Preliminary characterization and regional comparison of the Dasht-i-Nawur obsidian source near Ghazni,Afghanistan |
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Authors: | Matthew T Boulanger Richard S Davis Michael D Glascock |
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Institution: | 1. University of Missouri, Department of Anthropology, 107 Swallow Hall, Columbia, MO 65211, USA;2. University of Missouri Research Reactor Center, Archaeometry Laboratory, 1513 Research Park Drive, Columbia, MO 65211, USA;3. Bryn Mawr College, Department of Anthropology, Room 306, Dalton Hall, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010, USA |
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Abstract: | Archaeologists have known that an obsidian source exists in the Dasht-i-Nawur basin of central Afghanistan since at least the 1970s; however, regional political turmoil and instability have prevented in-depth study of this source. Data presented here from recent analyses of archival specimens of obsidian collected during a 1976 survey provide a preliminary geochemical profile for this obsidian source. These data suggest that the Dasht-i-Nawur source is easily distinguishable from other obsidian sources in the Near East and southwest Asia. Comparison of these data to an existing database of artifact compositional profiles suggests that initial hypotheses about restricted distribution of the Dasht obsidian may be correct. These data provide for the first time the characterization of a long-known but poorly studied obsidian source. Additionally, this study serves as one example of the benefits gained through working to maintain and preserve data archives of now-closed laboratories. |
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Keywords: | Obsidian Afghanistan Epi-Paleolithic Mesolithic X-ray fluorescence Neutron activation analysis Laboratory archives |
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