Results Of Neutron Activation Analysis Research Articles

Imported pottery at the cemetery of Perati in light of the current results of Neutron Activation Analysis

Despite the large number of ceramic vessels found at the cemetery of Perati in East Attica, the amount of imports identified in earlier studies was minimal, thus limiting our ability to investigate external connections of the site based on pottery. The present study attempts to fill this gap by reporting the results of Neutron Activation Analysis of 25 vessels, the majority of which were selected as potential imports to Perati. The analysis identified imports from Central Euboea, Laconia, Argolid, Crete and Cyprus, as well as a higher than usual share of singles and pairs. In addition to the previously recognized imports and the growing evidence for exports of pottery from East Attica, these results make it possible to reconstruct a network of reciprocal connections that the area of Perati had with numerous coastal areas of the Aegean and even beyond.

POTTERY PRODUCTION, EXCHANGE AND CONSUMPTION IN LATE BRONZE AGE MAGNESIA (THESSALY): RESULTS OF NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS OF POTTERY FROM DIMINI, VOLOS (NEA IONIA, KASTRO/PALAIA), PEFKAKIA AND VELESTINO

This article presents the results of Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) of, altogether, 145 pottery and clay samples deriving from five sites located in the Thessalian region of Magnesia: Dimini, Nea Ionia, Kastro/Palaia (Volos), Pefkakia and Velestino. Chronologically, the sampled pottery covers the entire Late Bronze Age (LBA), with a few samples dating to the Middle Bronze Age. Within this broad chronological range, Mycenaean-type pottery dominates, the majority of it being decorated, with an addition of fine unpainted pottery and such used for transport and cooking. Pottery of non-Mycenaean derivation is represented by a variety of types belonging to the early LBA as well as two classes of the early post-palatial period (i.e. after 1200 BC): Handmade Burnished Ware and Grey Ware. Importantly, samples associated with two pottery kilns at Dimini and Velestino were included in the project, although no kiln wasters were identified. Results of the analysis provide important insights into both local Thessalian pottery production and inter- and intra-regional pottery exchange. Local production utilising clay beds around Dimini is best evidenced, with a distribution of its products reaching beyond Thessaly. Two further chemical patterns appear to be associated with Velestino, while an additional two small chemical groups are likely Thessalian as well. In terms of identified imports, the Argolid stands out as the major source of non-local pottery from the beginning of the LBA until the end of the palatial period. Other regions and production localities play a significantly smaller role as sources of supply. On the basis of the study, for the first time the local production as well as importation of pottery in the region of Magnesia is documented by scientific means, opening new research perspectives and strengthening the region's standing as part of the Mycenaean world.

Using Neutron Activation Analysis to evaluate social connections during a period of transformative social change in the American Southeast

Major changes marking the social transformation between the Middle (A.D. 200 to 650) and Late (A.D. 650 to 1000) Woodland periods throughout much of the American Southeast include settlement reorganization and shifts in ritual practices and material culture. In the Lower Suwannee region of Florida’s northern Gulf Coast, this transformation entailed the abandonment of major population and ritual hubs (i.e., civic-ceremonial centers) and the resettlement of the region in small-scale, dispersed, and diverse villages. Historically, large-scale social transformations such as this are accompanied by a reorganization of connections among social groups; however, the results of Neutron Activation Analyses of 300 domestic pottery vessels from 12 sites in the Lower Suwannee demonstrate that regional connections among communities did not change significantly between the Middle and Late Woodland periods, even as many other aspects of practice and culture were transformed.

Production and distribution of White Ware towards the end of Late Bronze Age in Greece

This article discusses new evidence concerning the production and distribution of White Ware, a pottery class characterized by its distinct sandy fabric, pale surface and predominantly simple decoration that was in circulation in the Aegean during the two last centuries of the 2nd millennium BCE. After a summary of previous studies and hypotheses concerning its production location(s), results of petrographic and Neutron Activation Analysis for White Ware pottery from Eleon and Lefkandi are presented. They confirm that White Ware from these sites is identical to that of Perati, and that it was most likely produced at the same location. Several lines of evidence, including distribution pattern and most recent discoveries in the area of Perati, designate East Attica the most likely production area for White Ware.

