Developing a Japanese Obsidian Database and Chemical Standards for Obsidian Provenance Analysis

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Reliable chemical analysis and accurate obsidian collection are crucial for successful obsidian provenance analysis in archaeology. Since 2011, we have been collecting obsidian samples and conducting analyses using WDXRF in Japan. To date, over 1,000 obsidian samples have been collected, and the chemical composition of approximately 500 samples has been determined through WDXRF analysis. These data have been compiled into an obsidian database, and the analyzed obsidian chips are stored in small plastic boxes, serving as reference materials for each source. Moreover, we selected 38 obsidian specimens from these chips to establish standards for calibration and chemical analysis, focusing on pXRF and EDXRF methods. In this presentation, we will showcase the procedures for chemical and provenance analysis of obsidian artifacts using EDXRF in our laboratory.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 52667