Sourcing Stones: PXRF Use at Pacbitun

Summary

The Maya site of Pacbitun in Belize has produced large amounts of granite ground stone tools, debitage, and debris. Determining provenance is integral to reconstructing the chaîne opératoire of ground stone tool production at the site. Portable X-Ray fluorescence (pXRF) is becoming widely used in the field for quick and accurate geochemical assessments. Most prior archaeological work has focused on fine-grained materials, rather than coarse-grained rocks like granite. This project used geologic reference materials to assess the accuracy and validity of pXRF on coarse-grained rocks such as granite. It was determined that by using multiple data points per granite sample it is possible to generate an average composition that is statistically indistinguishable from traditional powdered samples. This method was used to compare the chemical signature of granite artifacts from Pacbitun to collected granite outcrop samples from throughout the Maya Mountains. The results of this project indicate that Mountain Pine Ridge is the likely source pluton for the granite being utilized at Pacbitun.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20829