In Depth Analysis of a Sediment Core from North Aegean Sea

In this work a thorough analysis of the vertical distribution of natural and artificial radionuclides and trace elements in a sediment core sample was conducted. A sediment core of 39 cm length was grabbed from the deep-sea trench (1540 m depth) southern of Samothrace Island, Aegean Sea. The sediment core was then treated at the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, separated at 1cm increment samples, ranging from 0cm to 39 cm, dried, and milled. A first analysis of the samples was also conducted at HCMR using gamma spectroscopic techniques. Further spectroscopic analysis continued at Nuclear Engineering Department of the National Technical University of Athens (NED-NTUA) using an Extended Range Germanium Detector. The following radionuclides were determined 210Pb, 234Th, 226Ra, 228Ra, 228Th, 137Cs and 40K. Additionally, Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis was used and the following major and trace elements were identified and quantified: Al, V, La, Sc, Mn, As, Ga, Cr, Zn, Co, Rb, Fe, K, Na and Ce. Based on the analysis of each sample, the vertical distribution of most natural radionuclides showed no significant variation. The vertical distribution of anthropogenic 137Cs was very low and almost constant. Unsupported 210Pb activity was about six times higher than 226Ra, indicating high radon fluxes. Furthermore, neutron activation analysis results indicate that almost all elements are within the expected range based on literature, while K and Na show a slightly increased concentration. For the area, these findings indicate steady and calm sedimentation processes.

Influence of local geological data and geographical parameters to assess regional health impact in LCA. Tomsk oblast', Russian Federation application case.

The research paper is aimed to modify the human health impact assessment of Cr in soils. The current article presents the input of several critical parameters for the human health Impact Score (IShum) assessment in soils. The modification of the IShum is derived using geological data - results of neutron activation analysis of soils are used in the IShum calculation; research area is divided using the watersheds and population size and density. Watersheds reflect the local environmental conditions of the territory unlike the administrative units (geographical areas of the studied region) due to their geological independence. The calculations of the characterization factor value underestimate the influence of the population size and density on the final result. Default characterization factor values cannot be considered during the assessment of the potential human health impact for the big sparsely inhabited areas. In case of very low population density, the result will be overrated and underestimated in the opposite case. The current approach demonstrates that the geographical separation in the USEtox model should be specified. The same approach can be utilized for other geo zones due to the accessibility of this information (area size, population size, and density, geological, and landscape features).

Differences between Chemical Elements of Thyroid Benign Nodules and Those of Thyroid Tissue adjacent to Nodules investigated using Neutron Activation Analysis

Thyroid benign nodules (TBNs) are the most common diseases of this endocrine gland and are common worldwide. The etiology and pathogenesis of TBNs must be considered as multifactorial. The present study was performed to clarify the role of some chemical elements (ChEs) in the etiology of these thyroid disorders. For this purpose, thyroid tissue levels of calcium (Ca), chlorine (Cl), iodine (I), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), and sodium (Na) were prospectively evaluated in nodular tissue and tissue adjacent to nodules of 79 patients with TBNs. Measurements were performed using neutron activation analysis Results of the study were additionally compared with previously obtained data for the same ChEs in “normal” thyroid tissue.

Interaction and the end of the Late Bronze Age as displayed through neutron activation analysis of Late Helladic sherds: a case study on Asine in the Argolid, Greece

This article discusses the results of neutron activation analysis made on a limited number of LH IIIB and LH IIIC period sherds from the Argive settlement Asine, Greece. The analysis indicates that the transformation from the palatial to the post-palatial period, on a local level of a village as Asine, was not signified by loss of contacts with the surrounding world. Rather continuity and interaction prevailed, although with other geographical areas as production and use of pottery in the LH IIIB period apparently had a more regional preponderance. The geographical dominance of pottery assigned to producers in north-eastern Peloponnese and distributed over the Mediterranean was terminated, but other operators may have responded to the demand for pottery.

