A multidisciplinary study of painted pottery from the desert oasis of Quraya in the northwest Arabian Peninsula has found a combination of recognizable design, consistent raw materials, centralized production, imitations, and long-distance trade. The researchers claim that the ceramics, formerly called “Medianian pottery,” meet eight characteristics of an ancient brand—and samples found at the Temple of Hathor at Timna indicate importation from Quraya.
Pottery Ornaments made in the desert oasis Readers In the northwest Arabian Peninsula Some 3,200 years ago, they were not just a successful local product. According to an international team of researchers, they already had the characteristics we associate with brands today: a recognizable appearance, consistency in material and production technology, a defined production center, reputation, imitations, and even an export market. One of the export destinations was the region avoid.
The study, published in PLOS ONE and led by Prof. Marta Luciani from the University of Vienna, deals with ceramics now known as Qurayyah Painted Ware, or QPW. Previously, this pottery was mainly known as "Qurayyah Painted Ware".Political ceramics". ([PLOS][2])
The researchers do not claim that the jars bore a logo in the modern sense or that the potters inscribed a trade name on them. The claim is more interesting: the product itself became sufficiently identified with its place of production, technology, and style to function in a way that resembles a brand.
A tradition that began about 3,600 years ago
The earliest production of painted pottery in Koraya began about 3,600 years ago, in the late The Bronze Age The Middle and Early Late Bronze Age. Previous studies have tended to link the tools to population groups or broad traditions in the region, but the new study sought to directly determine where the tools were made and how their industry changed over the centuries.
The team combined a study of the shape of the vessels and their decorations with an examination of the production methods, petrographic sections of the pottery, and geochemical tests. Among other things, neutron activation analysis was used, which allows elements to be measured in minute quantities and creates a kind of chemical "fingerprint" of the material from which the pottery was made.
The result showed that the raw materials and working methods remained connected to its readers over centuries. In other words, it is not just a painting style that passed from place to place. At least a significant part of the tools themselves were made in a specific place, from local raw materials and in a continuous technological tradition. ([PLOS][1])
About four hundred years after the beginning of the tradition, a version appeared that scholars call QPW 4. It dates to the end of the Late Bronze Age, about 3,200 years ago, and already shows a rich variety of decorations—including animals, human figures, and scenes with ceremonial significance. ([Universität Wien][3])
Eight signs that it's a "brand"
In order not to use the word "brand" merely as a metaphor, the researchers defined eight conditions that they believe an ancient product must meet in order to be able to speak of a process of creating a brand.
They sought a distinct visual identity; consistency in raw materials; technological continuity; centralized production linked to a place of origin; distribution through exports; local imitations in other places; targeted commercial production rather than just production for self-consumption; and finally, a cultural reputation for the product.
QPW 4, they argue, meets all eight conditions. The hundreds of decorated vessels indicate relatively large-scale production, and workshops and kilns within it indicate a production center. The style became so recognizable that it appeared in materials other than pottery, while imitations of it have also been found elsewhere. ([PLOS][1])
The last point is important. Pottery of a similar style can appear across large areas simply because different groups share a cultural tradition. In the case of Koria, the researchers argue, there is further evidence: a product with a clear identity emerged from one production center and spread to other places, while also inspiring imitations.
The chemical fingerprint reached Timna
The Israeli aspect of the research is particularly prominent.
The researchers compared the chemical and petrographic composition of QPW 4 vessels found at sites outside of Qoraya with that of pottery produced in the oasis itself. Three sherds from Tell al-Khalifa in southern Jordan matched the chemical group of Qoraya.
Even more important for our purposes is the correspondence of two pottery fragments found at Site 200 in Timna—a temple of Hathor from the Egyptian period. They also belong to the same geochemical group. According to the researchers, the most likely explanation is that these vessels were made in Koraya and brought to Timna. ([PLOS][1])
This ties in with previous studies on the Median ceramics at Timna. Researchers from Tel Aviv and Ben-Gurion universities have already suggested that the unique pottery came from the Arabian Peninsula with a population that was connected to the copper industry and ritual activity in the region. The new study adds a geochemical signature that directly links at least some of the vessels to their readers.
Koraya ceramics have also been found or identified at other sites in the southern Levant, including Khirbet an-Nahas in Jordan, and perhaps also at the desert sites of Tima and al-Ula in the Arabian Peninsula. The researchers emphasize, however, that not every vessel that looks similar is necessarily made in Koraya: in some places, local imitations were probably made. ([PLOS][1])
The desert oasis was not an isolated periphery
The findings also change the way we view the desert landscapes of the northwestern Arabian Peninsula during the Bronze Age.
Koraya existed in an environment where water, pottery materials, and fuel for kilns were not readily available. Nevertheless, its inhabitants developed a long-standing local ceramic industry and were integrated into networks of knowledge, trade, and culture that connected the Arabian Peninsula, Jordan, and the southern Levant.
The tradition of painted pottery at the site also did not end with the QPW 4 “brand.” Production continued to develop throughout the Iron Age until about the fourth century BC, before the appearance of painted Nabatean ceramics in the region. ([PLOS][1])
For the researchers, the meaning is broader than the history of pottery. A brand is a way of connecting a producer with a consumer: it conveys information about origin and quality, but also a meaning of identity, prestige or belonging. The research from Makori suggests that such mechanisms are not exclusively a product of capitalism and modern advertising. They may be thousands of years old.
However, it is worth being careful with the phrase “the world’s first brand.” The researchers themselves present QPW 4 as an early and convincing example of brand-making, and cannot prove that other products that worked in a similar way did not exist before. The novelty is the ability to examine the process systematically using a combination of Archeology, production technology and chemical testing.
Questions and Answers
What is the ceramic of its readers?
Qurayyah Painted Ware is a tradition of painted pottery that developed in the Qurayyah oasis in the northwestern Arabian Peninsula. Some of it was formerly known as "Medieval pottery."
Why do researchers call the pottery a "brand"?
Not because they had a logo, but because they combined a unique visual identity, consistent raw materials and production technology, an identified production center, distance trade, imitations, and reputation. The researchers defined eight criteria and tested the QPW 4 tools against them.
What is the connection between Koraya and Timna?
Two pottery fragments from the Temple of Hathor at Timna were found to be geochemically consistent with the local pottery group of Koraya. The researchers conclude that the best explanation is that the vessels were made in Koraya and brought to Timna.
Are these really the first brands in the world?
This cannot be determined. The study presents the QPW 4 tool as an early example of brand creation and offers a research way to identify brands in ancient societies, but does not prove that similar products did not exist in earlier periods.
The scientific article
Creating a brand. Genesis, transformation and diffusion of Qurayyah Painted Ware — Marta Luciani et al., PLOS ONE, published August 19, 2026. To the scientific article in PLOS ONE
More on the subject on the science website
- About 3,000 years ago, Median ceramics were intended for ritual purposes in the thriving copper industry in Timna.
- Disclosure: Children decorated pottery in the Syrian kingdom 4,500 years ago
- Metals reveal: The Bronze Age was much more interconnected than we thought
- 5,500-year-old ritual site uncovered in Jordan: dolmens, standing stones and megalithic structures
- The use of silver coins as a means of payment began in the southern Levant as early as 3,600 years ago
For the scientific article: University of Vienna statement on the study, August 19, 2026. [University of Vienna statement](
