A new study published in PLOS ONE combines typological, petrographic and lipid remnant analyses of Iron Age funerary ceramics from the Iranian Plateau to better understand their manufacture and use prior to deposition in tombs.
The POTIRAN project “POttery Typology of an IRon Age Necropolis in Iran”) was carried out as part of a post-doctoral invitation by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS, (ID N ̊PE23019) research grants, hosted at the Tokyo University Museum in Japan. The study was based on the museum’s collections from Japanese excavations carried out in the 1960s.
New radiocarbon measurements have established the chronology of tombs at the Ghalekuti site in Iran’s Dailaman province between the 2nd and 1st millennia BC. Typological studies carried out a few years ago showed a diversity of forms and raw materials, with a notable stylistic and manufacturing evolution (color, paste, degreaser…) between the Iron Age I, II and III periods. New petrographic analyses have completed the information on manufacture, revealing at least 6 types of paste, one of which would be suitable for cooking food.
Lipid residue analyses showed that all the ceramics had contained botanical and/or animal products, both dairy and carcass products, before being deposited in the tombs. Links were made between the shapes and use of certain products, notably the use of narrow-necked, tubular-spouted jars for botanical products, which were used in liquid form, and spouted bowls for dairy products. All the spouted vessels revealed a use suggesting that libation rituals (pouring of liquid or seed) may have played an important role in funerary rituals.
Reference: Casanova, E., Miki, T., Miyata, Y., et Nishiaki, Y. 2024. Unravelling the Function of Funerary Pottery Vessels of the 2nd-1st Millennia BC in the Dailaman Province (Iran) through Typology, Petrography, and Organic Residue Analyses. PLOS ONE 19, 9: e0306647. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0306647
