Chemical analysis of tarry materials found on pottery from Neolithic settlements in Serbia

Abstract

In the current study, samples from three Neolithic settlements located in different geographical areas in Serbia; Star~evo–Grad, Drenovac and Pavlovac–Gumni{te, were selected in order to determine whether the materials used to seal and repair ceramic pots from this specific region were of the same botanical source as in other regions of Neolithic Greece and the Balkans; and whether they were produced using the same technology as the other similar resinous materials. The ancient organic residues were analysed using the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technique, while the determination of their composition was made by identifying diagnostic components (biomarkers). The study revealed that the resinous material was tar produced by the pyrolysis of birch bark.