Examining the Association between Pigment Residues and Potlid-like Cracking: a Case Study from Zaskelna V

Abstract

The article examines flint artefacts with traces of pigment discovered in 1993 in layer II of the Zaskelna V site (Crimea), focusing on one specimen with rare incomplete potlid-like cracking and associated ochrerich residues. An initial hypothesis that the cracking was caused by heated pigment-containing adhesive was not supported experimentally. Instead, the scar likely resulted from localised sudden cooling, while the pigment adhered later to the surface damage, though their precise relationship remains unclear.