Jadeitite Axes in the Aegean and Anatolia–The Emergence of a New Network

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Two Approaches to Archaeological Jades: Source Characterization and Social Valuation" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The largest known jadeite source in the Aegean is located on the Cycladic island of Syros. During sampling, several patinated flakes and preforms of considerable age were identified, demonstrating, for the first time, the presence of several knapping places around the large jadeite boulders. In order to classify the specific trace elements from the source of Syros a series of investigations has been initiated using radiospectrometry, XRD, and ICP-analysis.

In connection with the study of jadeitite axe assemblages in the Aegean and Anatolia, several Neolithic and early Bronze Age sites contain these rare objects, thus allowing comparison between larger geological jadeite and archaeological artefacts. The results indicated that the axes originated from jadeite sources in the Italian Alps, the local source on Syros and unknown sources. Another ground-breaking result was the discovery of jadeitite axes originating from Syros, found at the site Cukurici Höyük in Western Anatolia. The axes were found in layers dated by 14C analysis to 6500 cal. BC, making them the earliest evidence of jadeite exploitation in the Eastern Mediterranean region, which was contemporary with the first farmers in Western Anatolia.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Two Approaches to Archaeological Jades: Source Characterization and Social Valuation   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 23597