THE APPLICATION OF SYNCHROTRON-BASED NON-DESTRUCTIVE ANALYSES OF CULTURAL MATERIALS: NEW INSIGHTS TO NEGATIVE PAINTED POTTERY MANUFACTURING AT THE ANGEL MOUNDS SITE

The use of non-destructive techniques such as synchrotron-based in-situ micro-X-ray fluorescence (XRF) mapping and micro-X-ray Adsorption Spectroscopy (XAS) is able to provide previously unknown insights on manufacturing techniques of cultural materials. These may include diagnostic ceramic sherds or sherds with unique features that are present in a collection in limited numbers. An example would be Mississippian-aged (A.D. 1000 – 1500) negative painted pottery (NPP), characterized by its black-on-red (BoR) or black-on-buff (BoB) surface treatment. There has been a great deal of speculation on how the surface treatment was produced but these samples are rarely available for destructive analysis. Thus the aim of this study was to examine the surface treatment and paste of a piece of BoR and BoB NPP from Angel Mounds site implementing synchrotron-based micro-XRF and micro-XAS. Preliminary results indicate that the surface treatment of the BoB ceramic may actually be more similar to a "slip" based on the distinct chemical differences between it and the paste material which corresponds to a clear visual boundary between the two. However the color and chemical composition of the surface treatment of the BoR grades from the surface to the paste material.