Fig 1.
All radiocarbon dates currently available for Copper Age Campania, calibrated with OxCal Intcal 20, at 2σ, colour coded by cultural tradition with indication of the main volcanic events, red lines (right).
A-MS: Agnano Monte Spina eruption 4420 ± 58 BP; 3335–2913 cal BC 2σ [73]; AP: Avellino Pumices Avellino Pumices 3546 ± 17 BP; 1944−1779 cal. BC 2σ [74].
Fig 2.
Main pottery types attested for Copper Age Campania.
A. Final Neolithic/Initial Copper Age from Paestum and Pontecagnano; B. Early Copper Age from Sala Consilina, phase I; C. Early/Middle Copper Age from Paestum Gaudo cemetery: D. Late Copper Age Laterza from Paestum; Final Copper Age from Atena Lucana. By permission of the Ministry of Culture, Direzione Regionale Musei Nazionali Campania.
Table 1.
Chronology of the sites and contexts analysed.
Fig 3.
Distribution of the main sites (shaded dots) currently known for Copper Age Campania.
Pinpointed sites analysed in the present study: 1. Paestum: 2. Pontecagnano; 3. Sala Consilina; 4. Atena Lucana. The map was created using TINITALY DEM91 available at https://doi.org/10.13127/TINITALY/1.0 under CC BY 4.0 license, Europe outline was constructed using “Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com” available at https://www.naturalearthdata.com/downloads/10m-raster-data/. Both maps were modified using the Free and Open Source GIMP 3.0 available at https://www.gimp.org/.
Table 2.
N. of samples analysed per site.
Fig 4.
Occurrence of vessel types in the four sites investigated.
Early to Final Copper Age, earlier and later periods are not taken into consideration.
Table 3.
Summary table of the main technological macroscopic observations undertaken on the ceramic assemblage analysed, organised by chronology/cultural tradition.
Fig 5.
Technological traces related to vessel shaping detected on the analysed samples.
1.Paestum Agorà I; 2, 8 and 7 Paestum Gaudo cemetery; 6 Paestum Cerere; 12 Paestum Agorà II; 4, 10 Pontecagnano Anas; 3, 9, 13-15 Pontecagnano Gaudo cemetery; 5, 11 Sala Consilina phase I. Images out of scale. By permission of the Italian Ministry of Culture. Direzione Regionale Musei Nazionali Campania.
Table 4.
Summary table of the main petrographic fabrics detected. Organised by site and chronology/cultural tradition.
Fig 6.
Microphotographs of selected pottery representative the 7 main fabrics and petrographic loners.
1. Quartz sand; 2. Quartz sand and grog; 3. Grog; 4. Grog bimodal; 5. Quartz metamorphic; 6. Volcanic; 7. Organics. Petrographic loners: 8. Argillaceous rock fragments; 9. Chert; 10. Carbonatic sand; 11. Carbonatic; 12. Carbonatic and organics; 13. Carbonatic and sedimentary; 14. Sedimentary; 15. Mudstones; 16. Fine calcareous; 17. Fine quartz; 18. Bioclasts.
Fig 7.
Statistical treatments by PCA of geochemical data of the samples grouped by the main fabrics.
A: PCA; B: loading plot with contribution; C: scree plot of the first ten components; D: samples grouped by site..
Fig 8.
Bivariate plot of La/Sc and Cr/Th ratios.
The samples from are colour coded by site (left) and by main fabric (right).
Fig 9.
Comparison of geochemical data with other local Greco-Roman pottery and clays.
Compositional groups of all samples analysed from the present study compared with later coarse Greco-Roman pottery from Paestum and Pontecagnano (blue and pink areas) and clay raw materials from the Sele River Plain [134].
Fig 10.
Continuity and change in ceramic production during the Copper Age in Campania in relation to chronology and cultural traditions.
Key: + innovation; – abandonment; | continuity.
Fig 11.
Visual representation of the cultural domains and communities of practice analysed for Copper Age Campania.
Table 5.
Main stages of the chaîne opératoire attested in the 3 contexts directly radiocarbon dated taken into consideration in the present research.
Fig 12.
Overview of the ceramic chaines operatoires detected in the radiocarbon dated contexts.
Sites of Paestum, tomb IX, Sala Consilina, phase II tombs 1073 and 1076, and Atena Lucana, based on the samples that underwent both macroscopic and archaeometric analyses. Keys: Sc = Scaled; R = Rough; RS = Roughly Smoothed; AS = Accurately Smoothed; B = Burnished; SB = Smoothed/Burnished; REDOX = Reducing; IRR = Irregular; BC = Black Core; OX = Oxidising.
Fig 13.
Major trends recognised in ceramic production in relation to chronology, cultural tradition and cultural processes at a regional and broader scale.