Mississippi State University Scholars Junction Theses and Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 1-1-2018 Petrographic Analysis of Prehistoric Pottery found in the Shkodër Region of Northern Albania by the Shkodra Archaeological Project (PASH) Anisa Mara Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td Recommended Citation Mara, Anisa, "Petrographic Analysis of Prehistoric Pottery found in the Shkodër Region of Northern Albania by the Shkodra Archaeological Project (PASH)" (2018). Theses and Dissertations. 3517. https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/3517 This Graduate Thesis - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Scholars Junction. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholars Junction. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Template A v3.0 (beta): Created by J. Nail 06/2015 Petrographic analysis of prehistoric pottery found in the Shkodër region of northern Albania by the Shkodra Archaeological Project (PASH) By Anisa Mara A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Mississippi State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Applied Anthropology in the Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures Mississippi State, Mississippi August 2018 Copyright by Anisa Mara 2018 Petrographic analysis of prehistoric pottery found in the Shkodër region of northern Albania by the Shkodra Archaeological Project (PASH) By Anisa Mara Approved: ____________________________________ Evan Peacock (Major Professor) ____________________________________ Michael L. Galaty (Committee Member) ____________________________________ James W. Hardin (Committee Member) ____________________________________ Lorenc Bejko (Committee Member) ____________________________________ David M. Hoffman (Graduate Coordinator) ____________________________________ Rick Travis Dean College of Arts & Sciences Name: Anisa Mara Date of Degree: August 10, 2018 Institution: Mississippi State University Major Field: Applied Anthropology Major Professor: Evan Peacock Title of Study: Petrographic analysis of prehistoric pottery found in the Shkodër region of northern Albania by the Shkodra Archaeological Project (PASH) Pages in Study 182 Candidate for Degree of Master of Arts Pottery, as an artifact, is often used as evidence of exchange patterns among groups during prehistory. This research incorporates paradigmatic classification and petrography to answer questions related to provenience, production mode, and exchange patterns of handmade prehistoric pottery from Gajtan, Zagorë, Kodër Boks, Tumuli 088 and 099 in Shkodër, in Northern Albania. Pottery samples analyzed in this study were collected from test excavations by the Shkodra Archaeological Project (PASH). The results yielded evidence that the area has sufficient local clay sources and other easily accessible natural resources to produce pottery in a domestic mode. Gajtan and Zagorë appeared as two distinct entities, but the former settlement seems to have played a dominant role as a production and distribution center within the region. Results from this study indicate that pots appear to have played an important socio-economic role in northern Albania, across time and space. DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my mother. With the present paper, I have fulfilled her life-long dream. She could not continue school herself because, during the era of communism in Albania, only the first-born child could go to university. “ii” ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The work for this thesis was carried out during 2016-2017. It is a pleasure to thank and express my appreciation to those who made the completion of this research possible. I am thankful to my professors, family, friends, and colleagues for their support over the years. Without their advice and encouragement, this thesis would not have been possible to complete. Foremost, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to my former major professor Dr. Michael L. Galaty. He has provided continuous support with his patience, motivation, and knowledge during my thesis research. Without his advice, this thesis would not have been finished. I owe my deep gratitude to my major professor Dr. Evan Peacock. I have developed a different perspective on my professional experience, especially in critical thinking, from mentoring by him during my time at Mississippi State. Thanks to Drs. James M. Hardin and Lorenc Bejko for keeping me motivated and for their feedback on my work. Many thanks also go to the PASH project and its staff for allowing me access to material, providing thin sections, and clear documentation of the potsherds I analyzed. Also, thank you to Cobb Institute of Archaeology for allowing me access to the Robert C. Dunnell Archaeometry Laboratory at Mississippi State University (MSU). In this lab, I was able to complete my point counting analysis under the microscope. Also, many iii thanks go to Dr. Rinat Gabitov for allowing me to access microscopes at the Department of Geoscience Laboratory at MSU for qualitative examination of the pottery samples. Also, I take this opportunity to express my warmest regards to my family members. Thanks to my parents for their motivation and emotional and economic support. Thanks to my brother and sister for trusting and caring about me throughout the years of my studies. In Starkville, I found a second family, thanks to Donika, Ardi, Iva, Alex, and Sylvia: Albanian friends, thanks for all the driving and encouragement. Finally, I am indebted to my many friends, especially my best friend Zhaneta Gjyshja; thank you for always being there for physical and moral support. The discussions during the sleepless nights and the adventures during the last ten years have been incredible. I hope that great archaeological projects will come in your future. Thanks to Dr. Enkeleida Goga Beqiraj and Nikoll Kaza for providing me information about the geology of Albania. Thanks to all the graduate students and faculty members in the Department of Anthropology & Middle Eastern Cultures; they made my experience in the United States a lot easier and unforgettable. “ii”) iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION .................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ vii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................1 II. PROBLEM STATEMENT ...................................................................................4 III. THEORETICAL APPROACH .............................................................................9 IV. ENVIRONMENTAL SETTINGS ......................................................................22 V. SITE INFORMATION AND THE STUDY SAMPLE......................................31 Gajtan-Site 011 ....................................................................................................35 Zagorë-Site 015 ...................................................................................................39 Kodër Boks-Site 007 ...........................................................................................41 Tumuli .................................................................................................................41 Sample Selection .................................................................................................44 VI. LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................................51 VII. ANALYTICAL METHODOLOGY ...................................................................55 Pottery classification ...........................................................................................55 Petrography ..........................................................................................................60 VIII. RESULTS ...........................................................................................................73 Multiple Correspondence Analysis .....................................................................73 Quantitative Analysis ..........................................................................................82 Qualitative Examination ......................................................................................95 IX. DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSION ............................................................109 v REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... 119 APPENDIX A. MACROSCOPIC DESCRIPTION OF POTTERY ..........................................133 B. EXCEL SPREADSHEET WITH QUANTITATIVE DATA OBTAINED THROUGH POINT COUNTING ...................................181 vi LIST OF TABLES 1 Relative chronologies for Albania expressed in absolute dates. .......................................4 2 Clay sources in the Shkodra and surrounding regions and their distances from Gajtan. ..................................................................................................27 3 Study sites with totals and percentages of potsherds analyzed