XRF (Other Keyword)
1-25 (43 Records)
Field studies were performed at the Yangguanzhai Neolithic site near Xi’an, China, using an Olympus Delta Premium portable XRF spectrometer and an Agilent ExoScan FTIR spectrometer. 932 ceramic sherds collected from nine locations across the site were selected and classified based on color (red, tan and brown), decorations (painted, rope impression - cord or thread, and plain), and time period (Miaodigou and Banpo IV). Each sherd was broken, so that the analysis could be performed on a clean...
Analysis of Obsidian Procurement from the Wurlitzer Site, Butte County, California (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This presentation will show the results of XRF testing of obsidian artifacts from the Wurlitzer site in Butte County, California. The purpose of this testing is to create a better context from which to understand the site. Previous research has focused primarily on creating a chronology of the site using radiocarbon dating, point typologies, and comparison to...
The Bonneville Basin and Snake River Plain Connection: Early Archaic Lithic Technology, Geochronology, and Obsidian Procurement at Bonneville Estates and Veratic Rockshelters (2016)
Though often considered parts of two different culture areas, the upper Snake River Plain of southeastern Idaho and the Bonneville Basin of the eastern Great Basin may have more similarities in land use and lithic technology than usually thought. In fact, commonalities can be easily documented in projectile point chronologies, subsistence patterns, and even the use of some of the same obsidian sources. In this paper, we consider the early Archaic period, when comparable ecological changes...
Calculating the Probability of Local Coarse Earthenware Manufacture at the 17th Century Coan Hall Site Utilizing pXRF Analysis (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Technology in Terrestrial and Underwater Archaeology" session, at the 2019 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Excavations at the Coan Hall site in Northumberland County Virginia, targeting the earliest permanent English settlement on the southern bank of the Potomac River, have uncovered sherds of low-fired, coarse earthenware ceramics with an unusual hematite-speckled paste. Moreover, fragments of daub have been recovered from the site...
Characterization of Neolithic Jade Objects from Shimao and Xinhua, Shaanxi Province, China, Using Handheld Portable Techniques (2017)
50 jade objects from the Late Longshan period, excavated from the Shimao (25) and Xinhua (25) Neolithic sites, were characterized mineral groups using handheld X-Ray Fluorescence (hhXRF) and handheld specular reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (hhFTIR). The objects were found to belong to three types of minerals. 22 objects found in Shimao (88%) are nephrite (19 tremolites and 3 actinolites), two are calcite and one antigorite. From Xinhua, 9 objects (36 %) are nephrite...
Compositional Analysis of Prosser Molded Beads Found in Southeast Idaho (2023)
This is an abstract from the session entitled "Glass Beads: Global Artefacts, Local Perspectives", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Identifying the origin for Prosser beads may lead to a greater understanding of their distribution. In this study, x-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis of a collection of 102 Prosser beads of various colors found in southeastern Idaho indicate dramatic variation between elemental composition of the beads. The variations are...
Craft and Commerce: Identifying Trade networks and Aesthetic Connections Using Local Pipes (2022)
This is an abstract from the session entitled "Boxed but not Forgotten Redux or: The Importance and Usefulness of Exploring Old or Forgotten Collections" , at the 2022 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Within a half century of contact with the Americas, tobacco became a mainstay of West African life. Regional artisans began producing pipes giving rise to a new craft specialization. Archaeologists have created detailed typologies of these objects noting regional styles...
Exploring the Viability of Geochemically Sourcing Elaborate Metates Through XRF Spectroscopy (2017)
The Central American elaborate metate is a perplexing group of ground stone artifacts. Their function continues to be the subject of debate, with interpretations ranging from hallucinogenic and food preparation to ritual seating. It is difficult to deny, however, the substantial labor investment represented and likely symbolic significance. X-Ray fluorescence spectroscopy has proven an invaluable tool in the non-destructive geochemical sourcing of archaeological obsidian, providing insights into...
