Archaeological and Archaeometric Investigations of Acemhöyük Faience and Frit Artefacts
1İstanbul Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi, Arkeoloji Bölümü, İstanbul/TÜRKİYE
2Emekli Öğretim Üyesi, Ankara/TÜRKİYE
Keywords: Acemhöyük, Colony Period, Early Bronze Age, faience, colourants
Abstract
This study investigates the faience and frit artefacts of Acemhöyük (Aksaray, Turkey) dated to the Early Bronze Age and Assyrian Trading Colonies Period, when vitreous materials were among the rare materials within Anatolia and its neighbouring regions. The chemical compositions and use of colourants are determined with the aid of portable X-ray fluorescence (p-XRF). Archaeometric analysis demonstrates the use of copper and manganese for blue and black colours, respectively. The results of the elemental analysis suggest at least two different workshops for the Acemhöyük vitreous materials. The archaeological and archaeometric data strongly support the existence of an Anatolian workshop for vitreous materials in the early Second Millennium BC.