The Petrographic Analysis of Early Chalcolithic Period J Ware of Mahidasht Stored at National Museum of Iran

The early chalcolithic period in west central Zagros is known as the J ware tradition. J ware is a solid, well-fired ceramic that is considered to be an eastern variant of the late Halaf culture in the Mahidasht region. Despite preliminary studies conducted during the 1975-1978 Royal Ontario Museum Project and subsequent 1985 studies by E.F. Henrickson, information about the form, temper, and paintings of this pottery was insufficient to fully understand J ware. Many questions remained unanswered, such as the exact ingredients of J pottery, the production process, and the local or nonlocal sources of ware. In order to address these questions and gain a comprehensive picture of the structure of J ware, 18 shards of J ware from the National Museum of Iran were chosen for petrographic analysis. The result of this analysis showed that J ceramic was made using mineral temper and produced at a lower temperature of 800 degrees Celsius. Additionally, the particles used in the production of J ware were found to be equivalent to the geology of Mahidasht. These findings indicate that J ware of Mahidasht was produced locally.