Abstract
The process of dating ancient obsidian artifacts converts the quantity of surface diffused molecular water to a calendar age using an experimentally derived diffusion coefficient predicted from glass composition. The internal structural water content of rhyolitic obsidian has been identified as a highly influential variable that controls the rate of water diffusion at ambient temperature. We demonstrate through the use of infrared spectroscopy and specific gravity (density) measurements on samples from 34 obsidian sources that total structural water (H2Ot) concentrations between sources can range from 0.07% to 1.66%. Structural water concentration within individual sources may also vary significantly and impact the accuracy of estimated ages for artifact manufacture if not properly monitored. A calibration for the water determination on individual samples by density measurement is developed here and the impact of structural water variation on obsidian chronometric dates is discussed.
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