Late Neolithic black-on-red painted pottery production and distribution in eastern Macedonia, Greece

Dimitra Malamidou Studia Praehistorica 14 (2011): 155-176.

Abstract

Black on red painted pottery is one of the most characteristic ceramic groups in northern Greece dated to an advanced stage of the Late Neolithic period, roughly between 4800/4700-3900/3800 BC. It belongs to a wider trend which characterizes the late Neolithic in all of southeastern Europe on the basis of the extensive production of decorated ceramics. The largest quantities of this kind of pottery have been found in eastern Macedonia and Thrace. However, significant amounts also have been excavated in central and western Macedonia. This pottery also occurs in minor quantities, further up to the Struma valley in southwest Bulgaria, and has its analogue in Thessaly. This ware’s diagnostic attributes lie not only in the remarkable aesthetic value of the vivid dark-on-light contrast combined with an elaborate motif design, but also in its high technical quality, as witnessed by the fineness of the fabric, the uniformity of the surface colors, the regularity of shapes, the density and hardness of the vessel’s walls.