Exploring pottery technology and mineralogical, petrographic and chemical composition at the Neolithic pile-dwelling site of Palù di Livenza in north-east Italy

Abstract

Palù di Livenza is a Neolithic pile-dwelling site located in north-east Italy, inscribed since 2011 on the World Heritage List of UNESCO in the transnational serial property “Prehistoric pile-dwellings around the Alps”. Its study is crucial for investigating the transition from the Recent to Late Neolithic periods in the region. Eighteen vessels from 5 structural phases, dated approximately between 4300/4200 and 3600 BC, have been analysed using X-ray computed microtomography, X-ray diffraction, inductively coupled plasma optical emission and mass spectrometry, as well as portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF), in order to investigate the pottery forming techniques, the technology and the provenance of the vessels based on their minero-petrographic and chemical characteristics. The results of pXRF analyses have been further evaluated through principal component analysis (PCA). The results obtained indicate that most of the vessels, including the four-spouted vessels typical of the Square Mouthed Pottery culture, were locally produced using the coiling technique. The vessels were tempered with carbonate material that has dissolved due to taphonomic factors and/or large fragments of other rocks originating form geological formations outcropping nearby the archaeological site. The identified fabric groups, in use throughout the entire duration of the settlement, seem to suggest that no significant technological changes occurred at the transition between Recent and Late Neolithic. Interestingly, the PCA analysis of reliable chemical elements revealed that, despite the overall similarity of the assemblage, certain samples with distinct chronology and typology demonstrate remarkably homogeneous chemical characteristics. This suggests slight variations in the raw materials and/or recipes used over time.