Geochemical Evidence for Dispersed Ground Stone Tool Production at Hohokam Villages in the Middle Gila River Valley, Arizona. (2017)
A recent geochemical provenance analysis of Hohokam vesicular basalt grinding tools argued for the nucleated production of trough manos and metates during the Pre-Classic (A.D. 500-1100) and Classic (A.D. 1100-145) periods (Fertelmes 2014). One locus of production was suggested to have been the primary village of Upper Santan, which acquired vesicular basalt from the Santan Mountains and then distributed finished or nearly complete grinding tools to settlements across the Middle Gila River...
A Geomorphic and Elemental Analysis of the Johnston Site (36IN002) (2015)
The Johnston site (36In002), in Blairsville, Pa, is the type site for the Johnston Phase of the Monongahela Tradition. This site was first discovered by Ralph Solecki during the River Basin Surveys carried out in preparation for flooding of the Conemaugh River Lake. Following its discovery the site was partially excavated in the 1950’s by Don Dragoo for the Carnegie Museum. The Johnston site has been revisited by archaeologists from Indiana University of Pennsylvania; however, little...
The Home Network: X-ray Florescence and Geochemical Data of Post-Medieval Ceramics in Ulster (2016)
The area known as Ulster is one region where complex colonial and ethnic relationships are evident in the past, as well as in the present. This study looks specifically at the trade of ceramics in Post-Medieval Ulster, to see if coarse earthenware ceramics are being imported from elsewhere along with English refined earthenwares or if they are being produced locally in Ireland. Through the use of portable X-ray florescence (pXRF), the multi-elemental makeup of 1342 sherd will be examine to...
How Non-Destructive is XRF: Testing Sample Preparation Techniques for Redware (2016)
Can XRF accurately detect the chemical composition of ceramics using non-destructive sample preparation techniques? This study looks at the reliability of the Innov-X Delta XRF unit in detecting the chemical composition of earthenware ceramics through three different sample preparation methods. While there are growing interests in using XRF analysis for various ceramic studies, this research question examines whether different testing strategies will produce different results. This experiment...
Hyperspectral X-Ray Fluorescence of the Luni glasses (2015)
To investigate raw materials provenance, date and models of production of archaeological glass it is essential to characterize and define compositional groups based on the elemental composition. However, obtaining such information traditionally requires performing micro-destructive analysis on micro-samples. Here, the use of hyperspectral X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) is investigated as alternative tool for the examination of Roman natron glass. The full multichannel analyzer (MCA) data of the...
Identifying Historic Ceramics: Applications of X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry in Archaeology (2018)
While ceramics are prevalent among many historical archaeological excavations, it is often difficult to properly identify ware type, particularly to the archaeologist untrained in ceramic studies. Even with such training some sherds may still remain unidentifiable. The purpose of this research is to investigate the feasibility of using a portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer to accurately categorize ceramic sherds by ware type based on the elemental composition of their glaze. By analyzing...
Locally-Made or Transported Heirlooms?: XRF Source Analysis of Post-Removal Choctaw Ceramics from Southeastern Okahoma (2015)
This paper explores the benefits of using compositional analysis in order to investigate whether post-removal Choctaw-made ceramics were locally made in southeastern Oklahoma and/or were transported from their original homeland in east-central Mississippi. A total of 20 sherds were analyzed using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) to determine their chemical composition. 10 sherds are from two post-removal Choctaw sites, 34MC544 and 34MC399 and were compared with 10 sherds from the Pevey...
A Matter of Time – Applications of portable X-Ray Fluorescence in establishing rock art chronologies (2015)
The aim in this examination was to examine the potential for portable XRF technology to contribute to chronologies of in situ rock art. In order to do this pXRF data from Chumash rock art panels in the Wind Wolves Preserve in South Central California were compared with one another, and with readings from ochre found in excavated deposits. These ochre deposits are associated with other artefacts which have known dates. The results showed that multiple pigments were used within each rock art panel...
