A Comparison of Elemental Analysis Methods for Sediment Geochemistry

Summary

This poster will present preliminary interpretations from a study comparing different techniques of elemental analysis for sediment geochemistry, the goal of which is to determine the "best" technique to answer the questions at hand. "Sediment geochemistry" here refers to the collection of sediment samples and the elemental analysis of these samples in order to map activity areas across archaeological sites. This study used sediment samples collected from a modern, abandoned village called Eski Hacıveliler, located in the Marmara Lake Basin in Western Anatolia. The elemental composition of the samples was measured using three techniques—loose powder X-ray fluorescence, glass bead X-ray fluorescence, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry—to determine which technique represents the ideal balance between sensitivity of analysis and the cost/labor of analysis. In addition, this poster will be presented as one part of a larger study of multiple sites in the Marmara Lake Basin, both modern and ancient. The poster will briefly cover both field and laboratory methods, as well as preliminary results and interpretations.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16172