TECHNOLOGICAL FEATURES OF THE CHALCOLITHIC POTTERY FROM TÂRPEȘTI (NEAMȚ COUNTY, EASTERN ROMANIA)

Abstract

The technological parameters of representative pottery samples attributed to Precucuteni (5050-4600 cal BC)

and Cucuteni (4600-3500 cal BC) cultures identified at Târpești (Neamț County, Eastern Romania) were

determined using a complex archaeometric approach. The site is located in the north-eastern part of the

present-day Romania occupying a small plateau situated in a hilly region. In order to evaluate the raw

materials and the firing process we have used optical microscopy (OM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD)

and magnetic measurements. Further on, the XRPD data were statistically treated using hierarchical cluster

analysis (HCA) taking into account position and peak intensity, the Euclidian distance as metric and the

average linkage method as a linkage basis for gaining a more refined estimation of the mineralogical

transformations induced by the firing process and for defining homogenous group of samples. Based on the

multivariate statistical analysis we could determine the most representative sample from each group, which

was disccussed separately in order to identify the specific mineral phases responsible for the separate

grouping. In addition, the mineralogical transformations were investigated by measuring the magnetic

properties, especially the major hysteresis loop (MHL) of the pottery samples. All the Precucuteni pottery

falls within the same group with some of the Cucuteni pottery samples due to the similar firing temperature

range, while the other group containes only Cucuteni A pottery which were exposed to a higher

temperature. Besides the similarities in the firing regime, our results revealed afinities in the raw material

selection and processing between the Precucuteni pottery and some of the Cucuteni samples.