Pottery Production in Mycenaean Laconia: NAA Results from the Palace of Ayios Vasileios

Abstract This paper deals with the provenance of Mycenaean pottery found in the palace of Ayios Vasileios in Laconia. It focusses on painted and plain fine wares and reports the results of neutron activation analysis (NAA). The analyzed ceramics cover all of the habitation phases of the palace as well as the short, post-palatial use of the site, i. e. LH IIB to LH IIIC Early 1 (ca. 1450–1180 BCE). A large part of these fine ware pots represents a compositional pattern, which probably relates to local or regional production during the palatial periods LH IIIA and IIIB. Very similar patterns are known from other sites in the Eurotas valley as well as on the southeastern Laconian coast. The diachronic analysis shows that a reduction of paste variability towards the use of a more homogeneous clay recipe occurred after LH II, i. e. approximately contemporaneously with the establishment of the palace at Ayios Vasileios. Relatively few samples of the painted fine wares are imports and can be assigned to the wider region of Mycenae. Interestingly, these imports are restricted to the earlier phases up to LH IIB/IIIA1.

The results of neutron-activation analysis of the atmosphere in the southern regions of Central Asia

This article analyses the migration of harmful substances based on the use of physical methods in the study of environmental problems including the laws of their long-range distribution, the state of the environment in the regions, the presence of excess and foreign elements in soil, water and atmosphere. The results of the artificial environmental problem in the southern regions of Uzbekistan and its impact on the national economy are well documented.

Aztec black-on-orange and redware pottery production from the Middle Postclassic to early Colonial period: Insight from instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) at Xaltocan, Mexico

This paper presents the results of instrumental neutron activation analysis of 332 decorated serving vessels from household excavations in the “settler” community within Xaltocan, Mexico. Our findings demonstrate significant ceramic production of all major Black-on-Orange and Redware types during the Middle Postclassic, Late Postclassic, and early Colonial periods. While Aztec scholars have assumed that rural ceramic production was limited to simpler designs and forms, we find that the most elaborately decorated pots were produced at Xaltocan during the periods of its political subjugation, economic marginalization, and smallest populace. Our results support a decentralized model of Aztec ceramic production and continuity despite imperial and colonial strategies of rule. Xaltocan’s potters persevered and supplied the town with feasting vessels through multiple political transitions. We tentatively identify two potting communities using the Xaltocan 1a and 1b clay sources, the patronage of which was socially and spatially variable within the site. These patterns were visible only with large-scale household excavations and extensive sampling from precisely dated household middens. Finally, within the potting community that utilized Xaltocan 1a clays, the major wares—Orangewares and Redwares—were likely produced in different workshops and/or using different recipes, and this organizational strategy was maintained across the colonial transition.

A study on trace elements in fingernails and toenails from adult individuals by instrumental neutron activation analysis

This study presents results of instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) of nails from healthy adult individuals living in São Paulo city, Brazil. Concentrations of As, Br, Ca, Co, Cr, Fe, K, La, Na, Sb, Se and Zn were determined in fingernails and toenails and their variations with gender, age, body mass index among individuals and inter-element correlations were evaluated. These results indicated that several factors might affect in the nail element composition. In addition, there are few published data for finger and toenails analyses. However, comparisons made between the concentrations of elements obtained in fingernails were reasonable within the range of literature values. The findings of this study may contribute to establish an appropriate protocol to obtain data of nail element composition to be used as reference values.

