This paper presents the first archaeometrical data on colonial glazed wares (taches noires) imported in Haiti (Fort Liberté). The analysis evidenced the exclusive presence of Italian taches noires products, dated before 1820 and related to the colonial era. The presence of English wares next to colonial materials demonstrated continuity in the use of landscape after the Independence and the establishment of international trade relationships between the state of Haiti and the British Empire. Results are an important step forward in the understanding of production and movement of the Taches noires ware, which were exported globally between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

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This research characterizes and reconstructs clay procurement and production practices through the integration of in-situ portable XRF and petrographic analysis on ancient ceramics and clay materials recovered from the Mayales river subbasin (central Nicaragua). A particular choice for this study was the largest and arguably most significant archaeological site in the area, Aguas Buenas (cal 400–1250 CE), a pre-Hispanic indigenous agglomeration consisting of 371 human-made mounds of various shapes arranged in geometric patterns. Microanalytical approaches were applied to reconstruct the use of raw mineral resources in the production of ubiquitous pottery materials found at this site and in its immediate surroundings. The resulting compositional analysis produced geochemical and mineralogical data allowing for the characterisation of distinct, geologically-based compositional groups throughout the valley, improving on the limited geological data resolution previously available. The integrated microscopic and compositional analysis (through p-XRF) of archaeological pottery materials and raw clay samples, generates a number of hypotheses and insights about the nature of the Aguas Buenas site, and its role as a shared space amongst groups living in the Mayales river Subbasin. Additionally, this study provides a solid research framework of investigation that can be employed for more detailed and extensive future studies on pre-Hispanic human occupation in this research area or elsewhere.@en