Presence Of Obsidian Research Articles

Lithic production and the use of siliceous raw material in the Neolithic of Istria, Croatia

This article contains the results of the lithic analysis of assemblages from the Neolithic sites of Kargadur and Vižula in southern Istria, Croatia. The assemblages have been analysed in terms of reduction strategies and typology, with a special focus on raw material analysis and petrographic analysis. During the Early Neolithic, and especially the Middle Neolithic, raw materials circulated the Istrian peninsula, as evidenced by the presence of obsidian and other non-local (exogenous) chert at several sites. Obsidian is certainly an exotic material in this region, and items found at Kargadur come from the Aeolian islands. With these results we have tried to gain a better understanding of lithic production of the period, the approach of the Neolithic people to raw materials and the scope of the distribution network of high-quality chert.

Obsidian in prehistoric complexes of the southern Kurile islands (the Russian Far East): A review of sources, their exploitation, and population movements

Obsidian provenance studies in the southern Kuriles (Kunashir and Iturup islands), part of the insular Russian Far East, are reviewed and summarized for the first time. The sites analyzed belong to the Jomon (ca. 7300–2500 BP), Epi-Jomon (ca. 2500–1400 BP), and Okhotsk (ca. 1400–800 BP) cultural complexes, with particular attention given to the well-studied Yankito 2 site. The main sources of high-quality volcanic glass for the southern Kuriles were on the neighboring Hokkaido Island—Oketo and Shirataki (ca. 140–390 km away). The presence of obsidian at an Epi-Jomon site on southern Kunashir Island originating from remote sources on the Kamchatka Peninsula ca. 1290–1440 km away is an important contribution to understanding the prehistoric contacts and population dispersals that occurred within insular Northeast Asia. This is also supported by paleoanthropological and DNA data from Epi-Jomon human remains on Iturup, showing similarities with native Kamchatkan populations. The use of boats in the southern Kuriles is evident from the beginning of colonization, ca. 7300–7100 BP given that islands were not connected after the Early Holocene due to sea level rise. It is clear that seafaring was an important part of human activities throughout the entire island chain since the Epi-Jomon, ca. 2500 BP. Because the Kurile Islands were one of the most probable migration routes between Northeast Asia (i.e., Japan) and Northeastern Siberia and North America, study of the human colonization of the Kuriles has wider implication for the northeastern part of Eurasia as a gateway to the Americas.

Obsidian and Obsidian-like Glass Tesserae: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Study the Dedication Wall Mosaic in the Church of St. Mary of the Admiral in Palermo (12th Century)

AbstractPliny the Elder testifies that roman workshops used volcanic glass (obsidian), but also produced and used a dark glass (obsidian-like glass) quite similar to the natural one. In the context of the study on medieval mosaics, the use of the obsidian and obsidian-like tesserae is a challenging research topic. In this paper, we present the results of a multidisciplinary study carried out on the Dedication wall mosaic, realized by a byzantine workshop in the 12th century in the Church of St. Mary of the Admiral in Palermo, and where numerous black-appearing tesserae, supposed to be composed of obsidian by naked-eyes observation, are present. Historical documents, multispectral imaging of the wall mosaic, and some analytical methods (SEM-EDS and XRPD) applied to a sample of black tesserae, concur in identifying here the presence of obsidian and different obsidian-like glass tesserae. This evidence, although related to the apparent tampering and restoration, could open a new scenario in the use of obsidian and obsidian-like glass tesserae during the Byzantine period in Sicily and in the reconstruction of multiple restoration phases carried out between 12th and 20th century AD on the mosaics of St. Mary of the Admiral.

Sources of obsidian artefacts, exchange networks and landscape use in Auca Mahuida (Neuquén, north‐western Patagonia)

The results of the X‐ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis of 59 obsidian samples from 11 archaeological sites in the Auca Mahuida region of north‐western Neuquén, Argentina, are present. They indicate that several obsidian sources were used; however, the intensities of their exploitation were variable. Strong differences appear between the Colorado River basin, characterized by a low variability of obsidian groups from northern Neuquén; the Auca volcano, with a low variability of obsidian groups, but from local sources located north and southwards of the study area; and along Bajo del Añelo, which presents a high variability of obsidian groups from several local and non‐local sources. The pattern recorded fits different mechanisms of access to the sources and the conveyance of obsidian across the landscape. Two distinct paths of direct access are suggested for obsidian availability along the Colorado River in northern Neuquén and for Portada Covunco obsidian in central Neuquén. Additionally, the presence of obsidian from sources in southern Neuquén province (Cerro Las Planicies‐Lago Lolog), located about 350 km from the study area, is suggested. While not yet conclusive, this possibility parsimoniously integrates the available geochemical and spatial information, allowing the existence of either long‐distance transport or indirect access by exchange or similar mechanisms to be proposed.

