Exploring pottery technology and mineralogical, petrographic and chemical composition at the Neolithic pile-dwelling site of Palù di Livenza in north-east Italy

Palù di Livenza is a Neolithic pile-dwelling site located in north-east Italy, inscribed since 2011 on the World HeritageList of UNESCO in the transnational serial property “Prehistoric pile-dwellings around the Alps”. Its study is crucial forinvestigating the transition from the Recent to Late Neolithic periods in the region. Eighteen vessels from 5 structuralphases, dated approximately between 4300/4200 and 3600 BC, have been analysed using X-ray computed microtomog -raphy, X-ray diffraction, inductively coupled plasma optical emission and mass spectrometry, as well as portable X-rayfluorescence (pXRF), in order to investigate the pottery forming techniques, the technology and the provenance of thevessels based on their minero-petrographic and chemical characteristics. The results of pXRF analyses have been furtherevaluated through principal component analysis (PCA). The results obtained indicate that most of the vessels, includingthe four-spouted vessels typical of the Square Mouthed Pottery culture, were locally produced using the coiling technique.The vessels were tempered with carbonate material that has dissolved due to taphonomic factors and/or large fragmentsof other rocks originating form geological formations outcropping nearby the archaeological site. The identified fabricgroups, in use throughout the entire duration of the settlement, seem to suggest that no significant technological changesoccurred at the transition between Recent and Late Neolithic. Interestingly, the PCA analysis of reliable chemical elementsrevealed that, despite the overall similarity of the assemblage, certain samples with distinct chronology and typologydemonstrate remarkably homogeneous chemical characteristics. This suggests slight variations in the raw materials and/or recipes used over time.