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Evolution of the ceramic production at the Alpine site of Castel de Pedena: technology and innovation between the Recent Bronze Age and the early Iron Age

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Abstract

Castel de Pedena (northeastern Italy) was a hillfort settlement located in the Venetian Prealps at 680 m above the sea level, in a position that likely conferred upon it a linking role between the Venetian plain and the Alpine areas. The first occupation of the area is dated to the Early Bronze Age, and continues, although intermittently, until the early phase of the Iron Age. The analysis of its Recent Bronze Age to Iron Age pottery assemblage has underlined the use of different recipes for the ceramic production over time. Variations in the raw material selection, clay processing choices, and firing conditions demonstrate a significant shift in the ceramic technology, and therefore, in the potters technological habits.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Soprintendenza Archeologica per il Veneto for providing the samples analyzed here. They are also very grateful to J. Perry who revised the English text.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Archaeology, University of Sheffield, Northgate House, West Street, Sheffield, S1 4ET, UK

    Marta Tenconi

  2. Department of Geosciences, University of Padova, Via G. Gradenigo 6, 35131, Padova, Italy

    Lara Maritan & Claudio Mazzoli

  3. Department of Cultural Heritage: Archaeology and History of Art, Cinema and Music, University of Padova, Piazza Capitaniato 7, 35139, Padova, Italy

    Valentina Donadel, Anna Angelini & Giovanni Leonardi

Authors
  1. Marta Tenconi
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  2. Lara Maritan
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  3. Valentina Donadel
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  4. Anna Angelini
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  5. Giovanni Leonardi
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  6. Claudio Mazzoli
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Correspondence to Marta Tenconi.

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Online Resource. 1

Geochemical composition of the clay and silt sediments obtained through XRF. Major elements expressed as wt% of oxides, trace elements as ppm (DOCX 13 kb)

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Tenconi, M., Maritan, L., Donadel, V. et al. Evolution of the ceramic production at the Alpine site of Castel de Pedena: technology and innovation between the Recent Bronze Age and the early Iron Age. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 9, 965–984 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-016-0346-8

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