The Fine Paste earthenware (FPW) sherds at FTCSG can be separated based on consistent variation in paste colour. This variation is assumed to be reflective of the mineral composition, with reference to preceding laboratory-based analyses conducted on earthenware sherds in the region, as a preliminary classification for future compositional analyses. The identified FPW paste groups are named after their assumed provenance based on the characteristic paste colours mentioned in the preceding literature.
Approximately 97% of the feature sherds in the FPW assemblage belong to the ‘South Thailand’ paste group. All sherds within this group exhibit paste colours that range from very pale brown to pink (10YR 8/2 () - 8/4 (), 7.5YR 8/2 () - 7/4 (), and 5YR 8/3 () - 7/4 ()). Two varieties can be differentiated within this group: South Thailand White and South Thailand Pink. South Thailand white (45% of assemblage) refers to sherds which exhibit very pale brown and pink paste colours. South Thailand Pink (52% of assemblage) refers to sherds with a mix of very pale brown/pink and reddish yellow/light red ( 7.5YR 7/5 () - 6/8 (), 5YR 7/6 () - 6/8 (), and 2.5YR 7/6 () - 6/8 ()) in their paste.
A single feature sherd (1%) belongs to the East Java paste group. It has a red (2.5YR 4/6 ()) paste colour. Five feature sherds (3%) are placed under ‘Unknown Provenance’ and possess a grey paste colour. Two of these sherds bear a distinct black layer on the exterior that appears to be slip.
The tempered earthenware in the FTCSG assemblage can be differentiated based on their inclusion types. The inclusions are observed using a low powered binocular microscope (Celestron Handheld Digital Microscope Pro). Attributes observed and recorded include inclusion type, size, and frequency. Due to time constraints, a sample of 32 rim sherds were analysed. Within these sherds, six inclusion groups are identified.
All the sherds observed contained quartz. The six groups are separated based on the presence of other inclusions within the clay fabric. Majority of sherds (65%) fall within the quartz inclusion group. This group can further be separated into sherds with moderate frequency (50%) and sherds with sparse frequency (16%).
Moderate Quartz group: the mode inclusion quartz size is 0.3mm, with the smallest grain size of 0.167mm and the largest grain size of up to 1mm. Quartzes are typically of subangular shape. Typical vessel forms of this group include pots with a restricted orifice, and sherds are either undecorated or decorated with a moulded band or a finger-gouged groove on the rim sherd.
Sparse Quartz group: the average grain size is 0.3mm, with grains ranging from 0.16mm to 0.6mm. There are only five sherds in this group. The quartz is similar subangular in shape. However, they are distinguished from the moderate quartz group due to the distinct rim form. All four sherds are vessels with restricted orifices and everted bowl shaped rims.
The next most frequent group is the quartz-mica group (13%), which is distinguished based on the inclusion of mica. All four sherds possess an abundant mix of quartz and mica grains that have a mode size of 0.1mm and a sub-round or round shape. Three sherds also contain a moderate amount of subangular shaped quartz with an average size of 0.5mm. Two sherds are pots with restricted orifices and undecorated rims, while the other two are cooking pots with an unrestricted orifice.
The presence of laterite provides the basis for the creation of a separate laterite-quartz-mica group. Within this group, two sherds possess an abundant mix of round shaped quartz, mica, and laterite grains with a mode size of 0.1mm, with a moderate amount of sub-round quartz grains with a mode size of 0.4mm. The two share a similar form to cooking pots with unrestricted orifices. The third sherd possesses a chalky texture and white body that is distinct from the rest of the assemblage. It contains a moderate amount of sub-round shaped inclusions comprising milky quartz with a mode size of 0.3mm, laterite with an average size of 0.5mm, and mica with an average size of 0.2mm. Its form is a pot with a restricted orifice, with a finger-gouged groove on the rim.
The last two groups are differentiated based on inclusions that cannot be determined using the microscope. Two sherds identified as belonging to a jar contain an abundant amount of a white stringy inclusion in the clay fabric. Both sherds contain a moderate amount of mica (~0.3mm) and a sparse amount of quartz (~0.3mm). The group is tentatively named quartz-mica-organic. Two other sherds belonging to a pot with a restricted orifice and undecorated everted rim contain an abundant amount of inclusions including an opaque white mineral. Both sherds also contain quartz and mica with a mode size of 0.3mm.
Due to the highly fragmented nature of the assemblage, it is difficult to accurately reconstruct vessels. Based on the analysis of the rim sherds, the vessel forms of FPW from FTCSG are globular jars (79%), bowls (13%), and long-necked vessels (7%). Globular jars are identified based on the presence of restricted orifices leading to everted rims. Bowls possess an unrestricted orifice with slightly inverted rims. Long-necked vessels possess a restricted orifice with outward flaring or everted concave rims. Typical FPW vessels in the region with long-necks include kendi and vases. However, due to the small number of spouts excavated from FTCSG and the other Singapore sites, it is problematic to associate any particular rim forms to either vessel forms. As such, the more generic term ‘long-necked vessel’ is used instead.
The general vessel forms of tempered earthenware are pots with restricted orifice. These pots have everted rims that are either undecorated or decorated with either a finger-gouged groove or moulded band near the lip. Other vessel forms include open pots, which are pots with a restricted orifice, jars, and bowls.
*Note: portions of this short contribution have been submitted to Nanyang Technological University Singapore as part of a manuscript of a Masters degree thesis.