Specialized pottery production in Dalma tradition; a statistical approach in pottery analysis from Soha Chay Tepe, Zanjan, Iran

Soha Chay Tepe is located on the right bank of the Sojasrud River and lies within the province of Zanjan, in Western Iran. During excavation, one cultural period and two architectural phases have been distinguished, contemporary to the Middle Chalcolithic period (Dalma tradition). More complex activities in Chalcolithic period are well studied and accepted by researchers, however analyzing pottery according to stylistic attributes revealed more details about systematic pottery production of this period in the west of Iran. A total of 96 pottery samples was chemically analyzed with portable XRF device in order to detect clustering pattern. Results have revealed meaningful similarities concerning composition between the sampled groups in regards to their decoration style. It showed that the potters of Soha Chay Tepe might have made distinct operation decisions for their various pottery style productions. Portable XRF with relative internal calibration used in this study confirmed that it has high potential in compositional studies of ceramic regarding to more detailed questions.