MRS, µEDXRF and FTIR-ATR analysis of white paste inlays in Bronze Age pottery from the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula: the case of Peñalosa (Jaén, Spain)

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to characterise the composition and manufacturing techniques of the white paste inlays in the Bronze Age pottery decorations on the eastern Iberian Peninsula, using as a case study the Argaric archaeological site of Peñalosa (Baños de la Encina, Jaén, Spain). The determination of the characteristics and manufacture of these pastes required the application of analytical techniques such as micro-Raman spectroscopy (MRS), micro X-ray fluorescence (µEDXRF) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR), as well as reference materials. This methodology made it possible to distinguish two types of production in this enclave: one with bone and the other with kaolinite. The coexistence of different manufacturing techniques had already been corroborated in other Bronze Age contexts in Europe and the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. We were also able to determine that, in the case of paste made with bone, the temperatures would have reached 800°C, making it possible to link the use of calcined deer antlers with the manufacture of these decorations.