XRF (Other Keyword)
26-42 (42 Records)
The usage and trade of obsidian from various sources is well established during the Postclassic in West Mexico. Different qualitatively similar obsidian sources were used in different ways within sites, which suggests preferences for certain sources over others for different types of reduction. No studies, however, have explored this differential usage regionally. Here, I have macroscopically and microscopically analyzed collections from three Aztatlán regional centers in Nayarit: Coamiles, San...
Procedencia e Intercambio de obsidiana durante el Holoceno Medio en la Cuenca de México (ca. 6200-5000 calBP). Un análisis mediante pXRF (2015)
Se caracterizó mediante análisis de Fluorescencia de Rayos X (XRF) un conjunto de obsidianas obtenidas en las excavaciones en el sitio de Tepexpan, Edo. de México y San Gregorio Atlapulco, Xochimilco, D.F. (n=149), procedentes de los niveles precerámicos de ambos sitios, através del análisis de diversos elementos (Na, K, Ti, Mn, Fe, RB, Sr, Y, Zr, Nb y Ba); esto nos permitió conocer la composición química de cada uno de los artefactos líticos para posteriormente efectuar comparaciones con...
PXRF Analyses of Metal Artifacts from Spanish Colonial Sites in the American Southeast (2023)
This is an abstract from the session entitled "Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. We have conducted pXRF analyses on over 300 metal artifacts from Spanish colonial sites in the Americas that date from the 1500s to 1700s. Most are from the American Southeast, but the sample also includes locations in South America and the Caribbean. Sites encompass Indigenous towns visited by Spanish expeditions to presidios. The...
Raw Materials, Reuse, and Refuse: A multi-disciplinary study of Karanis glass (2015)
This multi-disciplinary study comprising archaeological, scientific, and morphological analyses as well as ethnoarchaeology and textual analysis, interrogates how value was assessed in the ancient world by examining Roman glass from Karanis, Egypt. Onsite portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (pXRF) analysis of recently excavated glass was conducted since the Egyptian government prohibits the export of artifacts for further analysis. This research, combined with pXRF and electron microprobe...
Revealing Woodland Period Landscape Use at Rat Island, Hamilton Ontario Using Itrax™ XRF Soil Chemical Analysis (2018)
With its ability to identify slight changes in chemical signatures from small easily obtained soil cores, Itrax™ core scanning provides an unparalleled opportunity to understand anthropogenic impacts on soils and explore the history of landscapes. Located in Lake Ontario less than 500 meters off the shore of Cootes Paradise, Rat Island (AhGx-7) enabled the integration of multi-element x-ray fluorescence analyses into a traditional excavation program. This small island, initially surveyed and...
Rock, Paper,….XRF….: Continuing Improvements to the UI-OSA Lithic Raw Material Assemblage (2015)
The University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist (OSA) has an expansive lithic raw material assemblage with a 30 year compilation history. The largest portion contains multiple samples of 75 in-state lithic types while the second portion contains multiple samples from the seven surrounding and 16 additional states. A revision and reorganization of the OSA collection was completed in 2006 to provide a more systematic and consistent approach to lithic identification and sourcing. This...
Scratching the Surface: New Discoveries Within Old Archeological Collections (2016)
Here in the NMSC archeology lab, we are privileged to work with archeological collections from national parks across the Northeast. Many of these collections were excavated before 1987, and in many cases, sat untouched and unutilized in storage until they were eligible for cataloging funds. We have seen firsthand the incredible research potential – unknown and untapped for decades – that these collections offer. One memorable collection from Petersburg National Battlefield was excavated in...
Sources of Sinagua Obsidian Points and Debitage: XRF Analysis (2017)
Projectile points and debitage from three Sinagua sites in northern Arizona, were analyzed using the XRF instruments at Missouri University Research Reactor. The rooms at Lizard Man Village, Fortress Hills, and New Caves were occupied between 1050 and 1250 AD. Over 300 obsidian points and debitage were analyzed using an ARL Quant’x EDXRF Spectrometer. The primary source of obsidian is the well-known Government Mt source,with a few samples from RS Hill and other sources. The nearest sources of...
