RARE EARTH ELEMENT DISTRIBUTION PATTERNS IN SHETLAND STEATITE - CONSEQUENCES FOR ARTIFACT PROVENANCING STUDIES

An attempt has been made to relate steatite artifacts to the source of rock from which they were manufactured, using the distribution patterns of rare earth elements. Radiochemical- and instrumental-neutron activation analyses of Shetland steatites suggest that the use of rare earth elements in artifact provenancing may be unreliable. Concentrations of rare earth elements in many Shetland steatites are too low to be measured reliably by a cost effective method. The relative importance of primary igneous and secondary metasomatic processes in controlling steatite rare earth element geochemistry is discussed and geological arguments against the existence of unique rare earth ‘fingerprints’ for steatite are presented.     

STEATITE SOURCE CHARACTERIZATION IN EASTERN NORTH AMERICA: NEW RESULTS USING INSTRUMENTAL NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS*

Doubts have recently been cast on the ability to characterize steatite sources using rare earth elements (REEs). By increasing the number of samples and elements examined using instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and multivariate statistics, this study shows that, with unhomogenized samples, transition metals, not REEs, make the greatest contribution in characterizing steatite sources in the Middle Atlantic region of eastern North America. Preliminary results suggest that INAA has the potential to assign provenance to steatite artefacts, at least at a regional level.     

Sourcing galena from a Middle Woodland habitation site in northeast Mississippi

Galena has been recovered mostly in mortuary contexts – burial mounds, burial caves, and associated mortuary facilities – from Middle Woodland sites in the Southeast. Three small pieces of galena from the Cork site (22OK746) in northeast Mississippi came from midden deposits at a site with no mound or burials. Lead isotope analysis was used to source the samples to the Central Missouri-Tri-State-North Arkansas region. Isotopes provide an excellent sourcing method because their ratios are stable and large comparative source datasets are available. Recovery bias may have led to underestimation of galena presence in Middle Woodland habitation sites.     

A new protocol for the chemical characterisation of steatite – two case studies in Europe: the Shetland Islands and Crete

Steatite has been one of the most difficult materials of archaeological interest to characterise by physico-chemical methods of analysis with a view to identifying its origin. This paper presents a new protocol for the chemical characterisation of steatite based on the analysis by ICP-MS in tandem with INAA of rare earth elements (REE) and some transition metals in geological steatite from several outcrops on the Shetland Islands and on Crete. The major advance over earlier work has been the secure determination of REE at low concentrations. The results have demonstrated the ability to discriminate chemically three of the known Viking Age sources on Shetland. On Crete, although the situation is complex, four sources in the centre of the island have been partially differentiated. This study has also shown that first mineralogical analysis (by XRD) of steatite provides valuable supplementary characterisation data, and second strontium isotope analysis has promising potential for the sourcing of steatite.     

MICROCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF BUILDING STONE FROM SEVILLE CATHEDRAL,SPAIN

Enrichment diagrams for trace elements have been proposed as a useful and straightforward procedure to identify ores and stones. The identification of the diverse stone of the exterior of the Cathedral of Seville has been achieved by this means. Fourteen trace elements have been analysed, from both quarry and building material samples, using atomic absorption and flame emission spectrometry in order to apply enrichment diagrams for identification purposes.     

DESSICATION AND DESTRUCTION: THE IMMEDIATE EFFECTS OF DE-WATERING AT ETTON, CAMBRIDGESHIRE

This paper presents the first results of a long-term project to monitor changes in ground water conditions in parts of the East Anglian Fenland. So far the project has been concerned with two sites immediately north of Peterborough, at Borough Fen and Etton. The Borough Fen data are still being assessed, but Etton has provided results which warrant prompt publication.
The water levels were monitored in a series of boreholes across the Etton Neolithic enclosure for a period of two years (1982–4), to study the effects of the variation in the local groundwater table on the waterlogged contents of the enclosure ditch.
The first part of the paper (CF) assesses the results of this programme. The ambient water table remained at or above the level of the primary and lower secondary deposits in the ditch, thus accounting for the excellent preservation of botanical remains. Within one month of the adjacent quarry pumps being turned on the water table had fallen by up to one metre below the lowest archaeological deposits, and has not recovered since, to the almost immediate detriment of the botanical record.
The second part of the paper (MT) discusses the observed variation in the preservation of wood in particular, and describes the effects of de-watering on the deposits of wood in the enclosure ditch.     

