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Although much research has been conducted on the Late Postclassic period Maya, there has been relatively less study of the role of economic activities in political management during this period. Many such studies focused on obsidian analysis and technology as proxies for trade and exchange. This article builds on that research, using a legacy collection of obsidian implements collected during archaeological surveys in the 1970s to examine Late Postclassic period (AD 1200–1524) economic networks in the K'iche' region. Obsidian collections from the site of Q'umarkaj and the surrounding region were examined through technological and geochemical analyses. I find that during the Late Postclassic period, K'iche' elites had more access to nonlocal obsidian sources than did non-elites, but that access to locally available sources was managed through independent and diverse acquisition networks. Thus, the K'iche' elite were not dependent on local economies as a main source of political power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent excavations at Sofular Höyük (Nevsehir, central Turkey) uncovered Aceramic Neolithic deposits dating to the late 9th and early 8th millennium cal BC and a lithic industry almost entirely made of obsidian. This study focuses on the techno-typology of this lithic assemblage and provides a first look at the material procurement strategies through geochemical characterization. Our results show that Sofular Höyük shares many general techno-typological features with contemporary sites in Central Anatolia, placing the settlement within the locally rooted traditions of the region, while the pXRF analysis of a selection of obsidian artefacts indicates the presence of two Cappadocian sources, namely Göllüdağ and Acıgöl.

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A set of obsidian artifacts (n = 142) from the preceramic levels of the San Gregorio Atlapulco site, in Xochimilco, Mexico City, was studied with portable X-ray fluorescence analysis (pXRF) through the analysis of 10 chemical elements (Mn, Fe, Zn, Ga, Th, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, Nb); this research has made it possible to identify the elemental composition of each of the artifacts and to make comparisons with obsidian from systematically sampled deposits. The results indicate a broad dominance of the Soltepec subsource in Otumba (94%), in addition to two other minor sources that include Pachuca. These findings have important implications for the interaction processes of the preceramic groups living in the Basin of Mexico during the Middle Holocene and give us insight into the importance of the obsidian of Otumba during the Archaic period and the formation of early exchange networks that would continue during the Formative period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exchange networks created by Neolithic pastoral transhumance have been central to explaining the distant transport of obsidian since chemical analysis was first used to attribute Near Eastern artifacts to their volcanic origins in the 1960s. Since then, critical reassessments of floral, faunal, and chronological data have upended long-held interpretations regarding the emergence of food production and have demonstrated that far-traveled, nomadic pastoralists were more myth than reality, at least during the Neolithic. Despite debates regarding their proposed conveyance mechanisms, obsidian artifacts' transport has received relatively little attention compared with zooarchaeological and archaeobotanical lines of investigation. The rise of nondestructive and portable instruments permits entire obsidian assemblages to be traced to their sources, renewing their significance in elucidating connections among early pastoral and agricultural communities. Here we share our findings about the obsidian artifacts excavated from the sites of Ali Kosh and Chagha Sefid in the southern Zagros. In the 1960s and 1970s, 28 obsidian artifacts from the sites were destructively tested, and the remainder were sorted by color. Our results emphasize a dynamic, accelerating connectivity among the Early and Late Neolithic communities. Here we propose and support an alternative model for obsidian distribution among more settled communities. In brief, diversity in the obsidian assemblage accelerated diachronically, an invisible trend in the earlier studies. Our model of increasing population densities is supported by archaeological data and computational simulations, offering insights regarding the Neolithic Demographic Transition in the Zagros, an equivalent of which is commonly thought to have occurred around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the ubiquity of obsidian in early Holocene archaeological assemblages across Southeast Alaska, artifact sourcing using bi‐plots and Principal Component Analysis has been hampered by the highly correlated geochemistry of two major sources: local Aguada Cove on Suemez Island, and distant Mount Edziza, in the Coast Mountain range. Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS‐DA) models constructed with device‐specific portable X‐ray fluorescence (pXRF) source catalogs benefit from the precision of individual pXRF machines and the ability of PLS‐DA to handle highly correlated data sets to provide a source classification system that complements existing methods. Of the known obsidian sources in or near Southeast Alaska, four are identified in early Holocene archaeological assemblages: Obsidian Cove and Aguada Cove on Suemez Island, Mount Edziza in the Coast Mountain Range, and a newly identified source on Zim Creek, Kupreanof Island. A comprehensive reanalysis of early Holocene microblade cores (101 cores from 13 archaeological sites) across Southeast Alaska confirms the presence of exotic obsidian from Mount Edziza in one of the oldest sites, alongside possible evidence of landscape learning: testing of the obsidian source on Kupreanof Island. The dominance of the Obsidian Cove source for microblade core production supports hypotheses framing Northwest Coast microblade core morphology as an adaptation to the small nodules of raw material available at the source. A simple distance‐decay model indicates no relationship between core reduction intensity and distance from the source, suggesting high forager mobility characterized by regular trips to Suemez Island (a voyage of up to 380 km) throughout the early Holocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kendale Hecala is located on the Ambar River in the Upper Tigris Basin, province of Diyarbakır in Southeast Anatolia. Various raw materials, including obsidian, radiolarite, chert, jasper, chalcedony, and quartzite, were used in the lithic industry. Obsidian artefacts constitute an average of 64% of the chipped stone assemblage. Technological analysis reveals that obsidian was brought to the settlement as nodules and chipped into various tools at the settlement. Understanding the operational sequence of the lithic industry, chaîne opératoire, including the distribution of raw material from source to site, is important to demonstrate the socio-cultural organization of the settlement in Southeastern Anatolia during the Ubaid period. In order to identify source varieties, the obsidian artefacts uncovered from Ubaid layers of Kendale Hecala were analyzed by macro-observations, and the characterization of archaeological samples was performed using a handheld XRF. Multivariate analysis of the data indicates the use of obsidian from different resources at the settlement, including Nemrut Dağ, Bingöl B, and Group 3d. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

