FTIR Spectroscopy for Archaeometric Pottery Studies: Characterization of Raw Materials and Determination of Firing Temperature – A Review

Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is a valuable analytical tool for characterizing ancient pottery samples, offering a rapid, minimally destructive means of identifying the mineralogical characteristics of archaeological pottery. Infrared spectroscopy can be used for the i) mineral identification ii) mineralogical composition iii) firing temperature iii) kiln atmosphere and iv) provenance. In this review we have compiled the peak frequencies most commonly reported in the literature together with their corresponding mineralogical assignments, within the mid-infrared region (4000–400 cm⁻¹). Characteristic peaks of -clay minerals, quartz, calcite, feldspars, and iron oxides can be identified. Though FTIR cannot be used for the complete characterization of pottery sample, the use of this technique along with other techniques such as X-ray Diffraction (XRD), X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) etc helps to get meaningful information.