Unexpected Results for X-Ray Fluorescence Applications in Zooarchaeological Research

Summary

The use of a Tracer X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) hand-held laboratory system in archaeological research has increased dramatically over the last decade. Research projects have investigated lithics, ceramics, pictographs, glass, and sourcing methods in order to find out more about the materials that humans utilized in the creation of artifacts. The study of fish remains from Betty’’s Hope sugar plantation in Antigua, West Indies, has opened up new avenues of XRF applications in zooarchaeological research. Although the experiments were originally intended to distinguish taphonomic processes on bone, and were successful, an entirely different set of results was also acquired. These unexpected results have spawned numerous questions about the ecological changes that occurred in the marine environment during the colonial period, and also established significant potential for a variety of research areas using XRF technology.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2014   •
• Historical Archaeology in the Caribbean: New Directions and Current Perspectives

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): SYM-6,12