Using visible derivative spectroscopy to assess flaked projectile point provenance: Application and preliminary analysis of the welling site, Ohio, U.S.A

Abstract

AbstractLinking the stone raw material of a lithic artifact to its original outcrop is an important endeavor that facilitates archaeologists' understanding of prehistoric mobility, trade, economics, and land use. Based on macroscopic identification, archaeologists' presume that prehistoric Holocene occupants of the Welling Site, Ohio, made use of the locally available Upper Mercer chert for the majority of their projectile points. Here we apply visible derivative spectroscopy (VDS) to quantitatively assess this claim by examining 55 projectile points from the site. VDS identified 85%, whereas macroscopic analysis found 73% of the projectile points examined derived from the Upper Mercer Chert. These proportions are not statistically different given the sample size. Although the VDS analysis supported the hypothesis that Welling's Holocene projectile points were predominately produced from Upper Mercer chert, discrepancies between the results of macroscopic versus VDS chert identification point to future avenues of research including an expansion of VDS analyzed hand samples and comparison of VDS to other sourcing methods. Nevertheless, we propose that VDS has much promise and should be researched further so that archaeologists' can add another tool to their lithic artifact raw material sourcing toolbox.