Glass Provenance Studies Using Isotopes and the Nuances of Geological Inputs and Influences

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Geological and Technological Contributions to the Interpretation of Radiogenic Isotope Data" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Advances in both analytical techniques used to examine archaeological materials and in our understanding of various isotope systems have led to an efflorescence of research that applies isotopic analyses to questions of provenance in ancient glass materials. While initial isotopic studies of ancient glasses began with lead isotope work by Robert Brill and colleagues (late 1960s), advances in precision and accuracy, and, more importantly, the sensitivity of more recent instrumentation have opened new isotopic systems for exploration. This led to the use of the strontium (early 2000s) and neodymium (later 2000s) systems, which was followed by extensive exploration of the applicability of other isotope systems, such as antimony, boron, copper, and more, leading to many new and exciting provenance interpretations. Work with these isotope systems also has led to large-scale characterization of raw material resources used in ancient glass production. However, this growth in glass provenance studies using isotopic analyses comes with a growing concern over properly understanding the role and influence of natural (and human) processes that can significantly impact our abilities to interpret those results correctly. This paper outlines recent issues, successes, and challenges in generating and interpreting radiogenic isotope data for provenance studies of ancient glass.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Geological and Technological Contributions to the Interpretation of Radiogenic Isotope Data   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39206.0