Petrographic and electron studies of cypriot white slip ware (late bronze age)

摘要

The Cypriot White Slip Ware is the most spectacular production of Late Bronze Age ceramics found on the Island of Cyprus and in Near Eastern Mediterranean areas. Numerous studies have resulted in the definition of three major chronological types : "proto", I and II, followed by a low quality material with a brown micaceous aspect. Detailed microscopic and punctual chemical analysis using the electron microprobe allow one to distinguish four constituant elements of the ceramic materials - clays in the body of the ware and the mineral identity of the tempering agents, clays in the slip material and the grits of the slip. Using these four elements one can distinguish several different types of manufacturing process within the archaeological groups of the White Slip Ware. It is hoped that such subdivisions could lead to an identification of the origin of manufacture of an individual potsherd.