Abstract
We have analysed and determined the source of 138 fragments of neolithic obsidian coming from 36 sites of the French Mediterranean area (Midi). This study has required not only the development of a new non-destructive analytical method, but also the definition of the composition of the different obsidian sources in the Western Mediterranean. The method of analysis proposed is X-ray fluorescence. To eliminate surface effects due to the form of the archaeological samples, we have used the ratios of the selected elements (Nb, Y, Zr, Rb, Sr) instead of their concentrations. Discriminant diagrams allow a clear individualisation of the different domains of chemical composition, corresponding to the geological obsidians of Pantelleria, Lipari, and Sardinia. The great majority of the archaeological obsidians analysed can be attributed quite definitely to one of these three sources. Five pieces of unworked obsidian, coming from the middle reaches of the Rhône, originate quite certainly from a source exterior to the Western Mediterranean. We have not been able to localise this source.
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