Tracing the Circulation of Iconographic-style Red Ware in East-central Arizona

The appearance of Fourmile Polychrome in the AD 1320s signaled a shift in the decorative layout, use, and perhaps even value of red-slipped pottery in east-central Arizona. Bowls were often painted with iconographic-style designs that diverged from the geometric imagery of earlier White Mountain Red Ware. The type was circulated through the region and even copied in some localities. The provenance of Fourmile Polychrome has remained a mystery due to the lack of research at late Silver Creek villages. We integrate results of neutron activation analysis (NAA) with a large corpus of existing NAA data to shed light on the production and circulation of this iconographic-style pottery. The results illuminate the social networks of ceramic circulation in the Silver Creek drainage and surrounding areas during the fourteenth century.

Commercial interaction at the port of Acapulco, Mexico, during the Viceregal period: A provenance study of ceramic containers and regional wares

This paper exposes the results of Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) on 46 pottery sherds, fragments of Spanish olive jars (botijas) and stoneware containers (martabans) recovered from archaeological interventions in San Diego fort and Acapulco historic sector, a shipwreck site in the western coast of Baja California peninsula, and shipwrecks beneath of Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea waves. The study was developed to obtain data on the geochemical-composition of pastes, lead-glaze and pitch coatings of the referred pottery sherds collection, with the aim of identifying the geochemical signature of each elementary composition of sherds. So, it was possible to propose a geochemical area of origin (manufacturing provenance) for the sampled ceramic vessels: according achieved results, many analyzed pottery sherds came from the Iberian peninsula, South America and Southeastern Asia, whilst other were locally-produced (namely the Acapulco Red Ware and Acapulco Glaze).

Spectroscopic Determination of Optimal Hydration Time of Zircon Surface

When a mineral surface is immersed in an aqueous solution, it develops an electric charge produced by the amphoteric dissociation of hydroxyl groups created by the hydration of the solid surface. This is one influential surface property. The complete hydration process takes a time which is specific for each mineral species. The knowledge of the aqueous solution contact time for complete surface hydration is mandatory for further surface phenomena studies. This study deals with the optimal hydration time of the raw zircon (ZrSiO4) surface comparing the classical potentiometric titrations with a fluorescence spectroscopy technique. The latter is easy and reliable as it demands only one sample batch to determine the optimal time to ensure a total hydration of the zircon surface. The analytical results of neutron activation analysis (NAA) showed the presence of trace quantities of Dy3+, Eu3+ and Er3 in the bulk of zircon. The Dy3+ is structured in the zircon crystalline lattice and undergoes the same chemical reactions as zircon. Furthermore, the Dy3+ has a good fluorescent response whose intensity is enhanced by hydration molecules. The results show that, according to the potentiometric analysis, the hydration process for each batch (at least 8 sample batches) takes around 2 h, while the spectrometric method indicates only 5 min from only one batch. Both methods showed that the zircon surface have a 16h optimal hydration time.

Evaluation of the uncertainty associated with sample holders in NAA measurements in LAN/IPEN

In IPEN’s Neutron Activation Laboratory (LAN/IPEN), thin stainless steel sample holders are used for gamma spectrometry in NAA measurements. This material is very practical, but its chemical composition may be troublesome, as it presents large amounts of elements with intermediate atomic number, with attenuation factors for low-energy gamma-rays that must not be neglected. In this study, count rates obtained using different sample holders were compared. To accomplish that, an Am-241 source, with 59-keV gamma emission, was used so that low-energy gamma attenuation differences can be determined. Moreover, in order to study the energy dependence of these differences, a Ho-166m source was also used. From these results, it was possible to analyze the experimental error associated to the variations between sample holders, with the aim of introducing an addictive term to the uncertainty analysis of comparative Neutron Activation Analysis results.

