Preliminary Results of Laboratory Analyses from Survey Materials

Preliminary analysis of the survey ceramics collected at our waypoint locations was conducted in the fall of 1998. Diagnostic sherds were designated as fragments of vessel rims, bases, handles, spouts, and spindle whorls. Some diagnostic sherds included vessel bodies with incised designs. This large collection of survey ceramics of the Talgar fan will form the basis for designing a typology of ceramic types from the Bronze Age through Medieval periods. A rough estimate of the diagnostic pottery counts (roughly 300 fragments) suggests that about 80 percent of the ceramics collected from the survey was from the Iron Age, less than 20 percent of ceramics came from the Medieval and Bronze Age periods. Preliminary analyses indicate several trends. The Iron Age ceramics are well-fired, more typical of an oxidized firing atmosphere. The ceramic paste has a high iron content. The inclusions consist primarily of crushed granite with a small percentage of organic materials such as plant and animal dung material. A few sherds have been identified as red and cream slipped wares. The majority are red wares. The vessel forms show a much higher number of utility ceramics such as storage vessels (humcha), as well as the usual jars, cooking vessels, and bowls.

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