Abstract
Abstract This paper presents the results of the geochemical characterisation of complete obsidian assemblages dating to the Early Aceramic Neolithic (8200–6900 Cal BC) and located in Cyprus, eastern Mediterranean. Obsidian artefacts have over the years been recovered from a number of Early Holocene archaeological sites on the island of Cyprus. As there are no obsidian sources on Cyprus, the presence of obsidian island-wide indicates long-distance sea transport/distribution, central Anatolia usually considered as the main supplying region. Portable XRF technology (X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry) was applied to determine numbers of obsidian sources represented in complete archaeological assemblages and address research questions concerning the social landscape Cyprus was part of during the Early Holocene, a time of significant change in the broader eastern Mediterranean region.
Highlights
The Early Holocene is a time of significant change in the wider eastern Mediterranean region with the development of farming technology and the first permanent settlements (Balkan-Atli, 1994; Colledge, Conolly, & Shennan, 2004; Zeder, 2008)
This paper presents the results of the geochemical characterisation of complete obsidian assemblages dating to the Early Aceramic Neolithic (8200–6900 Cal BC) and located in Cyprus, eastern Mediterranean
This data is taken from different studies using a variety of analytical techniques focusing on the main Anatolian and Aegean obsidian sources
Summary
The Early Holocene is a time of significant change in the wider eastern Mediterranean region with the development of farming technology and the first permanent settlements (Balkan-Atli, 1994; Colledge, Conolly, & Shennan, 2004; Zeder, 2008). Determining the elemental composition of complete obsidian assemblages can provide useful insights into source exploitation and raw material distribution patterns. Cyprus (Figure 1) is rich in good quality raw material resources for human exploitation, such as ochre, umber and chert (Stewart, 2004; McCartney, Manning, Sewell, & Stewart, 2010), but obsidian is not one of them. The analysis of 64 Shillourokambos obsidian artefacts by Gratuze (Briois, Gratuze, & Guilaine, 1997 and more recently Gratuze & Boucetta, 2011) using Laser Ablation Induced Coupled Plasma Spectrometry or LA-ICP-MS (31 artefacts) and Neutron Activation Analysis or NAA (33 artefacts) linked the raw material to the Göllüdağ volcanic complex in Anatolia. Şevketoǧlu and Hanson (2015) and Şevketoǧlu (2008) link the obsidian artefacts from Arkosyko to central Anatolian sources, primarily Göllüdağ and to a lesser extent Nenezi Dağ. The assignment of the Arkosyko obsidians to these sources is based primarily on stylistic criteria and limited chemical analysis on only ten obsidian artefacts from the site for which, no details are provided
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