pXRF analysis is used to identify the geographic origins of obsidian artifacts from a seventeenth-century New Mexico Spanish homestead. Socio-economic factors that may have influenced the presence of obsidian sources found at the site are then examined. The analysis provides a needed starting point to begin addressing questions concerning the incidence of obsidian and other flaked lithics recovered at early Spanish sites in the region and demonstrates the potential of obsidian to investigate broader historical archaeological and anthropological issues. I conclude that interpretations concerning the presence of lithic artifacts at Spanish sites need to move beyond functional explanations (e.g. lack of metal or material properties) and, instead, incorporate analysis with documentary evidence (when available) and larger social and economic contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work present results of an analysis of supply, use, and production of obsidian artifacts in Tepeticpac and Metepec, two settlements of Late Postclassic (a.d. 1250/1300–1519) Tlaxcallan. The first sample (n = 9222) was recovered in two architectural compounds at Tepeticpac, a first-order settlement and part of the Tlaxcallan urban core. Tepeticpac materials exhibit a strong focus on prismatic blade production intended mainly for ceremonial or ritual use. The second sample (n = 14,915) comes from an architectural compound and a nearby obsidian discard area in Metepec, a peripheral second-order site. Metepec artifacts focused on the production of blades and bifacials, with greater evidence of different phases of obsidian processing indicating the presence of a nearby obsidian workshop. Comparison of obsidian craft production from both sites points towards decentralized craft production at Tlaxcallan and an open market economy for obsidian acquisition and consumption but also to marked political and socioeconomic hierarchies within the polity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Portable X‐ ray fluorescence spectroscopy (pXRF) was used to reveal the chemical signatures of 60 obsidian artefacts from two Early Neolithic sites in the Muntenia region of southern Romania – Uliești in Dâmbovița County and Măgura – Buduiasca in Teleorman County. The results show that the Starčevo‐ Criș communities at both sites used obsidian that originated from geological sources in the Carpathians. Obsidian from the C1 and C2 source areas occurs at Măgura, while only C1 obsidian has been documented in the much smaller assemblage from Uliești. We consider the implications of these results for obsidian procurement patterns documented among the earliest farmers of the northern Balkans.