A Review of Obsidian Source Exploitation in pre-Columbian South America

The focus of this paper is the obsidian quarries of the Pacific coast of pre-Columbian South America, which were exploited by the indigenous populations since ca. 11000 BC. The importance of obsidian in geoarchaeology and palaeoanthropology has already been demonstrated in sites from all around the world. In this paper, the presence of obsidian in correlation to tectonic activity and volcanism of South America is presented, along with the main sources in their regional geological context. Obsidian artefacts were the mainstay of everyday life of indigenous populations and obsidian was also used in manufacturing weapons. Despite advances in metallurgy, which were comparable with those of contemporary European states, obsidian was never supplanted by metal implements and weapons, until the Spanish conquest. Obsidian is as useful today, as it was to these civilisations, albeit in the different role, of discerning interactions between local societies, elucidating aspects of everyday life, and tracing palaeomobility and trade networks.

Obsidiana Varvarco: una nueva fuente en el noroeste de Patagonia (Neuquén, Argentina)

En el norte neuquino existen depósitos piroclásticos que contienen nódulos de obsidianas. Las investigaciones en la región dieron a conocer las principales fuentes utilizadas por las poblaciones que allí habitaron. Para profundizar el conocimiento de cada fuente de obsidiana se adoptó un programa de estudio geoarqueológico y geoquímico. Así, se han descubierto nuevas ocurrencias de obsidianas, la más destacable de las cuales es la obsidiana Varvarco que aquí se presenta. Se dan a conocer los muestreos realizados en el valle del río Varvarco, su contexto geológico y geomorfológico, la presencia de obsidiana, el tipo de yacimiento, forma de presentación, distribución y abundancia. Luego, se describen las principales características observadas bajo microscopio petrográfico. Por último, se presentan los resultados de análisis geoquímicos de fluorescencia de rayos X y activación neutrónica. A partir de los primeros la obsidiana Varvarco se diferencia de la de Cerro Huenul, pero no de la obsidiana Maule 1 y 2. Los segundos análisis discriminan bien esta nueva obsidiana de las ya conocidas para Neuquén. Los resultados obtenidos permiten reinterpretar la disponibilidad de recursos líticos de buena calidad para la talla y revisar las interpretaciones de movilidad e interacción de poblaciones en esta región.

Diversity in obsidian use in the prehistoric and early historic Middle East

The presence of obsidian in the Near East has always evoked a response about its exotic nature and origins. It was not until 1960s, however, that this was put onto a scientific footing when Colin Renfrew and his collaborators began to explore obsidian in Turkey and the Mediterranean. Their characterisation of the sources allowed them to attribute artefacts to different sources and suggest models of dispersal and distribution. Since then considerably more artefacts have been attributed to sources, although mostly only small numbers from individual sites. This has led to various interpretations of how obsidian was obtained and used; new studies have considered least cost path analysis, network analysis and agent based modelling. Increasingly, new methods of provenancing of artefacts have also meant that large number of artefacts can be analysed relatively speedily and efficiently. Portable instruments allow data to be collected outside laboratories, avoiding restrictions imposed by export licenses or simplifying work on museum collections. Here we employ richness and diversity indexes to elucidate some of the patterns in obsidian source use and argue that there are several reasons why the provenancing of large proportions of assemblages will be critical in exploiting the true potential of obsidian studies in the Near East, even though the initial haphazard, small sample approach has been quite effective in sketching out the big picture.

Manipulated Connectivity in Island Isolation: Maltese Prehistoric Stone Tool Technology and Procurement Strategies Across the Fourth and Third Millennia BC

The prehistory of the Maltese Islands is known for its megalithic monuments dating to the fourth and third millennia BC, often emerging in debates surrounding the connectivity of islands. By focusing on the declining presence of obsidian over the Maltese Neolithic and the development of the “Temple” period, these islands are seen as an example of isolation and insularity. Instead, the ongoing analysis of lithic assemblages from Late Neolithic megalithic structures suggests a narrowed and manipulated connectivity between Malta and the outside world. Even in a setting of presumed isolation, prehistoric islanders reacted to declining obsidian by procuring flint from southeastern Sicily. Their use of imported flint was wasteful within the confines of the megalithic structures, suggesting a disinterest in the limited availability of this raw material and a control of its procurement by individuals in power. The connection between Malta and the outside world seems tied to the organization of the megalithic monuments, as reflected by their spatial connection to fertile plains and access to anchorage bays. In this setting of cultural isolation, lithics and their technology reflect specific social strategies, promising a richer understanding of islanders.

La obsidiana en el paisaje tardío del Valle de Hualfín (departamento de Belén, provincia de Salta)

In this paper we address the comparative analysis of obsidian found at different sites of Hualfin valley (Department of Belen, Catamarca) highlighting its relevance in the network of relationships among spaces, people and objects that shaped the regional Late landscape. Obsidian artifacts have been found in fortifiedsites, onlow hills and spurs, at the bottom of the hills and on the ravines of rivers occupations. The analysis allows us to pro-pose intensive consumption of obsidian from Antofagasta de la Sierra (Catamarca) and its preferential use for the manufacture of projectile points. Given the presence of obsidian in the different contextsstudied, its wide spatial distribution, and the general similarities in their treatment and use, it can be argued that its consumption transcen-ded the limits of complexity and organization of each particular site to become a general resource in the valley, which materializes relationships and shared knowledge. Moreover, the provenience of obsidian and the existence of other evidence -as Belen pottery-, reflecting the movement of goods and people between the valley and the highlands (Puna), ledus to analyze the absolute chronology of the two regions and wonder about the chronological limits of the “Late Period” in the valley and the question of the “origin” of “Belen”.

Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene seafaring in the Aegean: new obsidian hydration dates with the SIMS-SS method

Archaeological evidence regarding the presence of obsidian in levels that antedate the food production stage could have been the result of usage or intrusion of small obsidian artifacts from overlying Neolithic layers. The new obsidian hydration dates presented below employing the novel SIMS-SS method, offers new results of absolute dating concordant with the excavation data. Our contribution sheds new light on the Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene exploitation of obsidian sources on the island of Melos in the Cyclades reporting dates c. 13th millennium - end of 10th millennium B.P.

Melian obsidian in NW Turkey: Evidence for early Neolithic trade

Archaeological investigations carried out at the Early Neolithic coastal site of Coşkuntepe in northwestern Turkey yielded an assemblage of 110 obsidian artifacts displaying the macroscopic characteristics of the well-known obsidian deposits on the Cycladic island of Melos. Analysis of three samples from this homogeneous obsidian assemblage using both X-Ray Fluorescence and Laser Ablation High Resolution Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry confirmed that these artifacts were derived from Melos. The presence of these Melian obsidian artifacts at Coşkuntepe, along with a few pieces with central Anatolian macroscopic characteristics, is intriguing because intensive production of tools made of local flint was also identified at the site through the analysis of surface scatters. This finding raises the question of the status of obsidian and associated procurement systems. The presence of obsidian can be also used to argue that certain coastal villages acted as nodes of exchange for Aegean seafarers at times in the late 7th millennium B.C.

Quebrada jaguay: early south american maritime adaptations

Excavations at Quebrada Jaguay 280 (QJ-280) (16 degrees30'S) in south coastal Peru demonstrated that Paleoindian-age people of the Terminal Pleistocene (about 11,100 to 10,000 carbon-14 years before the present or about 13,000 to 11,000 calibrated years before the present) in South America relied on marine resources while resident on the coast, which extends the South American record of maritime exploitation by a millennium. This site supports recent evidence that Paleoindian-age people had diverse subsistence systems. The presence of obsidian at QJ-280 shows that the inhabitants had contact with the adjacent Andean highlands during the Terminal Pleistocene.

The Obsidian Assemblage from Homol'Ovi III: Social and Economic Implications

An analysis of the lithic assemblage at Homol'ovi III indicates that the presence of obsidian, a nonlocal resource, is strongly correlated with the late occupation of the site. It is argued that th...

More Source Analyses of Obsidian from Tikal, Guatemala

AbstractIn 1984, 29 obsidian artifacts and an unworked nodule were analyzed by X-ray fluorescence in order to determine the source of the raw material. The results of analysis confirmed the succession of Highland Guatemalan sources utilized by the Maya previously proposed by Nelson and also revealed the presence of obsidian from two additional Central Mexican sources, bringing the total of Mexican sources to six. At present only the Pachuca and Otumba sources are represented by more than one or two examples.The unworked nodule is probably a tektite, because of its chemical composition, size, shape, color, and surface texture.The 1984 XRF analyses were also used to check identifications of obsidian sources made on the basis of macro-optical characteristics. The lack of correspondence between the two methods is due to the great within-source optical variability of Mesoamerican obsidian. At present, visual source-analyses should always be confirmed by more accurate and reliable physical-chemical methods.

A Middle Stone Age occupation site at Porc Epic Cave, Dire Dawa (east-central Ethiopia)

This paper describes the results of the 1974 excavations at Porc Epic Cave, Dire Dawa. Following a summary of Dr M.A.J. Williams' interpretation of the stratigraphic succession and geological history of the cave and its contained deposits, the cultural sequence is described and an explanatory model presented. The 1974 excavation showed the Middle Stone Age layers to be sealed under a massive dripstone, except in the front part of the cave where erosion and later deposition had produced the seeming mixing of Middle and Later Stone Age artifacts observed by the 1933 excavators. Artifacts are associated with comminuted and often burnt bone round what appear to be hearths. Tools consist predominantly of points, scrapers and edge damaged blade and flake forms. The specialized nature of the retouched and utilized tools, together with the relative inaccessibility of the cave and the comminuted nature of the bone waste, suggest the possible use of the cave as a hunting camp at seasons when game migrated into the escarpment from the Afar Plains. The wide-ranging habits of the occupants are attested by the presence of obsidian and basalt artifacts, the raw material for which is not found in the immediate vicinity of the site. On the basis of the human jaw fragment discovered in 1933, the Middle Stone Age occupants of the cave are said to show both neanderthal and non-neanderthal features. Hydration dates for obsidian artifacts from the Middle Stone Age deposit indicate that the cave was occupied between about 61,000 and 77,500 bp. These results confirm that the Proc Epic occurrences are of comparable age to those from Middle Stone Age localities in other parts of the continent.