Medieval land remediation of a quarry site at Wallingford,Oxfordshire, revealed by microfossil analysis

Abstract

Backfill material from a 12th- to13th-century quarry, north of Wallingford, south Oxfordshire, comprises sandy loam overlain by Cretaceous (early Cenomanian; Mantelliceras mantelli Macrofaunal Biozone) Glauconitic Marl Member, of the West Melbury Marly Chalk Formation as identified by its abundant, biostratigraphically useful, foraminifera and ostracods. A local outcrop source of the Glauconitic Marl Member, less than 1 km north of the quarry pit, is the likely provenance of this material, and a contemporaneous road, which was discovered adjacent to the medieval quarry by magnetometer surveys and archaeological excavation, would have aided its transportation, into the town via the North Gate. We hypothesise that the use of a calcareous marl to overlay sandy loam deposits probably encouraged land restoration when the quarried area was returned to pastoral agriculture.     

Approaching the Hatch Jasper Quarry From a Technological Perspective: A Study of Prehistoric Stone Tool Production in Central Pennsylvania

Abstract

Mitigation of the Hatch jasper quarry, a “prospect site” in Central Pennsylvania, has enabled the reconstruction of a local system of stone tool acquisition and production. Artifacts from the quarry and the nearby Houserville habitation complex were analyzed using an attribute-based stage typology. This technological approach permitted the separation of geofacts from artifacts, and revealed evidence suggesting that Houserville knappers obtained tool stone from the quarry. Attention was also given to the study of how systematic heat treatment was used to enhance the flaking characteristics of the Hatch quarry jasper. This research highlights the benefits that a technological analysis of flake artifacts, in addition to finished tools, can provide for understanding stone tool production at quarry localities.     

Quarrying and Production of Milling,Implements at Antelope Hill,Arizona

Abstract

To process mesquite, maize, and other substances, aboriginal groups living in the Lower Colorado-Lower Gila rivers region of SW North America used characteristic milling equipment: squared, flat-faced, convex-based metates (lower grindstones) with elongated manos (upper grindstones) and large wooden mortars with long, cylindrical stone pestles. Andesite and sandstone bedrock outcrops where stone was quarried and milling implements produced have been located. The archaeological deposits at the quarries have not been masked by the debris of later quarrying for rotary mills or building blocks, and thus the quarry sites offer an opportunity to study the production of ancient forms of milling implements, and provide insights into the organization of an ancient stone technology. Antelope Hill, a large arkosic sandstone quarry on the Lower Gila River in Arizona is presented as an example of a widespread phenomenon in the region. Analysis of quarry debris in the field and laboratory, experimental replication, and ethnographic and historical data, combined, have resulted in an understanding of this aspect of aboriginal technology.     

Obsidian hydration at high elevation: Archaic quarrying at the Chivay source,southern Peru

We examine obsidian hydration as a means to date archaeological sites at high elevation in the central Andes, and in particular quarry sites that are difficult to date by radiocarbon means. The Chivay obsidian source lies in a volcanic depression above the Colca Valley in Arequipa, Peru (71.5355° S, 15.6423° E) at 4950 masl. We compare obsidian hydration readings from one quarry and two workshop locations. Ninety-one flakes from the quarry pit, and 61 and 33 flakes from the workshops were analyzed for hydration bands. Of these, 68 from the quarry, and 54 and 33, respectively from the workshops produced at least one culturally meaningful hydration band. As expected, obsidian appears to hydrate slowly at this high elevation. Yet, variation in hydration readings is low within stratigraphic contexts, suggesting relatively narrow windows of knapping activities in each excavation level. A small number of radiocarbon dates allow us to develop a preliminary hydration rate for Chivay obsidian in this high elevation location. Hydration data indicate that intensive quarrying began by 3800 cal. BC and stopped ca. 2300 cal. BC. By contrast, the two workshops appear to have been deposited 2900 and 1200 cal. BC, and 2700 and 2400 cal. BC. The data are consistent with an uptick in obsidian use by at least the Terminal Archaic period.     

