Assessing the Validity of pXRF for Sourcing Cherts in the North American Great Basin

Summary

As a cost-effective and non-destructive method for multi-element analysis, portable x-ray fluorescence spectrometry (pXRF) has the potential for broad archaeological application. Several studies have demonstrated the validity of pXRF for sourcing obsidian and fine-grained volcanic artifacts. In this study, I assess the validity of pXRF for sourcing chert artifacts from Paleoindian sites in the North American Great Basin. Because chert artifacts dominate many archaeological sites, the ability to effectively source these artifacts using compositional data generated by a comparatively inexpensive method like pXRF could significantly enrich our understanding of prehistory, but we must demonstrate this potential before we can celebrate it.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Case Studies in Chert Sourcing and Identification   •
• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage