture of
fine ceramics. These inclusions inhibit plasticity and poten-
tially jeopardize the ceramics during firing due to their thermal
expansion or even bloating. During refinement, for example
by levigation, non-plastic constituents and accessory minerals
are removed from the clay paste, resulting in fact in a more
homogeneous elemental composition at least in terms of ab-
solute concentrations. Raw materials taken from different
parts of a large deposit and differing in their percentage of
coarse fraction can be equalized in terms of their elemental
composition through refinement.
In the further process of clay paste preparation, the addition
of temper materials to the clay paste was common. In this way,
thermo-mechanical properties of the ceramics could be con-
trolled in view of the eventual function as cooking pot, storage
or transport vessel. While non-plastic materials, such as quartz
or calcite, affect as mentioned above mainly the absolute trace
element concentrations but not their ratios, other temper ma-
terials, such as granite or grog, have an essential effect on the
trace element composition of the ceramics. In the latter case,
the elemental bulk composition of the tempered ceramics can-
not any longer be directly linked to the elemental composition
of the base clay.
Another practice in clay paste preparation, which can be
occasionally observed, is the blending of two or more clayey
6
For clay paste processing and pottery moulding, see also Eramo (2020) and
Thér, 2020, in this issue.
Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2020) 12:180
raw materials. In the case that a single raw material is not
suitable for preparing a clay paste for the manufacture of ce-
ramics, it might be beneficial to mix several different raw
materials in order to achieve adequate material properties
(Betina 2019). Concerning elemental composition, this prac-
tice impedes seriously the comparison of ceramics with raw
materials as apart from the natural variation of single raw
material deposit variations in the clay paste recipe, in terms
of proportions and sources of components, affect the compo-
sition of the end product (Buxeda i Garrigos et al. 2003).
Mixture or blending of raw materials can scarcely be recog-
nized solely by elemental analysis, but rather by petrographic
examination (Quinn 2013, 156–171).
Final step in ceramic manufacture is the firing of the
moulded clay object. While firing substantially changes ma-
terial properties and microstructure, the elemental composi-
tion is basically affected only by loss on ignition (LOI)
through combustion of organic matter, volatilisation of water,
dehydroxylation of the clay minerals and decarburization of
carbonates (Gliozzo 2020b). The release of hydrogen, carbon
and oxygen increases the absolute concentrations of the re-
maining elements. The relative composition, in terms of ratios
of concentrations, though, is not affected. Potential loss of
other elements through volatilisation is theoretically possible
but the effect can be largely disregarded (Kilikoglou et al.
1988, Cogswell et al. 1996).
Chemical markers
Clay paste processing impedes in many cases the direct com-
bination of ceramics to raw material sources even if these are
extant. Apart from a general assessment of the natural compo-
sitional variability of local raw materials, though, their study
might indicate chemical peculiarities or markers, which after
all will provide a reference, so that ceramics indeed can be
assigned to local production. Table 2 presents the median
values and deciles7 of a series of 216 raw material samples
from Greece and the Greek islands, which have been mea-
sured by NAA, during the last c. 20 years 8 (Hein
et al. 2004a, 2004b, 2004c, 2008, 2019).
The ranges of measured element concentrations are compara-
bly small, taking into account intra-site variation of raw material
deposits or typical variations observed in ceramic production
groups (Hein et al. 1999). Nevertheless, the determined upper
deciles indicate occasional higher concentrations, related to ac-
cessory minerals or the adsorption of specific elements from the
environment during the weathering process. A common ap-
proach to investigate the element composition of sedimentary
7
While the median divides a data sample in lower and upper half, the deciles
are the boundaries, which exclude the lowest and highest 10% of the concen-
trations, respectively.
8
The individual compositions can be accessed in the ceraDAT database
(ceradat.net).
Page 9 of 17 180
rock in view of enrichment or depletion of specific elements is
normalization of the determined element concentrations to stan-
dard compositions, such as upper continental crust (UCC) or
lanthanide concentrations in chondrites (Taylor and McLennan
2009). Even pottery compositions can be compared with raw
materials in this way (Rodrigues et al. 2015). Figure 6 presents
as an example the normalized concentrations of clay samples
from Crete (Hein et al. 2004a) and the East Aegean (Hein et al.
2019). The Neogene clays from Central and Eastern Crete
exhibit a comparably small variation particularly in the case of
the above discussed Viannos Formation. The clays from the East
Aegean islands of Kos, Rhodes and Samos, on the other hand,
derive from various geological contexts, from Upper Cretaceous
to Quaternary, and present a clearly larger variation. Remarkable
are for example the high concentrations of chromium and nickel
in some of the clays from Rhodes and the high actinide concen-
trations in clays from Kos.
Figure 7 presents potential chemical markers in a series of
scatter plots. Alkali metals such as caesium and rubidium for
example are typically related to abundance of micas or mica-
ceous clays. The alkali metals are essentially correlated, but their
ratio can be affected by the environment (Fig. 7, top left). Some
of the clays from Peloponnese and Corinth for example present
significantly higher caesium to rubidium ratios than other raw
materials, while the ratios in Central Greece appear to be smaller.
It has to be considered, though, that ceramics might be affected
also by post-depositional alteration depleting the alkali metal
content after all. Lanthanide concentrations are basically corre-
lated as well (Fig. 6). Their relative concentrations in the weath-
ered clays fraction reflect their composition in the parent rock,
including anomalies such as europium depletion (Condie et al.
1995). Indeed some of the clays from Kos present smaller euro-
pium to cerium concentrations compared with most of the other
raw materials (Fig. 7, top right). Apart from the levels of absolute
concentrations, which are related to clay type, environment and
maybe also accessory minerals, ratios among their concentrations
can be used as chemical markers of specific sources (Hancock
et al. 2019).
Some of the raw material sources in the Eastern
Mediterranean and accordingly also ceramics in particular re-
gions are specifically high in transition metals, such as chro-
mium, cobalt and nickel. The high concentrations are typically
related to mafic source rock, occasionally even evidenced by
the presence of accessory minerals like chromite (Hein and
Kilikoglou 2017) (Fig. 5). Examples of relevant geological
contexts can be found in Boeotia (Central Greece) and
Rhodes. Raw material from these two areas, presenting simi-
larly high levels of chromium and nickel concentrations, can
be distinguished, though, by considering the ratios among the
concentrations (Fig. 7, bottom left). Actinides, such as thori-
um and uranium, are correlated among each other and also
with lanthanides. Nevertheless, also in this case, element con-
centration ratios might indicate source-specific enrichment of
 180 Page 10 of 17 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2020) 12:180

Table 2 Range of ceramics in view of identifying clay types; the use of which
element concentrations Median Deciles
have been preferred by craftspeople (Hein et al. 2004a).
of 216 clays sampled in
Greece and Greek Lower Upper Commonly, on the basis of visual examination of ceramic
islands and measured by remains and assumed function, first hypotheses about the type
NAA As 7.5 1.8 25.2 of raw materials used for their manufacture can be drawn. For
Ba 215 88 451 example for the manufacture of cooking ware, commonly dif-
Ca(%) 7.9 0.7 23.9 ferent clay pastes have been used than for the manufacture of
Ce 46.8 23.3 94.0 fine table wares, prevalently coarser and with lower calcite
Co 21.1 8.0 45.8 content. Elemental compositions of ceramics in fact provide
Cr 292 88 860 basic information about the utilized clay types and the geolog-
Cs 5.8 2.2 8.6 ical context from which the original raw materials derived as
Eu 0.92 0.47 1.64 explained in the “Provenance studies of archaeological ce-
Fe(%) 4.05 1.73 5.78 ramics based on their elemental composition” section.
Hf 3.28 1.41 6.43 Chemical analysis, though, can be complemented by detailed
K(%) 1.60 0.60 2.36 mineralogical or petrographic examination in order to localize
La 23.3 11.1 47.0 the potential supply basins. For this, the available geological
Lu 0.29 0.13 0.49 information should be reviewed as far as the region of interest
Na(%) 0.64 0.22 1.32 has been already systematically investigated for its geology.