Obsidian Provenance Studies of Sites in Northern Utah (2015)
Previous studies of obsidian from archaeological sites in Utah Valley and the Salt Lake Valley have used relatively small samples to document temporal shifts in obsidian procurement, with southern sources (especially Black Rock) dominating Fremont assemblages, while most post-Fremont obsidian comes from the Malad source to the north. Our greatly expanded XRF analysis of almost 4,000 obsidian artifacts from sites in Utah and Salt Lake Valleys confirms the temporal change noted by earlier...
Obsidian Source Utilization at the Trappers Point Antelope Kill Site 48SU1006 (2002)
X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy was used to study obsidian artifacts collected from the Trappers Point Site, a multicomponent Early Archaic pronghorn processing site, located west of Pinedale, Wyoming in Sublette County. The trace element concentrations for artifacts were compared to trace element concentrations from known sources. The majority (80%) of the identified materials were from the closest sources in Jackson Hole. The rest came from Obsidian Cliff in Yellowstone National Park and...
Obsidian Sourcing in Western Beringia (2016)
Chemical sourcing of obsidian artifacts serves an important role in understanding prehistoric patterns of mobility, trade, exchange, resource exploitation, and cultural interaction. In Alaska and adjacent areas of Canada, more than 8,000 obsidian artifacts and geologic source samples have been analyzed by various analytical techniques resulting in the identification of more than 50 chemically discrete obsidian groups throughout this vast area. In contrast to Alaska, comparatively little...
Obsidian Utilization in Prehistoric Jackson Hole (1995)
We used X-Ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy to identify nine obsidian sources used by the prehistoric inhabitants of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. This paper examines this prehistoric use of obsidian and obsidian sources. Variation in utilization patterns is suggested through study of temporally diagnostic obsidian artifacts. The diachronic pattern of sources used allows consideration of the influences in acquisition, distribution, and use of obsidian.
Open Obsidian Geochemistry Visualization system for the Andes (2017)
Obsidian sourcing studies which provide valuable insights into archaeological mobility and interaction are enhanced by the availability of geochemical analyzers, and especially by the proliferation of portable X-ray fluorescence units. This year we are introducing an open source system for analysis of geochemical datasets available in web-based repository and based on R-Shiny, a browser based analysis and visualization system built on the R project. The Andean Geochemistry data archive, a new...
An Open-Source Calibration Framework for XRF (2018)
The Lukas-Tooth and Price algorithm for empirical calibration of x-ray fluorescence systems has become the standard for archaeometry, particularly in obsidian sourcing. Here, a new way of using the computer language R and HTML5 websites is introduced to calibrate these systems.
The Pied Piper in Boston: A Zooarchaeological Analysis of Rats at the Unity Court Tenements (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Zooarchaeology, Faunal, and Foodways Studies" session, at the 2019 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. The 2016-17 excavations at Boston’s former Unity Court Tenements yielded an incredibly rich assemblage of 19th-century artifacts. These tenements, in operation 1830-1880, served the ever-growing and changing community of Boston’s North End, and it was expected that their excavation would uncover the complex material culture of those living...
Prehistoric Obsidian Utilization in the Beartooth Mountains of Montana and Wyoming (1996)
X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy was used to determine the source of 107 obsidian projectile points in surface collections from the Beartooth Mountains of south-central Montana and northwest Wyoming. Seventy-two percent of the points were from Obsidian Cliff in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. Evidence was found for change of source usage when the artifacts were grouped into cultural affiliation periods.
Prehistoric Obsidian Utilization in the Central Rocky Mountains: The Lookingbill Site 48FR308 (1994)
XRF (x-ray fluorescence) spectroscopy was used to study obsidian artifacts collected from the Helen Lookingbill site (48FR308). The site is located in the southern Absaroka Mountains, a part of the Central Rocky Mountains of Wyoming. Using XRF, the trace element proportions for artifacts were compared to trace element proportions for known sources to identify the sources of the artifacts. The artifacts were produced from four obsidian sources west and northwest of the site. The pattern of...