On the sources and uses of obsidian during the Paleolithic and Mesolithic in Poland

Abstract

Eighty-six obsidian artifacts from twenty Paleolithic and Mesolithic archaeological sites in Poland were analyzed using non-destructive energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) analysis and assigned to parent geological obsidian source (chemical type). Results of the study— the first country-wide survey of its kind—support the conclusion that the geological source of obsidian remained largely unchanged for thousands of years, that obsidian use appears to have been minimal throughout the Paleolithic and Mesolithic regardless of distance to source, that obsidian artifacts were used to perform the same functions as their non-obsidian (flint and radiolarite) counterparts, and that the distinct visual properties of volcanic glass may have contributed to its recognition as unique and exotic in different social contexts.