Nd 21.4 8.3 39.9 In this case, detailed information about geological formations
Ni 127.6 40.6 514.8 and extant outcrops of clay deposits might be available so that
Rb 86 30 130 a clay survey from scratch is not necessary.9
Sb 0.66 0.22 1.90
Sc 13.8 6.3 19.8
Identification of ancient pottery production sites
Sm 4.3 1.9 8.0
Sr 173 38 569
For the manufacture of pottery apart from clay, water and fuel
Ta 0.76 0.24 1.45
were necessary for clay paste preparation and firing, respec-
Tb 0.62 0.28 1.06 tively. While water and fuel are commonly more prevalent
Th 7.5 2.5 13.8 and accessible, it was essential for the ancient craftspeople
Ti(%) 0.27 0.05 0.44 to find appropriate clay sources, which had to be tested and
U 2.41 1.11 4.07 exploited (Michelaki et al. 2015). The transport of these clay-
Yb 2.01 0.90 3.25 ey raw materials over far distances, though, was assumedly
Zn 93.3 48.0 133.0 not practicable. According to ethnographic studies, the com-
Zr 97 40 182 mon distance between a pottery workshop and a clay deposit
can be estimated as considerably small, typically up to 7 km
The clay samples were typically fired at
900 °C before analysis. Indicated are the (Arnold 1985). For this, the identification of pottery produc-
median values and the lower and upper tion at a specific site is a strong indication for suitable clay
deciles of the element concentrations. The deposits in the vicinity of the site. Particularly the firing of
concentrations are given in ppm (μg/g) if
pottery is expected to have left explicit remains rather than
not indicated elsewise
infrastructure for clay paste preparation and moulding of ce-
ramics. Clear evidence for ancient pottery production is given
one of the two elements (Fig. 7, bottom right) as they are for instance by remains of built pottery kiln structures (Hasaki
transferred relatively unchanged during weathering (Condie 2002). Apart from these, however, also accumulations of kiln
et al. 1995). wasters—over- or misfired ceramics discarded after the
firing—or remains of kiln furniture can indicate pottery pro-
duction at the excavation of an archaeological site or in the
area of an archaeological survey. Kiln sites, even when buried
Design of a raw material survey
and not apparent, can also be identified by geophysical
prospection and particularly by measurements of variation of
Composition of the archaeological ceramics of
the geomagnetic field as kiln structures or fired pottery exhibit
interest
remnant archaeomagnetic signals (De Marco et al. 2008).
Initial step in surveying supply basins of raw materials for 9
For clay mineralogy and geological survey, see also Montana (2020), in this
ancient ceramic manufacture is the characterization of the issue.
Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2020) 12:180 Page 11 of 17 180

Fig. 6 Line plots presenting normalized element concentrations of composition (Taylor and McLennan 2009) while the lanthanide concen-
selected clays from Crete (left) and the East Aegean (right) measured tration in the bottom are normalized to chondrites (Rodrigues et al. 2015)
by NAA: The concentrations in the top are normalized to the upper crust

Fig. 7 Scatter plots of diverse element concentrations measured in 216 raw material samples from Greece and the Greek islands: The specific areas, from
which the samples were taken are indicated by different symbols and colours
 180 Page 12 of 17
Important sources of information about pottery manufac-
ture in antiquity in terms of suitable local clays, which might
have been used, as well as potential practices of clay paste
preparation are ethnographic studies of traditional or contem-
porary pottery production (see e.g. Gosselain and Livingstone
Smith, 2005, Betina 2019). The connectivity of traditional
pottery production and pottery manufacture in antiquity has
been investigated from the mid-twentieth century (Hampe and
Winter 1962). By then, pottery manufacture in the
Mediterranean basin for example was in fact still organized
in traditional communities providing information about prac-
tices of raw material prospection and clay extraction going
back assumedly to antiquity. Even though, by now most of
contemporary potters prefer the use of commercial clays,
which are already prepared and optimized for pottery produc-
tion, there still exists intangible knowledge concerning ade-
quate raw materials and places, where to find them, as well as
clay paste preparation. Occasionally, this knowledge provides
direct links of archaeological pottery to extant clay deposits
(Hein et al. 2008) or information about specific raw materials
for particular pottery wares, such as glaucophane-rich clays
used for the manufacture of cooking pots in the island of
Sifnos (Allegretta et al. 2017).
