Thanks to established collaborations with colleagues across various colleges at ANU, IPORG members have access to a wide range of analytical techniques that allow us to extract as much information as possible from pottery.
Our research focuses on the following key aspects:
A) The use(s) of pottery – Identifying the content of the vessels via organic residue analysis (lipids)
B) Provenancing – Determining possible sources of raw materials through chemical and mineralogical analysis
C) Manufacturing techniques – Identifying pottery-making methods based on the attributes of mineral grains and pores
D) Surface treatments – Examining surface treatments (e.g. burnishing, slip, paint) using polarised microscopy
Our research focuses on the following key aspects:
A) The use(s) of pottery – Identifying the content of the vessels via organic residue analysis (lipids)
B) Provenancing – Determining possible sources of raw materials through chemical and mineralogical analysis
C) Manufacturing techniques – Identifying pottery-making methods based on the attributes of mineral grains and pores
D) Surface treatments – Examining surface treatments (e.g. burnishing, slip, paint) using polarised microscopy
IPORG researchers are proficient in:
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Thin-Section Petrography is used for the analysis and characterisation of ceramic fabrics. It provides mineral compositional and micro-structural data necessary for the investigation of questions relating to pottery provenance, technology, production, and distribution. LA-ICPMS enables rapid and precise multi-element analysis across a wide range of elements with very low detection limits. Portable X-ray Fluorescence (pXRF) is a non-destructive technique able to yield a bulk chemical composition for major and some trace elements |
Lipid analysis via GCMS and GCcIRMS to identify foods cooked or stored in pottery. X-Ray diffraction (XRD) for mineral identification and quantification. Microtomography (microCT) is a non-destructive method able to provide 3D models (surfaces + internal structures) with resolutions down to less than 20 microns. SEM-EDS and QEMSCAN is useful to analyse specific mineral grains and for systematic mineralogical mapping of the sample area. |
