Page "Ceramic" Paragraph 37

The technical approach to ceramic analysis involves a finer examination of the composition of ceramic artifacts and sherds to determine the source of the material and through this the possible manufacturing site.

Key criteria are the composition of the clay and the temper used in the manufacture of the article under study: temper is a material added to the clay during the initial production stage, and it is used to aid the subsequent drying process.

Types of temper include shell pieces, granite fragments and ground sherd pieces called ' grog '.

Temper is usually identified by microscopic examination of the temper material.

Clay identification is determined by a process of refiring the ceramic, and assigning a color to it using Munsell Soil Color notation.

By estimating both the clay and temper compositions, and locating a region where both are known to occur an assignment of the material source can be made.

From the source assignment of the artifact further investigations can be made into the site of manufacture.