Archaeometric Investigations on the Production and Distribution of Hittite Ceramics

• Applicant: Dr. Mustafa Kibaroglu
• Subject Area: Prehistory and World Archaeology
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 457720571

The Hittite Empire of the late Bronze Age was one of the major powers in the ancient Near East during the second millennium BC. Questions concerning the economy and economic organization of the Hittites are largely based on historical research. Archaeology has so far received very limited attention in exploring these questions. The focus of archaeological research was mainly on important raw materials such as metals; thus, research on Hittite ceramics is an exception. Investigating the production and distribution of ceramics, which is one of the most common archaeological material groups, offers the possibility of obtaining valuable information on the questions related to the economy and economic history of the Hittite empire in Anatolia. However, many of these questions are inefficiently answered by the available archaeological records and the methods used. This is particularly true for the distribution of ceramics, which is difficult to ascertain by means of archaeology. The only possible way to tackle this problem is through the extensive archaeometric study of Hittite ceramics and local clay samples from the sites using chemical and petrographic-mineralogical methods. Therefore, the main objective of the proposed project is to establish a solid basis for provenance identification of the Hittite ceramics using chemical and petrographic-mineralogical techniques. To this end, selected ceramic samples from the important Hittite settlements in Central Anatolia will be analyzed archaeometrically and archaeologically. The aim is to analyze all the Hittite ceramic types as well as local clay sources available in the vicinity of each site using archaeometric methods. The exploration of the surface geology and application of appropriate analytical methods play a critical role in this. Therefore, a combination of different methods such as LA-ICP-MS (Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry), petrography, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscope (SEM) will be applied to answer questions of technological characterization, standardization, and provenance of different Hittite ceramics. Finally, the overall results of the investigation will be interpreted in the archaeological context, particularly in terms of economic history, by taking into account the socio-political relations in Hittite society.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants