Moving sources: A preliminary study of volcanic glass artifact distributions in northeast China using PXRF |
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| Authors: | Peter Weiming Jia Trudy Doelman Chuanjia Chen Hailong Zhao Sam Lin Robin Torrence Michael D. Glascock |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Archaeology, SOPHI, University of Sydney, A14, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia;2. The Centre of Frontier Archaeology, Jilin University, China;3. Archaeological Institute, Jilin Province, China;4. Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, PA 19104, USA;5. Anthropology, Australian Museum, 6 College Street, Sydney NSW 2010, Australia;6. Research Reactor Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA |
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| Abstract: | Recent studies have highlighted the long-distance transport of obsidian from the Paektusan (Tianchi or Baitoushan in Chinese) volcano on the border between China and North Korea to eastern Russia and Korea, but little is known about the role of the local population in the production and movement or exchange of this important raw material. This paper addresses this data lacuna by presenting sourcing results of 440 artifacts from 18 Late Paleolithic sites located in northeast China. A portable XRF enabled rapid non-destructive characterization of samples. The results show that although Paektusan obsidian was widely transported throughout northeast Asia, material from at least three other sources was also used. In particular, we highlight the significance of basaltic glass artifacts with the same geochemistry as sources found in the Primorye region of Far East Russia in sites from northeast China. This result indicates a two-way movement of volcanic glass artifacts between Primorye and the northeast of China rather than a unidirectional long-distance exchange system originating from Paektusan Volcano. |
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| Keywords: | Volcanic glass PXRF chararcterisation Paektusan Northeast China Far East Russia |
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