Abstract
ABSTRACTSince the introduction of portable X‐ray fluorescence (pXRF) technology to obsidian provenance research, the volume of published studies has increased exponentially. This proliferation of data creates unprecedented analytic opportunities for the development of higher level archaeological theory but, at the same time, presents methodological challenges. Here, it is argued that rigorous analytic procedures are required to keep pXRF‐based provenance studies in line with the best scientific practice; specifically, the generation of accurate compositional data, the compilation of comprehensive reference databases for robust source characterisation and the development of appropriate methods for artefact assignment are essential components of a reliable protocol. To these ends, a reference dataset for New Zealand obsidians containing over 1500 samples is reported in this paper, previous source assignment methods are reviewed and a selection of multivariate approaches are evaluated.
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