Sampling strategy
Based on the above described information, raw materials can
be surveyed and collected in the field. It has to be considered
that the sampling might be subject to agreement with private
property owners and to permits issued by geological authori-
ties or even archaeological authorities, in the case that clay
deposits are situated in the vicinity of archaeological sites. In
view of assessing intra-source variation of extensive deposits,
sample series should be taken from different spots covering
apparent stratigraphic sequences, which potentially represent
different weathering stages (Hein et al. 2004a). Raw materials
belonging to the same geological formation or geological con-
text should be sampled at different locations in order to inves-
tigate the spatial inter-source variation and for example the
dissemination of fluvial or marine sediments (Gliozzo et al.
2018).
The collected sample has to be large enough to represent
the raw material at the specific spot after being sufficiently
homogenized. The necessary sample size certainly depends
on the coarseness and heterogeneity of the raw materials but
it should be ideally at least c. 1 kg as further examinations
apart from elemental analysis or firing and material testing of
experimental ceramic specimens might be reasonable in the
future. For collecting a representative sample, it is inevitable
to remove first covering sediments and the external surface
layer of the raw material as it is exposed to progressed
weathering, potential contamination and interaction with the
vegetation. Eventually, full documentation of the sample spot
Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2020) 12:180
has to be recorded in terms of GPS coordinates, photographs
and geological context.
Investigation of raw materials
Sample preparation
For investigating raw materials in view of their potential use in
ancient ceramic manufacture, basic clay paste preparation
should be considered. For this, the raw material sample should
be homogenized and at least initially refined by removing
coarse organic material, such as vegetal fibres, and non-
plastic particles above a pre-defined grain size, based on the
observed texture of archaeological ceramics, which might
have been manufactured from the respective material. This
can be done either by powdering and dry sieving or by mixing
and suspending with water and wet sieving. The total rock
sample can also be further separated in fractions according
to grain size ranges, such as clay fraction, silt fraction and
sand fraction (Blott and Pye 2012). The homogenized and
dried raw material samples can be analysed straight away.
The absolute concentrations of the commonly determined el-
ements, though, will be clearly below comparable concentra-
tions expected for ceramics, basically due to higher carbon
and water content. In order to investigate the loss of ignition
(LOI) due to burning of organic content, de-hydroxylation and
de-carbonisation of the homogenized raw material samples
should be heated at 1000 °C. Only then the absolute levels
of element concentrations will be comparable to ceramics po-
tentially manufactured from the raw material under investiga-
tion. In order to level the effect of firing temperature, it is quite
common to determine the LOI of ceramic samples before
analysis. In the case of analysing non-fired raw materials,
though, the element concentrations have to be normalized
(see “Sampling strategy” section). While for pure elemental
analysis, sample powders can be heated at sufficient temper-
atures the manufacture and firing of specimens is quite com-
mon in integrated studies. The fired briquettes can be addi-
tionally investigated in view of textural and mineralogical
development during firing (Hein et al. 2004b).
Analytical method
As mentioned above, for reasons of comparability of elemen-
tal compositions of raw material samples and of archaeologi-
cal ceramics possibly manufactured from them, preferably the
same analytical method should be applied (Table 1). Due to
the comparably large sample amount, though, complementary
methods can be applied for measuring additional elements.