Sourcing a Secret Recipe: An XRF Study of Barbadian Ceramics (2015)
During the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, enslaved African and poor white potters produced redware vessels in eastern parishes across the British Caribbean Island of Barbados. While potters predominantly catered to the burgeoning Barbadian sugar industry, they also crafted domestic vessel forms that emerged as key fixtures in local markets. Despite their economic impact, Barbadian potters are archaeologically invisible: The utilitarian wares they produced are nearly identical to...
Sourcing Basalt from the Santiago Quarry in Chihuahua, Mexico Using XRF (2017)
During survey in 2013, we identified the only known vesicular basalt quarry in the Casas Grandes region in northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico. Using XRF, we analyzed basalt from the Santiago Quarry and compared the results to the chemical characterization of formal tools (mostly mano and metate fragments) recovered at the site of Paquimé in order to determine if this quarry was one of the sources exploited by prehistoric stoneworkers during the Medio period (1200-1450 A.D.).
Sparrowhawk (1626), The Oldest Shipwreck On Cape Cod, MA: An Analysis Of Wooden Artifacts Using X-ray Fluorescence (XRF). (2020)
This is a paper/report submission presented at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. In 1626, a ship carrying adventurers to Jamestown, VA, was blown off course and abandoned at Nauset, MA. Another storm in 1863 exposed the putative bark, Sparrowhawk, the earliest European shipwreck found on Cape Cod. An Olympus Delta x-ray fluorescence instrument was used for elemental chemical analysis of artifacts from the wreckage, lumber used in ship construction, and sediment...
Technological Toolkit: Using XRF Analysis to better understand 19th Century Iron Making and its Implications for the Labor Force (2016)
The use of X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) as a tool for analyzing archaeological materials is becoming increasingly common. Recently, various types of iron ore and iron products produced at furnaces in Maryland and Pennsylvania in the 19th century were analyzed using XRF measurements. These measurements were employed to create a representational graph of the elemental composition of iron artifacts in order to identify a connection between the source material and the iron product. Documentary...
Trace Element Analysis Of Metal Projectiles Derived From Coronado Expedition Sites: Results And Interpretations (2023)
This is an abstract from the session entitled "The Archaeology of Arms: New Analytical Approaches", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. The 1540-1542 expedition of Francisco Vázquez de Coronado was a military force comprised of some 1,500 Spanish soldiers, Indian allies and camp followers. the expedition's ill-fated trek through northern Mexico and the American Southwest undoubtedly generated scores of encampment and battle sites. Several of these...
Uniform Buttons from the Site of CSS Georgia (2017)
The 2015 excavation of CSS Georgia yielded nearly 30 buttons spanning the time from the Revolutionary War to the Civil War. Uniform buttons played an important part of distinguishing between troops, duties, and rank in the military. Changes in design from year to year and manufacturer to manufacturer can inform researchers of the earliest date a button may have been used, where it was manufactured, and where the individual wearing it may have been located during his service. While sourced based...
Useful Materials: a study of 17th century glass from Plymouth Colony using pXRF analysis (2020)
This is an abstract from the session entitled "New Research on the “Old Colony”: Recent Approaches to Plymouth Archaeology" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. During the 16th and 17th centuries there was a revolution in glass production in England as both people and ideas dispersed through Europe due to political and religious unrest. Glass makers from northern France, Venice, and the Low Countries were brought to England to share their production...
Waste Not, Want Not: Exploring the Archaeological Significance of a Copper Production Waste Mound at Khirbat al-Jariya, Faynan, Jordan (2016)
Recent excavations by the Edom Lowlands Regional Archaeology Project at Khirbat al-Jariya (KAJ), an Iron Age (ca. 1200-586 BCE) copper smelting center in Jordan’s Faynan region, aimed to explore the site’s rich metallurgical history. KAJ is characterized by architectural features and large slag (smelting waste byproduct) mounds visible on the surface, attesting to its significance as a copper production site. These renewed excavations investigated the abundant metallurgical remains by probing...
When Trash Becomes Treasure: A Postclassic Maya Obsidian Core Cache from Nojpeten (2014)
This paper examines an obsidian cache offering excavated near the corner of a Postclassic Maya platform structure in Nojpeten, on the island of Flores, Guatemala. The cache consists of approximately 190 obsidian prismatic blade cores and core fragments, but the original number of cores placed in the cache likely fell between 173 and 182, with a best estimate of 177, 178, or 180. The cores were found about 20 cm southwest of the structure in a circular concentration measuring approximately 35 cm...