Iron oxide geochemistry in the Great Lakes Region (North America): Implications for ochre provenance studies

Abstract

Evidence for ochre use has been identified at archaeological sites in the eastern Great Lakes Region (North America) dating from the Paleoindian through to the Late Woodland periods. Yet, little is known regarding its procurement practices or if it was a component of established exchange networks. Addressing archaeological evidence for ochre provenance requires an assessment of the geochemical variability of Fe-oxide bearing deposits to determine if they can be differentiated on the basis of their chemical compositions, and if their chemical signatures satisfy the provenance postulate. We present the results of a geochemical characterization and multivariate statistical analysis of Fe-oxide deposits and ochre artifacts. Using Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD), we determined the elemental and mineralogical characteristics of ten Fe-oxide sources in the Great Lakes Region. In addition, we analyzed and compared twenty-three ochre nodule artifacts from the Haney-Cook villages (BcHb-27) and the Ball village (BdGv-3) to determine if they could be geochemically linked to any of the source deposits. The results presented here demonstrate that the Fe-oxide bearing sources each possess unique geochemical signatures, and, that ochre artifacts recovered from the archaeological sites can be linked to source deposits or source zones. Inhabitants of Haney-Cook were most likely engaged in direct procurement of local Fe-oxides, while those at the Ball site used ochres that were acquired either by mid-distance (<100 km) direct procurement, or intra-group exchange. Our findings illustrate the potential for ochre-based provenance studies in the Great Lakes Region.