Apart from focusing on measuring minor and trace element
concentrations by NAA for example, further measurements by
WD-XRF, which might not be routinely possible for small
Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2020) 12:180
ceramic samples, allow for determining the complete major
element composition of raw material samples (Hein
et al. 2004a, 2004b). The major element compositions provide
information about clay type and variation of non-plastic com-
ponents in the coarser fractions. Furthermore, multiple mea-
surements of the same sample can be performed in order to
assess analytical variation and/or inhomogeneous distribution
of large accessory minerals. In order to further study the rela-
tion of specific elements to either clay minerals or accessory
minerals additionally to the total rock samples, the separated
clay, silt and sand fractions can be analysed (Hein
et al. 2004a).
Apart from NAA (Hancock et al., 2019), particularly ICP-
MS appears to be the method of choice in case studies of raw
material sources for pottery production during the last years. It
is applied either as stand-alone method (Leclerc in press) or in
combination with ICP-OES (Owen et al. 2013, Christidis et al.
2014, Gliozzo et al. 2018) or WD-XRF (Gutsuz et al. 2017).
In combination with other analyses, occasionally alternative
methods for chemical analysis are applied such as EMP of
specific temper materials (Dorais et al. 2004) or ED-XRF of
bulk samples (Semiz 2017).
Data evaluation and comparison with archaeological
ceramics
Raw material data can be evaluated following basically the
same statistical approaches as applied to ceramic data
(Papageorgiou 2020). The evaluation is focused on determin-
ing similar compositional patterns and identifying parameters
on the basis of which sources can be distinguished. When
combining raw material data with compositional data of
Fig. 8 Dendrogram of a
hierarchical clustering combining
NAA data of raw materials and
transport amphorae: The data
were log-ratio transformed with
the Sc concentration as common
divisor. Raw materials are marked
in red. The ellipses indicate the
compositional groups of Koan
transport amphorae (Hein et al.
2008). Groups A and B have been
assumedly produced in South
Central Kos, while groups C and
D represent assumedly the pottery
production in Kos Town. The as-
signment can be in fact confirmed
by similarities to local clay
sources
Page 13 of 17 180
archaeological ceramics, even if measured with the same
method, several issues, though, have to be considered. As
explicated above, the absolute element concentrations, mea-
sured in the raw materials, tend to be lower compared to ce-
ramics. This is due to common practices of clay paste prepa-
ration and loss of matter, such as water, carbon and organics,
during ceramic firing. For this, ratios of element concentra-
tions should be compared rather than absolute values or, alter-
natively, the absolute levels are adjusted through a best rela-
tive fit (Mommsen and Sjöberg 2007). Taking this into ac-
count, ceramics can be occasionally directly linked to raw
material sources as in the case of amphora manufacture in
South Kos (Hein et al. 2008). This indicates in fact clays,
which can be used straightforward for ceramic manufacture,
without elaborate clay paste preparation (Fig. 8). If direct as-
signment of ceramic data to raw material sources is not pos-
sible, as in most case studies, similarities and dissimilarities of
concentrations of specific elements or element groups have to
be investigated individually. An example is the case study of
transport amphorae assumedly manufactured in the island of
Rhodes and raw materials sampled from clay deposits in the
North part of the island. Clear differences are indicated for the
absolute concentrations of Cr and Ni (Fig. 9). The high chro-
mium concentrations measured both in the main group of
Rhodian amphorae and raw materials particularly from the
Plio-Pleistocene Asgourou Formation, though, indicate a cer-
tain geochemical relation probably due to the ophiolitic geo-
logical environment of North Rhodes (Hanken et al. 1996,
Lekkas et al. 2007). For this, high chromium and nickel con-
tent in ceramics combined with apparently similar ratios com-
pared with the raw materials is in fact a chemical marker for
Rhodes as a potential candidate for the origin of the ceramics.
 180 Page 14 of 17
Fig. 9 Scatter plots of Ni and Ce concentrations versus Cr concentrations
measured by NAA in Rhodian amphorae and raw materials sampled in
North Rhodes: The clays have been homogenized, primarily refined and
Higher chromium concentrations, measured in raw materials,
could be certainly the result of incomplete refinement and
remaining accessory minerals, such as chromite (Fig. 4). The
low concentrations of other trace elements such as lanthanides
in the main group of raw materials, though, could be also an
indication that clays, used for amphora production, were po-
tentially mixed, as it is still practiced in traditional ceramic
manufacture on the island.
