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- Title
Provenance study of obsidian samples by using portable and conventional X ray fluorescence spectrometers. Performance comparison of both instrumentations.
- Authors
Vázquez, Cristina; Palacios, Oscar; Lué-Merú, Marcó; Custo, Graciela; Ortiz, Martha; Murillo, Martín
- Abstract
The potentiality of portable instrumentation lies on the possibility of the in situ determinations. Sampling, packaging and transport of samples from the site to the laboratory are avoided and the analysis becomes non destructive at all. However, detection limits for light elements are, in most cases, a limitation for quantification purposes. In this work a comparison between the results obtained with an X ray fluorescence spectrometer laboratory based and a portable instrument is performed. A set of 76 obsidian archaeological specimens from northwest Patagonia, Argentina was used to carry out the study. Samples were collected in the area of the middle and high basin of the Limay River. The analytical information obtained with both instrumentations was complemented with Principal Component Analysis in order to define groups and identify provenance sources. The information from both instruments allows arriving to the same conclusion about sample provenance and mobility of hunter-gatherer groups. Three groups of sources were identified in both cases matching with the geographical information. Also, same sets of outlier samples or not associated to these sources were found. Artifact samples were associated mainly to the closest sources, but some of them are related to sources located more than three hundred kilometers, evidencing the large mobility of the hunter-gatherers by the obsidian interchange. No significant differences between concentrations values obtained by laboratory based instrument and portable one were found.
- Subjects
PATAGONIA (Argentina &; Chile); ARGENTINA; OBSIDIAN; ROCK analysis; SAMPLING (Process); X-ray spectrometers; PORTABLE computerized instruments; COMPARATIVE studies; PERFORMANCE evaluation
- Publication
Journal of Radioanalytical & Nuclear Chemistry, 2012, Vol 292, Issue 1, p367
- ISSN
0236-5731
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s10967-011-1429-8