Characterization and source of Cucuteni black pigment (Romania): vibrational spectrometry and XRD study

► We mention for the first time the source of the black pigment for Cucuteni culture. ► Raw material identified and analyzed through XRD, AAS, FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy. ► Birnessite, goethite and quartz indentified in raw material. ► 127 ceramic shards from Cucuteni culture were analyzed through Raman spectroscopy. ► Pyrolusite, jacobsite, hematite, quartz, black carbon, rutile and anatase.