Good practice guide
Chemical ceramic provenance studies are based on the distinc-
tiveness of natural raw material sources for clay exploitation
in terms of their elemental composition. Assuming that pot-
tery workshops were using different raw material sources,
compositional differences among these sources have been
propagated into the ceramic compositions. In this case these
can accordingly be discriminated as well. The investigation of
local raw material deposits as potential sources for pottery
manufacture provides information about compositional vari-
ability of clays in particular regions. This concerns the expect-
able distinctiveness of clay pastes, which have been prepared
from those raw materials, and compositions or chemical
markers, which could possibly identify specific sources.
While the distinction of raw materials from different geolog-
ical contexts is commonly straightforward, the distinction of
raw materials belonging to the same or similar geological
context has proven to be occasionally more complicated. In
order to assess intra- and inter-source variability, in view of
the provenience postulate, series of raw material samples have
to be collected within individual deposits as well as from
deposits belonging to the same geological context.
For a thorough raw material study integrated in the frame-
work of ceramic provenance research in a particular region,
the following course of action can be suggested:
Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2020) 12:180
fired at 950 °C: Compositional groups of ceramics and raw materials are
indicated with different symbols and colours
1. Potential clay types used for pottery manufacture can be
characterized based on integrated ceramic analyses.
Elemental composition of the ceramics provides basic
information.
2. The available geological information about the region
should be surveyed, and potential raw material deposits
exhibiting the considered clay types should be identified.
3. The identification of infrastructure for ancient pottery
manufacture indicates the maximum distance to potential
raw material sources.
4. Information about local clay sources and practices of clay
paste preparation can be extracted from ethnographic
studies.
5. Based on the collected information raw materials can be
systematically surveyed and sampled in the field.
6. The raw materials should be subjected to a basic refine-
ment and clay paste preparation and they also can be fired
in order to remove water and carbon.
7. In view of comparison for the analysis of the raw mate-
rials, the same analytical method as for archaeological
ceramics should be applied.
8. Due to more or less extensive clay paste preparation, a
direct compositional concordance between archaeological
ceramics and raw materials commonly cannot be expect-
ed. If direct comparison of ceramic and clay compositions
is unsuccessful, the investigation should be focused on
specific element concentration ratios and chemical
markers.
Even though, direct assignment of archaeological ceramics
to extant raw material sources is not always possible, the re-
sults of raw material studies provide information about poten-
tial sources in the vicinity of pottery production sites. The
ranges of element concentrations, measured in raw materials,
after all confine the element concentrations, which can be
expected in locally manufactured ceramics. Apart from
Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2020) 12:180
absolute concentration ranges, chemical markers such as ra-
tios of specific element concentrations, which are related to
the geochemical environment, have proven to be propagated
in ceramic compositions. Comparison of elemental composi-
tions of ceramics and raw materials can also provide first
indications for particular practices of clay paste preparation.
However, for further investigating these practices, the integra-
tion of other analytical methods is necessary. Eventually, the
investigation of raw material sources should be an integral part
of case studies concerning local or regional ceramic
manufacture.
Acknowledgements Part of the raw material studies in the Eastern
Aegean Region were supported by the Institute of Aegean Prehistory
(INSTAP) in the framework of the project ‘Geochemical Survey of
Raw Materials in the Dodecanese in view of Pottery Production and
Provenance Studies’. In general, we would like to acknowledge the as-
sistance and advice by Greek potters concerning raw material surveys and
technological studies of clay utilization.
Authors’ contributions Not applicable.
Funding information Institute for Aegean Prehistory (INSTAP) –
Recipient: Anno Hein.
Data availability Data sharing is not applicable to this review article as no
new data were created or analysed in this study.
Compliance with ethical standards
Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of
interest.
Code availability Not applicable
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