PAPERS ON GEOPHYSICAL INVESTIGATIONS OF WOODLAND AND CADDO SITES IN THE CADDO AREA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

Abstract

Geophysical investigations on archaeological sites in the Caddo area of the Southeastern United States have become in recent years a critical part of the investigation of prehistoric and early historic Caddo sites, from small farmsteads and hamlets to large mound centers. The various articles gathered here provide substantive examples of the range of geophysical research that has been undertaken on Woodland and Caddo sites in southwestern Arkansas, eastern Oklahoma, and East Texas, and how that research has led to a better understanding of the spatial structure and internal organization of habitation sites and mound centers.     

Gandhara sculptural schist: Proposed source

Previously suggested source localities for the chloritoid-paragonite-muscovite quartz schist, the most widely used Gandharan rock, have been examined and rejected. However, an ancient disused quarry near Sakhakot, south of Dargai, in northern Pakistan, has been located and sampled. Chemical and mineralogical comparisons between two quarry samples and a specimen of artifact schist are very close, leading to the proposal that the quarry is one definite source of Gandhara sculptural schist.     

Secondary burial cemeteries,visibility and land tenure: A view from the southern Levant Chalcolithic period

Off-site secondary burial cemeteries in the southern Levant are an innovation of the Chalcolithic period. Ethnographic studies suggest that location of burial places was one of the means used to establish and socially mediate ownership over the landscape. The current research examines whether the spatial pattern of burial sites during the Chalcolithic period in the southern Levant represents a land tenure system. Spatial analyses of burial and habitation sites located mainly along the central Israeli coastal area indicate that Ghassulian communities avoided locating their burial sites near habitation sites concentrations. Viewshed analysis indicates that the areas observed from burial sites are significantly larger than those observed from habitation sites, and that their location scattered across an area which increases rather than overlaps the size of area visible from the habitation sites. Furthermore, our results show that communities which wanted to claim land tenure over a larger territory use burial sites locations in order to maximize the observed area within habitation sites surroundings.     

SHAFT‐HOLE AXES FROM SLOVENIA AND NORTH‐WESTERN CROATIA: A FIRST ARCHAEOMETRIC STUDY ON ARTEFACTS MANUFACTURED FROM META‐DOLERITES*

A group of Copper Age shaft‐hole axes from Caput Adriae (northeastern Italy, western Slovenia and northwestern Croatia) manufactured using meta‐dolerite have been analysed for major and trace elements. All the samples show magmatic textures and well recognizable relicts of primary mineralogical phases. Petrographic observations suggest an ophiolitic provenance of the protolithic source(s) while geochemical data indicate that the original magmas originated in a fore arc or pre arc tectonic setting. Strong similarity has been found with several lithotypes from the Banija Ophiolite Complex (Croatia), here indicated as the most probable source area. Considering the available archaeometric data about shaft‐hole axes found in northern Italy and Caput Adriae in comparison to those of axe blades discovered in the same area, it emerges that there is a utilization of different rock types, the source of which appears to be quite close to the discovery sites. In the investigated area the shaft‐hole axes are largely made from ophiolitic‐related rocks which are associated with copper deposits. Consequently there may have been a relation between the localization of the geological sources of shaft‐hole axes and the development of metallurgical activities.     

An assessment of the value of bone density measurements to archaeoichthyological studies

This paper reviews the meaning of the term ‘density’ and the problems associated with the methods of density determination for animal bones in archaeology. It has often been assumed that density is the intrinsic property of most influence in controlling the rate of a bone's decay. Values for whole bone density have been published only for large mammal bone, however. Fish bone appears to be particularly vulnerable to decay, and usually a restricted range of skeletal elements are recovered from archaeological sites. The object of this study was to examine the relationship between fish bone density and the ability of the bone to survive on occupation sites and in archaeological deposits. A set of ‘density’ measurements was established for the bones of cod (Gadus morhua). The usefulness of these measurements as a predictive tool in archaeoichthyological studies is assessed. It was found that ‘density’ as measured did not explain adequately the relative survival of skeletal elements after mechanical abrasion and weathering, or within archaeological deposits.     

