Abstract
A non-destructive mineralogical study of nephritic jade artifacts was carried out using a low-vacuum type scanning electron microscope (LVSEM) with an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS). Six artifacts from a prehistoric workshop site dated between 2500 and 1300 yr BP at Anaro on Itbayat Island, Batanes Province, northern Philippines, were found to be composed of nephrite (tremolite-actinolite amphiboles) with zinc-bearing chromian-spinel as accessory minerals. The mineralogical characteristics of these nephrite artifacts are comparable with those of Fengtian (Taiwan) nephrite. The results indicate that the original materials for these artifacts were collected in the Fengtian area, near Hualien in eastern Taiwan.
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