Sourcing archaeological obsidian by an abbreviated NAA procedure

@article{Glascock1994SourcingAO,
  title={Sourcing archaeological obsidian by an abbreviated NAA procedure},
  author={Michael D. Glascock and Hector Neff and Kimberlee S. Stryker and Thomas Johnson},
  journal={Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry},
  year={1994},
  volume={180},
  pages={29-35}
}
An abbreviated NAA procedure has been developed to fingerprint obsidian artifacts in the Mesoamerican region. Despite the large number of available sources, an NAA procedure, which relies on producing short-lived isotopes, has been applied with a success rate greater than 90 percent. The abbreviated NAA procedure is rapid and cost competitive with the XRF technique more often applied in obsidian sourcing. Results from the analysis of over 1,200 obsidian artifacts from throughout Mesoamerica are… 
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57 Citations
Background Citations
7
Methods Citations
7

57 Citations

The Obsidian Artifacts of Quelepa, El Salvador

Abstract Nearly 600 obsidian artifacts dating from about 200 b.c. to a.d. 950 at Quelepa, El Salvador, are assigned to geological source areas using visual criteria and an abbreviated neutron…

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Multivariate statistical methods based on Mahalanobis D 2 enable robust rejection of erroneous source assignments and lead to sourcing of artifacts with a very high degree of confidence.

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Two hundred twenty-five source samples from the multi-component obsidian source at Glass Buttes, Oregon were characterized by neutron activation analysis to determine the number of chemical groups…

Tracking the Source of Quispisisa Type Obsidian from Huancavelica to Ayacucho

As in many parts of the world, the prehistoric peoples of the Central Andes sought out volcanic glass as a preferred material for lithic artifacts. Their taste for fine chipping material led obsidian…

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Compositional analyses have long been used to assign obsidian artifacts to particular source areas. In most cases, the chemical “fingerprint” of a particular source area has been determined through…
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