Ceramic production and consumption in an in-between place: Instrumental neutron activation analysis of ceramics from the Manialtepec Basin of Oaxaca, Mexico

This paper reports the results of instrumental neutron activation analysis of 66 pottery samples from seven archaeological sites in the Manialtepec Basin of Oaxaca, Mexico. Located on the central Pacific coast, the Manialtepec Basin is a 60 km2 pocket surrounded by mountains and dominated by a 1200-ha lagoon. Settlement survey of the basin has identified 21 archaeological sites spanning the Late Formative (400–150 BCE) to the Late Postclassic (1100-1522CE) periods. Although the basin's small size and circumscribed agricultural terrain likely limited precolumbian populations, its geographic position would have placed it interstitially between several significant regional political centers, notably the lower Río Verde valley (57 km to the west), the Valley of Oaxaca (130 km to the north), and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (300 km to the east). Recent research has focused on understanding how inhabitants of the Manialtepec Basin engaged with other regions of Oaxaca and Mesoamerica. INAA results confirm the existence of a local ceramic industry, with pottery production and intra-basin exchange continuing for nearly 2000 years. The evidence also indicates that the basin's inhabitants were aware of, and actively involved in, broader regional trends in ceramic manufacture. They nonetheless maintained an independent and distinct local ceramic industry despite major geopolitical shifts like the collapse of Oaxacan metropoles and the conquest of the basin by the Mixtec Tututepec Empire in the Late Postclassic period. Our results highlight the agency and dynamism of potters in an in-between place.

Integrating a complex late prehistoric settlement system: Neutron activation analysis of pottery use and exchange at Saruq al-Hadid, United Arab Emirates

Temporary sites were a critical component of the prehistoric Near Eastern economy but, because of their ephemeral nature, are less frequently the focus of research than sedentary settlements. The present article presents the results of neutron activation analysis conducted on pottery from the temporary site of Saruq al-Hadid, United Arab Emirates. The results identified both continuity and change in the pottery consumed at the site in the Bronze and Iron Ages, which suggests that the peoples gathering here were integrated into economic practices observed at sedentary sites throughout southeastern Arabia.

Marginalized Potters and Ceramic Compositional Groups: Neutron Activation Analysis of Contemporary Pottery from Tigray, Northern Highland Ethiopia

The study presents the results of neutron activation analysis (NAA) of contemporary pottery from Tigray Regional State, northern highland Ethiopia. This is the first regional-scale study of ceramic composition of Tigray’s pottery and is part of an ethnoarchaeological study of the material and social contexts of pottery production and consumption in Tigray’s Eastern (Misraqawi), Central (Mehakelegnaw), and North-western (Semien Mi’irabawi) zones. The analysis identifies clear compositional groups with strong regional patterns, an encouraging result for the use of NAA to study Tigray’s ancient pottery trade. Significantly, the study further contributes to discussions of how mutually constituted social identities of potters and consumers affect compositional patterning in the distribution of pottery in market networks.

Environmental radioactivity of soils and sediments: Egyptian sector of the Nile valley

ABSTRACTThe activity concentrations of natural 40K, 232Th, and 238U in 89 soil and 84 sediment samples collected over the entire Egyptian Nile River basin including the Nile delta are reported based on the results of epithermal neutron activation analysis. The average activity concentrations of 40K, 232Th, and 238U equal to 15.3 ± 6.6, 15.6 ± 11.1 and 220 ± 31 Bq/kg, respectively, are significantly lower than those reported for the Upper Continental Crust, World Average Sediments as well as World Average Soils, suggesting the presence of a considerable portion of mafic material, most probably originating from the Ethiopian High Plateau. Their average activity concentrations are statistically the same in soil and sediments, indicating that the Nile sediments and soil material are of the same origin. The main goal of this study was not only to estimate the radiological hazards but also to show the influence of sedimentary material transportable by the Blue Nile from the Ethiopian High Plateau. The different hazard indices like the radium equivalent, gamma index, external hazard as well as the internal hazard show a low radiological exposure either on direct contact or if local mud bricks are used in the construction of dwellings.