Raw material availability,flaking quality,and hunter–gatherer technological decision making in northern Tierra del Fuego Island (southern South America)

The technological organization and lithic raw material procurement of Holocene hunter–gatherers have been topics of considerable interest in northern Tierra del Fuego Island. Ongoing archaeological investigations indicate that most of the rocks employed by native human populations came from secondary deposits of fluvio-glacial and marine origin. However, a primary geological source for two distinctive lithologies has been recently discovered near the Chorrillo Miraflores Valley (Tierra del Fuego, Chile). These raw materials became the focus of further research since one of them (a silicified tuff) has been identified in several archaeological sites of Tierra del Fuego. Some of these sites are located more than a hundred kilometers away from the source. A regional survey of potential lithic sources along with petrographic and geochemical analyses confirmed that the silicified tuff is only available at Chorrillo Miraflores. Here we present the technological analysis of artifacts manufactured on Miraflores silicified tuff that were recovered from the Argentine portion of northern Tierra del Fuego composed of Espíritu Santo and San Sebastian Capes. The role of utilitarian currencies in the prehistoric use of this lithology is assessed through the application of the Metcalfe and Barlow (1992) field processing model. The results show that this raw material may not have been exclusively selected for its flaking quality, although an alternative functional efficiency hypothesis is also introduced. Finally, its spatially restricted availability as well as unique macroscopic aspect suggests its selection and use may have been mainly influenced by social factors.     

MACROBOTANICAL ANALYSIS OF TWO HOPEWELL MOUND SAMPLES FROM THE MANN SITE (12PO2) IN INDIANA

Abstract

The Mann site (12PO2), most noted for its large Hopewellian mound complex, is a little studied but significant archaeological site in southwestern Indiana. Non-mound habitation areas at both the Mann and nearby Mann phase Grabert site were the sole source of archaeobotanical information for these sites prior to the current macrobotanical analysis of two newly available and fairly large (55–60 g of charred material each) samples collected from Mann site mound pit features. Analysis of the macrobotanical material from these pits, in the context of what is already known from both the Mann and Grabert sites, provides additional evidence that plant resources were being used in the Mann phase subsistence system consistent with interregional Hopewellian influences. Data indicate that the inhabitants were using some form of seed storage and may have been participating in non-burial-related ceremonial feasting.     

Multi-Isotope Investigations for Scientific Characterisation and Provenance Implication of Banded Travertines from Tripolis Antique City (Denizli–Turkey)

The coloured stones used in buildings and monuments were an indicator of power and wealth during the ancient times. In this study, Tripolis city samples have been compared with Tripolis quarry samples in order to recognise the provenance of the banded travertine blocks in the ancient city. The banded travertine samples have similar mineral compositions and mainly consist of calcite with minor amounts of dolomite, aragonite, clay and iron oxide minerals. These results are also supported by CRS studies. Calcite is in the form of needle-shaped crystals ranging between 0.163–1.418?mm (in city) and 0.303–1.270?mm (in quarry). Tripolis banded travertine samples show the similar compositional spread in terms of major oxide, trace elements. δ¹³C_V-PDB values of banded travertines range from 1.93 to 5.25‰ (in city) and 2.99 to 3.99‰ (in quarry), δ¹⁸O_V-PDB values change between (?16.93)–(?10.08) ‰ and (?15.93)–(?13.01)‰, respectively. The U–Th radiometric ages are determined between ～267 and 9?ka in Tripolis city samples and ～350 and 2?ka in Tripolis quarry samples. The minero-petrographic, geochemical, C–O and U–Th isotope results fairly matched with each other. It seems highly probable that the banded travertines in Tripolis city were extracted from the Tripolis quarry, which is located at the northeast of the antique city with a distance of 3?km.     

Ancient ‘Black’ Decorative Stones and the Ephesian Origin of Sculptural bigio antico

Isotopic, EPR and petrographic studies aimed at establishing the provenance of sculptural bigio antico are reported, including 18 possible quarry sites and 21 ancient sculptures. The results demonstrate that the Belevi quarry, north‐east of Ephesos, above the more famous white marble quarry, was the major source of this marble. Nineteen artefacts belong to Belevi, whereas the precise origin of the remaining two is unknown, but must probably be found within the same area. The peculiar distribution of δ¹³C values both for Belevi and artefacts was crucial for inferring the correct provenance, subsequently confirmed by additional analytical and petrographic data.     

何郢遗址出土青铜器铜矿料来源的初步研究

本文利用地球化学示踪的方法对何郢遗址出土青铜器的铜矿料来源进行了初步研究.采用ICP-AES测试了样品的微量元素,根据元素的地球化学亲和性,探索其在冶炼过程中的化学行为和再分配规律,从而选出对铜绿山和皖南的铜陵、南陵铜矿具有指示意义的特征元素,作为判断其铜料输出路线的综合判别标志.结合文献和地质资料,可初步认为何郢遗址青铜器的铜矿料来自滁县.