Abstract

From prehistory into the present, ceramic materials are among the most prolific among finds in any archaeological excavation. Their relative abundance and durability in the archaeological record have made them irreplaceable as a means of establishing site chronology, inferring trade patterns and studying the crafting methods and traditions of a culture’s artisans. While the literature on macroscopic studies of archaeological ceramics is expansive in scope and scale, the same cannot generally be said of microscopic methodologies of ceramic materials. New innovations in the field of archaeometry, or archaeological science, are allowing modern scholars to collect more data from smaller and smaller assemblages. This paper will seek to introduce how archaeometry is being utilised in conjunction with archaeological ceramics to create a more complete picture of the past. Speficially, this paper will focus on the select usage of microscopy (SEM-EDS), spectroscopy (pXRF and FTIR ) and petrography on ceramic assemblages from Late Chalcolithic (4500-3100 BCE ) Tell Brak and Imperial Roman (early 1st to late 2nd Century CE) Central Italy.