Technology and production of painted pottery at Mahtoutabad, southeastern Iran, in the late 5th– early 4th millennia BCE
Abstract
Abstract This study focuses on the analysis of painted pottery from the earliest levels of the site of Mahtoutabad (Mahtoutabad I), located in the Halil Rud valley (Kerman province, south-eastern Iran), dated to the late 5th-early 4th millennium BCE. The majority of the pottery presents remarkable polychrome decoration combining black, red, and white colors. This study aims to reconstruct the technological characteristics of this ware, so far unique in the area, combining macroscopic investigation with scientific techniques for a holistic understanding. The ceramic body is analyzed using ceramic petrography, X-Ray Fluorescence and X-Ray Powder Diffraction, while the painted coatings using micro-X-Ray Diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with Energy-Dispersive Spectrometry (SEM–EDS), and micro-X-Ray Fluorescence. This study offers the first systematic technological investigation of Mahtoutabad I pottery, one of the earliest investigated polychrome productions. It provides insights into the pottery production in the wider area and reveals inter- and intra-regional connections across time in the Chalcolithic period.
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