A geochemical and mineralogical approach was used to analyze 3rd millennium BCE pottery from Southeast Lithuania that is attributed to the foreign Corded Ware Culture and local hunter-gatherers. SEM-EDS, XRF, XRD, and FTIR were used to study the peculiarities of the pottery and to develop hypotheses about the raw material and technology choices present. The amounts of ten major elements in the bulk and clay matrix compositions (XRF, SEM-EDS) and eleven trace analytes in the bulk compositions (XRF) were compared with the Clarke values and tested to highlight the significance (Mann–Whitney U and Wilcoxon Matched Pairs Tests) of the differences in the elemental quantities between the clay matrix and bulk compositions, and between the lighter and darker clay matrixes. These also revealed the advantage of Ward’s clustering method using the City-block distance of bulk compositions as a tool for inter-correlating ceramics in attributing them to specific communities and locations. The XRD, FTIR, and SEM-EDS mineralogical analyses indicated a predominance of iron-rich illite clay, quartz, and alkali feldspar, in addition to very low to medium firing temperatures. All of the pottery samples consisted of hydromicaceous clay from local Quaternary glacial sediments that contain weathered granitoid fragments.

The article analyses the Dubičiai microregion, which is distinguished by the abundance and diversity of its Stone Age settlements, and presents the possibilities provided by GIS Spatial Analysis in reconstructing this microregion’s Neolithic landscape, distinguishing conditions that affected the selection of the Stone Age settlement sites, and determining the locations where the greatest possibility exists for the discovery of new, not yet known Neolithic settlements.

South-Eastern Lithuanian Stone Age pottery reflects the way of life, nutrition, social status, artistic expression, and intercommunity relationships of its creators and users. Natural conditions unfavourable for the survival of organic material and the intermingling of artefacts from different periods in sandy settlements limit the ability to precisely date and reconstruct the long, distinctive process of Neolithisation that began in the late 6th millennium bc. Analysing the traces of ceramic vessel use, the structure of the pottery, the coiling and decoration technologies, their changes and reasons, it is possible to understand better the traditions of the Forest Neolithic communities and the encounters of different influences in SE Lithuania.

This article analyses the technological processes involved in the production of Stone Age pottery, aiming to identify the symbols and rituals associated with these techniques and trace their development over time. Furthermore, it examines the influence of the natural, economic, and social environments on the development of symbolic worldviews as reflected in Stone Age pot- tery, contextualising these findings within a broader cultural framework. The study focuses on two primary cultural traditions of hunter-fisher-gatherer communities in the territory of present day Lithuania – the Nemunas and Narva Cultures – as well as the early pastoral societies of the Globular Amphora and Corded Ware Cultures. To illustrate these traditions, two widely investigated regions were selected as case studies: Biržulis Lakeland in West Lithuania and the Dubičiai region in Southeast Lithuania. The analysis of pottery-making processes, encompassing ceramic paste preparation, temper selection, vessel shaping and decoration, firing, and use, reveals a system of social and cultural symbols embedded in rituals that facilitated the transmission of significant experiences and the continuity of traditions across generations.

This study analyzes clay sources, ceramic paste recipes, and technological choices in Neolithic pottery from west Lithuania, where local hunter–fisher–gatherer groups encountered incoming communities of the Globular Amphora (GAC) and Corded Ware cultures (CWC) during the fourth to third millennium BCE. Thirty sherds from coastal Šventoji and the inland Biržulis region were analyzed by optical microscopy and SEM–EDS, revealing that most ceramic pastes comprise variegated hydromicaceous clay with quartz and feldspar. In Narva Culture pottery, vessels from the Biržulis region (Daktariškė 5) are dominated by fine-grained clay, whereas Šventoji examples are more variegated and diatom-bearing; both assemblages show organic inclusions (mussel shell, bone, charred plant material) and very low firing temperatures (<650 °C). GAC exhibits cross-site coherence, characterized by crushed, deformed, cataclastic muscovite granite in fine lacustrine clay and low firing temperatures (~650–750 °C). CWC from Daktariškė 5 geochemically clusters with Narva and hybrid-type pottery, while CWC at Šventoji aligns with GAC; both show low firing temperatures (~650–750 °C). Ceramic pastes contain argillaceous clasts partly diffused or intertwined with the main matrix; only a few show traits typical of grog. All pottery was made from local Quaternary glacial sediments, with cultural traditions and environmental context shaping clay selection and manipulation.

Twelve potsherds from the 3rd millennium BCE pottery in southeastern Lithuania were analyzed using X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to obtain the bulk geochemical and mineralogical characteristics of the ceramic paste. Microstructures and geochemical variability of the clay matrix and temper were studied by Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). The purpose of this study was to characterize the pottery attributed to the foreign Corded Ware Culture and local Hunter-Gatherers, to imply possible sources of raw material and to evaluate technology choices.The main clusters of major and trace elements in the bulk compositions (XRF; Šatavičė et al., 2022) reflect the five technological styles identified by the manipulation, shaping, and firing conditions of the ceramic raw material. The XRD and FTIR analysis (Šatavičė et al., 2022) indicated a predominance of iron-rich illite clay, quartz, and alkali feldspar minerals. The early coarse pottery was fired at low to medium temperatures, accompanied by a decrease in the firing temperature of both the cord-decorated and hunter-gatherer pottery. The FTIR and XRD results are not indicative of firing in a reducing atmosphere.The SEM-EDS with SE and BSE imaging and point analysis allowed to determine the detail mineral chemical composition of the ceramic pastes and tempers. The SEM SE and BSE images showed textural differences in the clay matrix, some of which may be explained by intentionally mixing the clay or a specific pottery surface treatment. The other may be attributed to internal differences in glacial till formation. No grog temper characteristic for the classic Corded Ware was detected, only clay pellets, ferruginous nodules and weathered minerals, which may look like grog to the naked eye. The SEM-EDS point analysis allowed us to investigate the gradual changes in the chemical composition of the clay matrix and to evaluate weathering process. To sum up, both the Corded Ware and the local Hunter-Gatherer pottery were made from the same hydro-micaceous variegated clay from the local Quaternary glacial sediments, which contain weathered granitoid fragments, but display different technological choices for the clay paste preparation, surface treatment, and firing strategies.The study provided a lot of hitherto unknown information on glacial till, glacial lacustrine and post-glacial lacustrine sediments in SE Lithuania. Their composition, textural properties, susceptibility to weathering were evaluated for the first time in this region.Šatavičė, E. et al., 2022. Minerals 12, 1006. https://doi.org/10.3390/min12081006.