This paper aims to re-evaluate the diagnostic significance of the Dark Burnished Ware in the Thra... more This paper aims to re-evaluate the diagnostic significance of the Dark Burnished Ware in the Thracian Early Neolithic (first half of the sixth millennium BC). It focuses on the dark surface burnished ware produced in the southeast of Thrace and particularly in the Middle Maritsa Valley. There is a noticeable difference between the dark surface ware produced in the different parts of Upper Thrace. In the west and north parts of the region, it is characterized by dark brown and dark grayish surfaces respectively, and by conservative non-painted decoration techniques. The assemblages in the Middle Maritsa Valley include mostly black and brown-black burnished ware in greater amounts compared to the rest of Upper Thrace. Multiple decoration techniques were used in the latter part of Thrace, some of which can be considered closely associated with the dark burnished ware. The dark burnished ware production in the Middle Maritsa Valley has been attested since the very beginning of the Neolithic in amounts close to, and later even greater than, the red slipped ware. The role of the Maritsa Valley as a communication route is of particular interest in regards to the origins and distribution of the dark burnished ware production, as it most probably facilitated the early contacts between Upper Thrace and the neighboring areas to the south and southeast.
40 potsherds and five other fired clay fragments from the prehistoric site of Nova Nadezhda in Bu... more 40 potsherds and five other fired clay fragments from the prehistoric site of Nova Nadezhda in Bulgarian Thrace were analysed by archaeometric techniques. Twenty sherds and a daub fragment were analysed in thin section by optical microscopy; these thin sections, and thick sections of a further 24 sherds were also analysed by SEM-EDX. Results were used to describe the Early Neolithic chaîne opératoire at Nova Nadezhda, which was then compared to pottery production in roughly contemporaneous Starčevo-Criş communities in the central Balkans, to shed light on the Neolithisation process that took place in the 6th millennium BC. A variety of ceramic recipes was used to make different vessel shapes. Analyses of surface coatings were particularly enlightening in terms of provenance and the organisation of pottery production.
This paper aims to re-evaluate the diagnostic significance of the Dark Burnished Ware in the Thra... more This paper aims to re-evaluate the diagnostic significance of the Dark Burnished Ware in the Thracian Early Neolithic (first half of the sixth millennium BC). It focuses on the dark surface burnished ware produced in the southeast of Thrace and particularly in the Middle Maritsa Valley. There is a noticeable difference between the dark surface ware produced in the different parts of Upper Thrace. In the west and north parts of the region, it is characterized by dark brown and dark grayish surfaces respectively, and by conservative non-painted decoration techniques. The assemblages in the Middle Maritsa Valley include mostly black and brown-black burnished ware in greater amounts compared to the rest of Upper Thrace. Multiple decoration techniques were used in the latter part of Thrace, some of which can be considered closely associated with the dark burnished ware. The dark burnished ware production in the Middle Maritsa Valley has been attested since the very beginning of the Neolithic in amounts close to, and later even greater than, the red slipped ware. The role of the Maritsa Valley as a communication route is of particular interest in regards to the origins and distribution of the dark burnished ware production, as it most probably facilitated the early contacts between Upper Thrace and the neighboring areas to the south and southeast.
40 potsherds and five other fired clay fragments from the prehistoric site of Nova Nadezhda in Bu... more 40 potsherds and five other fired clay fragments from the prehistoric site of Nova Nadezhda in Bulgarian Thrace were analysed by archaeometric techniques. Twenty sherds and a daub fragment were analysed in thin section by optical microscopy; these thin sections, and thick sections of a further 24 sherds were also analysed by SEM-EDX. Results were used to describe the Early Neolithic chaîne opératoire at Nova Nadezhda, which was then compared to pottery production in roughly contemporaneous Starčevo-Criş communities in the central Balkans, to shed light on the Neolithisation process that took place in the 6th millennium BC. A variety of ceramic recipes was used to make different vessel shapes. Analyses of surface coatings were particularly enlightening in terms of provenance and the organisation of pottery production.
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