https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-025-06622-4
Regular Article
A comparative study on pottery raw materials in two late neolithic sites in Northern Jiangsu, China
1
School of History, Anhui University, 230039, Hefei, China
2
Bengbu Shuangdun Site National Archaeological Park Management Office, 233000, Bengbu, China
3
Nanjing Museum, 210016, Nanjing, China
Received:
22
April
2025
Accepted:
4
July
2025
Published online:
22
July
2025
This contribution presents a comparative study of pottery from the Wanbei and Qingliangang site of the late Neolithic period in northern Jiangsu Province, China. The pottery samples have been characterized using polarized light microscopy (PLM) for determining mineralogical and petrographic characteristics, X-ray diffraction (XRD) for mineralogical study, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and neutron activation analysis (NAA) for chemical analysis, and the dilatometry (DIL) device for measuring firing temperature. The petrographic and XRD analyses indicated that the fine pottery phase is predominantly composed of quartz and feldspar. In addition to quartz and feldspar, Wanbei tempered pottery also contains calcite, while Qingliangang tempered pottery includes muscovite. Wanbei fine pottery was fired at 960 °C, shell-tempered pottery at 600–700 °C, while Qingliangang pottery were below 850 °C. The compositional differences observed in major, minor, and trace elements, along with distinct firing temperatures, suggest a differentiated pottery-making technology at two Late Neolithic sites in northern Jiangsu. These findings not only enhance our understanding of the raw materials and techniques used in Late Neolithic pottery from northern Jiangsu, but they also provide evidence for exploring the communication and development among various sites during the Late Neolithic period.
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© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2025
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
