We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
SOURCING RAPANUI MATA 'A FROM THE COLLECTIONS OF BISHOP MUSEUM USING NON-DESTRUCTIVE pXRF.
- Authors
MULROONEY, MARA A.; MCALISTER, ANDREW; STEVENSON, CHRISTOPHER M.; MORRISON, ALEX E.; GENDREAU, LISSA
- Abstract
On Rapa Nui (Easter Island), four geological sources of rhyolitic obsidian were utilised to manufacture obsidian artefacts, including tanged implements known as mata'a. In the present study, a total of 332 mata'a from the collections of Bishop Museum were analysed using portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF). Two analytical methods, Discriminant Function Analysis and Support Vector Machines Classification, were used to assign geographical provenance to these artefacts. These appear to be manufactured using obsidians predominantly from Orito, one of four geological sources on the island. This study demonstrates how non-destructive analyses of museum collections can contribute to our understanding of obsidian procurement and production on Rapa Nui.
- Subjects
EASTER Island; OBSIDIAN; PROVENANCE (Geology); BERNICE Pauahi Bishop Museum; X-ray spectroscopy; COLLECTIONS; ANTIQUITIES
- Publication
Journal of the Polynesian Society, 2014, Vol 123, Issue 3, p301
- ISSN
0032-4000
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.15286/jps.123.3.301-338