Establishing Ceramic Source Groups in Florida Using a Multi-method Approach

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Ceramics and Archaeological Sciences" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

More than 500 ceramic artifacts from four prehistoric sites in Pinellas County, Florida, were analyzed nondestructively using a portable XRF spectrometer to address research questions about local production and potential movement or exchange over significant distances. All dating to the Safety Harbor period (ca. AD 900–1500), at least 100 diagnostic rim sherds from each of the four sites (Bayshore Homes, Maximo Point, Weeden Island, and Yat Kitischee) were analyzed for seven trace elements using a Bruker Tracer Vg, with results calibrated using known standards. The vast majority of the sherds tested have broadly similar compositions, indicating use of clay within this region, while there were a modest number of outliers suggesting some coming from further away. In addition, subsets of 10 sherds from each site were also analyzed by neutron activation analysis (INAA) at MURR and by ICP mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) at USF. This multi-method approach was taken to test the performance of each and to determine the potential utility for sourcing/exchange studies of obtaining results for many more elements by using destructive methods. Furthermore, the ability to cross-calibrate data from these three methods allows direct comparison with results from other studies that have been conducted in Florida.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Ceramics and Archaeological Sciences   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 35578.0