The neolithic pottery of Rio Tana (Central Italy, Abruzzo): new data from the archaeometric investigations

This work aims to present the preliminary results obtained from the analysis of the pottery complex collect-ed at Rio Tana, a neolithic settlement (Petrinelli Pannocchia et al., 2022) located on the southeast terrace of the Fucino Basin (central Italy). The characteristics of this production reveal a strict connection with the Middle-Adriatic Impressed Ware (Bagolini & Von Eles, 1978). The complex is characterized by an abundance of coarse pottery products and simple shapes, among which the open types prevail. The incidence of decoration is scarce and obtained almost exclusively with engraved lines and plastic elements. To better define the technical aspects of this production, samples of sherds, chosen from various levels and areas of the site, were analyzed with a multi-analytical approach, including optical microscopy in thin sec-tion, X-ray powder diffraction, and Scanning Electron microscopy with microanalyses (Russe et al., 2022). The results reveal the existence of several pottery productions because of various manufacturing tech-niques, functional objectives, and cultural traditions.