Abstract
Stone palettes are a unique artifact of Hohokam culture. Discovery of lead minerals on these palettes dates back to the 1930s, however there has been little chemical analysis of these minerals. This research presents the result of a multi-analytical survey on the accretions of nearly 200 palettes to develop a better understanding of occurrence of lead minerals and isotopic characterization to address questions of sourcing, procurement and mineral exchange. We found consistent association of lead minerals regardless of context, region, and time period, suggesting lead minerals are related to a primary use of palettes. We also propose an alternate theory to one potential function of palettes – that they were used to prepare paint applied to the body or other materials that did not survive in the archaeological record. We propose that the lead silicate identified on some palettes is not intentionally formed, but rather due to post depositional processes.
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