Investigation of Neolithic ceramic pigments using synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction

Crystalline phases present in pigments scratched off the surfaces of some decorated ceramic sherds belonging to the Cucuteni Neolithic culture were successfully identified using synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction at Daresbury Laboratory. The ceramic sherds were selected from a collection of the National Museum of Romanian History in Bucharest. The synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the black-color pigments on the surface of a number of sherds were produced by a variety of jacobsite Fe2MnO4 phases; magnetite Fe3O4 was also found in one of the sherds. The red color was derived from clay slips with a high content of hematite Fe2O3 . Calcite CaCO3 was found in the white pigments; its presence was explained as being related to postburial deposition processes. Conclusions on technological aspects, provenance, and conservation issues are given. © 2008 International Centre for Diffraction Data. DOI: 10.1154/1.2958068