Thermal Analysis as a Means to Understand Prehistoric Heat Treatment and Performance Differences in Tool Stone

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Thermal analysis (TGA/DTA/STA) has seen sporadic use as an archaeometric technique. Recent papers on archaeological mortars, plasters, ceramic pigments, and paints have sought to understand recipes or mineralogical components by thermal decomposition, especially where traditional chemical analysis by mass spectrometry is limited due to the multiple forms a chemical compound may be derived from. Much of the thermal analysis literature centers on calcium carbonate species identification, since minerals like calcite, aragonite and vaterite have the same CaCO3 chemical formula, but different thermal decomposition profiles based on their crystalline organization. Here, we build on this prior research to extend the use of thermal analysis for the investigation of water hydration in lithic materials. We explore thermal analysis as a means to understand material property differences in unaltered tool stone, and the performance effect of heat treatment on tool stones that were commonly thermally altered prior to tool manufacture. Using an STA-MS (Simultaneous Thermal Analysis-Mass Spectrometer) to identify water hydration in unmodified and experimentally heat-treated tool stones, our research provides empirical data to understand the effect of variable amounts of hydrated water on tool stone performance and to infer possible heat treatment regimens used by tool manufacturers.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37562.0