Insight into the provenance and clustering of Middle Chalcolithic Ceramics from Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari, Iran: Using petrographic and ICP-OES analysis

The present study investigated the similarities in appearance and style from the Middle Chalcolithic Ceramics (MCC) (ca. 5000–3800 cal. B.C.E.) in the Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari region, Iran, to those from Khuzestan and Fars. A multi-analytical approach was used to determine whether the resemblance of painted buff ware from Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari could be distinguished from the two neighboring regions based upon their stylistic preferences, technologies, and subsequent local production or not. A total number of 32 sherds, collected from the surface of the Middle Chalcolithic (MC) sites of the Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari, Khuzestan, and Fars regions, were examined petrographically. Ten of these underwent further geochemical fingerprinting via inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The study could obtain details on manufacturing technologies or go beyond general descriptions of fabric groups and their relationships towards geological formations in the area concerned to determine their provenance. This analysis was also determined whether this kind of ceramic was native or had been imported into the area by nomads. Based on the results, ceramics had been locally produced based upon their chemical fingerprint. Moreover, metric analyses demonstrated the dispersed nature of the ceramic industry in the Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari region during the MC Age, suggesting that household production, influenced by the Susiana and Tall-i Bakün cultures was much more dominant.