Physicochemical characterisation of pottery from the Vinca culture, Serbia, regarding the firing temperature and decoration techniques

A study of decorated Neolithic pottery samples from excavation site Plocnik, Serbia, was performed using X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy. Investigated samples belong to the era of the Vinca culture which existed at the central Balkan region from mid VI until the first half of V millennium BCE. The mineralogical composition of pottery samples and comparison of investigated pottery with thermally treated local clay indicated firing temperature in the range from 600 to 800?C. Two different types of white pigments have been identified in white incrusted decorations: calcium carbonate and Bone White (composed of crushed bones). This is the first evidence of use of bones for decorations in Vinca culture pottery from excavation site Plocnik. In addition to this, it was revealed that the potters used the iron reduction technique for obtaining the black decorations.