An integrated study of glazed ceramics from tortkul sites in the Talas River Valley, Kazakhstan (10-12th c. CE)

•NAA revealed six compositional groups present in a group of 74 glazed ceramics from three tortkul sites in the Talas Valley•Compositional study indicates active circulation of glazed wares in the Talas Valley, and a diversity of production centers•Microstructure suggests glazing technology was introduced by skilled craftspeople knowledgeable of Islamic craft traditions•Identified unique Sb- and Sn-opacified glazes, a technological tradition only identified in the region north of the Tianshan