Combined studies on glazed ceramic bodies from the Middle and Neo Elamite periods (1500-539 BCE)

Abstract Elam is the name for a civilization that was closely related to Mesopotamia. Elamites have chosen specialized names for different types of ceramics, which indicates the specialization of the production of ceramic materials during the Elam era. The Elamites were the first people to use glazed ceramics on the Iranian Plateau. In the present study, 34 samples of glazed ceramic bodies from the Middle Elam and New Elam periods were selected for investigation. The purpose of these analyses, obtained from the first glazed ceramic bodies in Iran, was to compare ceramic bodies with each other since this approach can be useful for understanding the types of production techniques used by Elamites in the Middle Elamite and New Elamite periods. For this purpose, ceramic bodies were first studied through X-ray diffraction. Then, according to the mineralogical characteristics, twelve samples were selected for petrographic study. As the chemical composition of the samples is an important parameter for characterizing these materials, EPMA was also performed on the samples. Based on the experimental data, the samples can be divided into four different groups. What seemed important in this categorization is the variety of Neo-Elamite samples. The diversity of the ceramic bodies of Neo-Elam was due to two main reasons. First, the technique of making glazed ceramic bodies was more diverse during the Neo-Elam period than during the Middle Elam period; second, the trade and import of glazed ceramics from other regions to the southwest of Iran were more frequent during the Neo-Elamite period than during the Middle Elam period. In the Middle Elam era, only quartz-based ceramic bodies were mentioned, which was different from the case for other samples.