A COMPARISON OF SHERD PASTE AND CLAY COMPOSITION AT THE RIPLEY SITE (NYSM 2490) USING X-RAY FLUORESCENCE & X-RAY DIFFRACTION.

Summary

The aim of this study is to attempt to source ceramic sherds recovered by Mercyhurst Archaeological Institute from the Ripley site in Ripley, New York. Based on data gleaned primarily from XRF analysis, visually as well as statistically, the clay’s elemental composition, while not an exact match with the ceramic’s composition, shows only minor variation and sufficient similarity to conclude that the clay used to form most of the sampled ceramics was sourced locally.

Sourcing was accomplished through the emplacement of 15 auger probes to recover clay from the site. The clay was prepared for analysis and analyzed by pXRF and XRD. A 24 sherd sample of the ceramic assemblage collected from Ripley in 2013 was subjected to pXRF analysis as well as XRD analysis. The relative percentages of 17 selected elements were then compared from ceramics and clay, as were the mineralogical data derived from the XRD.

This study will add to the knowledge of the site by identifying a location of the raw material for a selection of sherds found at the site. It also will demonstrate the efficacy of pXRF and inefficacy of XRD for ceramics sourcing.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage