PXRF characterisation of obsidian from central Anatolia, the Aegean and central Europe

Abstract

The obsidian sources of central Anatolia, the Aegean and central Europe have been studied in detail over the past 50 years. Various analytical techniques have been employed to discriminate artefacts from each of these and to reconstruct their zones of distribution. This paper presents a pXRF method that allows mass sampling of artefacts focusing on three neighbouring regions, particularly where these zones overlap. Successful discrimination of the obsidian source for products could be achieved using three-dimensional scatter plots of trace elements Rb–Sr–Zr. PXRF can thus be appreciated as a powerful tool in the region, enabling non-destructive on-site analyses in contexts where the export of artefacts is often difficult if not impossible. The ability to rapidly process large assemblages also has major implications for generating data-sets of sufficient resolution to transform archaeological interpretation.