Background: Portable energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (pEDXRF) spectrometry analysis was applied for the characterisation of archaeological ceramic findings from three Neolithic sites in Serbia. Two dimension reduction techniques, principal component analysis (PCA) and scattering matrices-based dimension reduction were used to examine the possible classification of those findings, and to extract the most discriminant features.Results: A decision-making procedure is proposed, whose goal is to classify unknown ceramic findings based on their elemental compositions derived by pEDXRF spectrometry. As a major part of decision-making procedure, the possibilities of two dimension reduction methods were tested. Scattering matrices-based dimension reduction was found to be the more efficient method for the purpose. Linear classifiers designed based on the desired output allowed for 7 of 8 unknown samples from the test set to be correctly classified.Conclusions: Based on the results, the conclusion is that despite the constraints typical of the applied analytical technique, the elemental composition can be considered as viable information in provenience studies. With a fully-developed procedure, ceramic artefacts can be classified based on their elemental composition and well-known provenance.

A study of decorated Neolithic pottery samples from excavation site Plocnik, Serbia, was performed using X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy. Investigated samples belong to the era of the Vinca culture which existed at the central Balkan region from mid VI until the first half of V millennium BCE. The mineralogical composition of pottery samples and comparison of investigated pottery with thermally treated local clay indicated firing temperature in the range from 600 to 800?C. Two different types of white pigments have been identified in white incrusted decorations: calcium carbonate and Bone White (composed of crushed bones). This is the first evidence of use of bones for decorations in Vinca culture pottery from excavation site Plocnik. In addition to this, it was revealed that the potters used the iron reduction technique for obtaining the black decorations.