Several ruined villages in the Timimoun region of Algerian Sahara were excavated and large amounts of pottery were unearthed. Two groups were defined: one was made up of imported thrown glazed pottery, and the other of molded clay, a Saharan type since neolithic times. The problem was to determine the origin of the Saharan group, very little studied, and poor in salient morphological characteristics. A mineralogical study of the pastes was undertaken. The samples were grouped according to surface characteristics. Illite and montmorillonite were the essential components, whereas the presence of ancillary minerals (zircon, pyroxene, sphene, garnet, apatite) allowed possible areas of origin to be circumscribed and two general groupings to be defined. Findings corroborate historical texts on this area. Commercial trade routes were a likelihood; another was the custom of exchanging goods in matrimonial arrangements. -- AATA