199 Arheološki vestnik 63, 2012, str. 199–234 Ceramic technology in the southeastern Alpine region in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages: results of macroscopic and microscopic analyses K. Patrick FAZIOLI INTRODUCTION Over the past four decades, historians and archaeologists of the southeastern Alpine region have examined elements of change and continu- ity between the Late Classical and Early Medieval worlds in terms of politics, economics, demography, settlement, ethnicity, and religion (among others). 1 1 Noteworthy references include (but are not limited to) Bierbrauer 1979; Bratož 1996, 2005; Ciglenečki 1992, 2000; Grafenauer 1969; Ibler 1991; Ladstätter 2000, 2001; This article offers a small contribution to this broad, multifaceted issue by focusing specifically on shifts in ceramic technological traditions across this important socio-historical transition. 2 Macro- scopic and petrographic analyses were conducted on 72 locally produced coarse-ware (kitchenware) ceramic samples drawn from four Late Antique Lotter et al. 2003; Mason 1998; Modrijan 2011a; Štih 2010; Ulbert 1979. 2 These analyses were part of broader dissertation research; see Fazioli 2011a. Izvleček Članek preučuje vprašanje, kako se v tehnologiji keramike izražata kontinuiteta ali diskontinuiteta na prehodu med pozno antiko in zgodnjim srednjim vekom v jugovzhodnih Alpah. V ta namen je bilo makroskopsko in mikroskopsko analiziranih 72 vzorcev lokalno proizvedene grobe kera- mike, ki izvira iz štirih naselbin. Določena je bila minera- loška sestava vzorcev in analize kažejo, da so tehnološke značilnosti in razlike posledica odločitev in načrtovanih postopkov, izoblikovanih med proizvodnim procesom. Na najdiščih Koper in Tonovcov grad analize dokazujejo močno kontinuiteto v izdelavi grobega posodja od pozne antike do zgodnjega srednjega veka. Nasprotno pa se je v istem obdobju na Tinju proizvodnja bistveno spremenila. Te ugotovitve se v veliki meri skladajo z zgodovinskimi predpostavkami o večji družbenoekonomski kontinuiteti v južnih in zahodnih delih regije ter o preobratih – do- mnevno zaradi slovanskih in avarskih vpadov ob koncu 6. stoletja – v vzhodnem delu. Ključne besede: pozna antika, zgodnji srednji vek, keramika, petrografske analize, tehnologija, Slovenija Abstract This article examines issues of change and continuity from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages in the south- eastern Alps in terms of coarse-ware ceramic technology. Seventy-two samples of locally manufactured coarse-ware pottery drawn from four settlements were subjected to macroscopic and petrographic analyses in order to deter- mine their mineralogical composition, which serves as a proxy indicator of choices made during the production process. These analyses demonstrate that coarse-ware pottery manufacture exhibited a high degree of continuity from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages at the sites of Koper and Tonovcov grad, while it changed significantly during the same period at the site of Tinje. These results are largely congruent with historical expectations, which suggest greater socio-economic continuity in the southern and western sections of this region, and upheaval in the eastern portion, perhaps due to Slavic and Avar incursions beginning in the late 6 th century. Keywords: Late Antiquity, Early Middle Ages, pottery, petrographic analysis, technology, Slovenia