2020/05/01 by Mary F. Ownby, Matts Myhrman · 1 voice
Computer Science · Arts and Humanities · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Geochemistry and Geologic Mapping #Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis #Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
paper · doi:10.1080/00231940.2020.1756094
openalex publication_date 2020/05/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2025/11/06
Broadline Purple-on-red pottery, dated to the Tortolita Phase (AD 500–700), is notable as one of the earliest decorated wares in the Tucson Basin. This ware is also unique for its sparkly “purple” paint made with ground specular hematite. Such material is available in the Tucson Mountains, but whether it was exploited for the production of Broadline Purple-on-red vessels is unknown. Our experimental work suggested these sources could be used to make paint nearly identical to that on the vessels. Petrographic analysis was employed to confirm production of Broadline Purple-on-red pottery in the Tucson Basin, which was previously lacking. Laser ablation inductively coupled mass spectrometry was utilized to chemically characterize specular hematite rocks and the paint on four sherds of Broadline Purple-on-red. The results indicate compositional discrimination between rock sources, but difficulties in connecting these data to those for the paint, which is often thin and likely combined with a clay binder.