Analysis of Serra d'Alto figuline pottery (Matera, Italy): Characterization of the dark decorations using XRF

During the Middle Neolithic (between 5000 and 4500 cal. BCE) the Serra d'Alto Culture was particularly widespread in Matera's territory and in Apulia region. Serra d'Alto pottery wares consist both of a very fine yellow paste—called figuline—decorated with patterns in black, and of a medium/coarse paste. In this paper, the X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyses of 102 samples of black painted decorated figuline pottery are reported. We analyzed sherds from six archaeological sites of Matera's area: Serra d'Alto, Trasano, Setteponti, Tirlecchia and Pipistrelli's cave, and Funeraria cave. The results show that a black pigment based on manganese has been used for the decoration of each of the Serra d'Alto samples. The exclusive presence of this material suggests a deliberate technological choice and defines a regular characteristic of Serra d'Alto pottery manufacturing. This study is part of an interdisciplinary project on painted pottery in the central and southern Italy, from Early to the Middle Neolithic period.