Establishing provenance for chert from southern Baffin Island: a multi-scalar approach

Summary

Difficulties in physically or chemically distinguishing between chert from closely situated quarries have made a multi-scalar approach to chert provenance analysis necessary in some regions. We present the preliminary results of a multi-scalar chert provenance project focused on the eastern Canadian Arctic. On a regional scale, we examine ICP-MS trace element results for chert from two quarries and five archaeological sites on southern Baffin Island. Chert from the quarries and archaeological sites is chemically similar. However, provenance assignments based on these data alone must be viewed as highly provisional, given that the chemical signature of the materials analyzed may be representative of chert deposits throughout the eastern Arctic. We augment these data with ICP-MS trace element results for chert quarry and artifact samples from the Churchill region of the west coast of Hudson Bay, which diverge significantly from those of the Baffin Island quarries. These results support placing the Baffin Island quarries into a regional quarry group to which provenance for the Baffin Island archaeological material can be more confidently assigned.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Foundations for Innovation: The Legacies and Influences of Archaeological Science at McMaster

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16874