ARCHAEOMETRICAL ANALYSIS OF NEOLITHIC POTTERY AND COMPARISON TO POTENTIAL SOURCES OF RAW MATERIALS IN THE IMMEDIATE ENVIRONMENT OF THE SETTLEMENTS - A FIRST SUMMARY OF THE MÖB-DAAD EXCHANGE PROGRAM

The project we give an account about is the second archaeometrical research project between the Tubingen University and the Hungarian National Museum, with contributions from Institute for Geochemical Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Isotopes, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Geochemical Research Institute, Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. The first project (2001-2002), initiated by Judit Zoldfoldi, was centred on the study of Roman marble and yielded important data on decorative stones of the Roman empire within the Carpathian Basin (Zoldfoldi et al. 2004). The second project focussed on pottery, notably the earliest pottery production at various parts of Hungary. New excavation material from different geographical and geological environment was selected. Apart from pottery proper, we have investigated soil samples from the site environs and the closest likely sources of highquality potter's clay. In two field seasons, altogether 10 sites were sampled by shallow hand-drilled boreholes. The collected sediments as well as representative number of Early Neolithic, Middle Neolithic and Copper Age sherds were investigated by petrographical, mineralogical and geochemical methods. As a result, we could get an overview on the variety of earliest prehistoric pottery, regional differences and production techniques. We could compare ceramics, daub and local sediments and define different strategies of pottery production and give a reference library of data for further studies on pottery petrography. An overview of the project is presented here. KULCSSZAVAK: ARCHEOMETRIA, KERAMIA, NYERSANYAG, KORA NEOLITIKUM, MAGYARORSZAG