As a means of contributing to discussions on regional diversity in the earliest Neolithic lifeways of the Fertile Crescent (10th millennium cal BC), this article presents an EDXRF-based sourcing study of 332 obsidian artifacts from the hunter-fisher-gatherer village of Hasankeyf Höyük in southeastern Anatolia. While the techno-typological choices detailed conform largely to a pre-defined Upper Tigris cultural tradition, the distinctions in raw material selection reflect the "mosaic of exploitation strategies" that have come to typify the socio-economic practices of Early Holocene communities in the larger region (southwest Asia). Five obsidian sources are represented in the analyzed sample, with Nemrut Dağ products being dominant, plus smaller amounts of Bingöl A, Bingöl B, Muş and 'Group 3d' obsidian. The preference for Nemrut Dağ obsidian distinguishes this village from others of the Upper Tigris. By using a GIS-based least cost-path analysis, we suggest that community-specific traditions of raw material choice were part-influenced by these hunter-fisher-gatherers' use of rivers as their primary means of reaching the obsidian sources. The importance of the Tigris and its tributaries for transportation and cultural interaction is supported by various proxy data that lead us to argue that riverine movement and communication was an important aspect of Early Holocene lifeways in southwest Asia that has hitherto been largely ignored by archaeologists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The site of Grumăzești – Deleni (Neamț County) was excavated by Silvia Marinescu‐ Bîlcu during the late 1960s and 1970s. The excavations unearthed the remains of an Early Neolithic (Starčevo‐ Criș) settlement, as well as traces of occupation during the Bronze Age (Komariv and Noua cultures) and the 3rd– 4th centuries AD. The excavator’s field notes mention abundant obsidian finds associated with the Early Neolithic occupational layer. However, these original obsidian finds have been mislaid and were not available for analysis. During field surveys undertaken in the general area of the site in 2011 and 2017– 2018, a further ten obsidian artefacts were recovered. Non‐ destructive Energy Dispersive X‐ ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) analysis of these new obsidian finds was undertaken using a Niton ‘ XL3t ultra’ handheld portable XRF analyzer. Based on their geochemical and macroscopic characteristics they likely all originated in the Carpathian 1 source area

Portable X‐ ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (pXRF) was used to reveal the chemical signatures of 75 obsidian artefacts from seven sites in the Satu Mare region, ranging in age from Early Neolithic (late Starčevo‐ Criș culture) to Late Copper Age. The results reveal the origin of the obsidian to be the Carpathian 1 source area in eastern Slovakia, reinforcing the pattern documented elsewhere in Romania and in northern Bulgaria which indicates a clear preference for Carpathian 1 obsidian throughout the period from the later stages of the Early Neolithic to the Bronze Age

This study uses data collected during three seasons of survey and excavation to examine evidence for the importation of obsidian and the production of tools, particularly blades, in the periphery of obsidian exchange spheres in the Nejapa/Tavela region of Oaxaca, Mexico. Sourcing information from X-Ray Fluorescence reveals a wide-ranging and shifting utilization of both Mexican and Guatemalan sources. Differences in the assemblages from contemporaneous sites hint at the social and political complexity of the region, which was inhabited by Zapotec, Mixe, and Chontal language speakers in multiethnic communities. Visible manufacturing errors and evidence of recovery techniques suggest that local artisans were capable producers of prismatic blades, demonstrating invaluable skills in a region where obsidian was scarce. The paucity of raw material and artisan skill is attested by relatively low frequencies of obsidian, as well as by deliberate manufacturing techniques designed to maximize the output of blades from each core. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper details the characterization of 48 obsidian artifacts from Ein el-Jarba, an Early Chalcolithic site of the southern Levantine Wadi Rabah culture (6th millennium cal b.c.). By melding sourcing data from energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy with the artifacts' techno-typological specifics, we contrast Ein el-Jarba's obsidian consumption practices with those of broadly contemporary and earlier communities in the context of the period's emergent transregional character. The results attest to a major reconfiguration of long-term traditions, with well-known Cappadocian and Lake Van region source materials now supplemented by obsidian from the Caucasus, such material's most southerly distribution. These diverse resources are believed to have circulated within the same exchange networks, mediated by communities of the Halaf culture to the north. Most of Ein el-Jarba's obsidian was in the form of pressure blades from a common technical tradition, the implements likely procured ready-made from the well-connected site of Hagoshrim. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite being an ephemeral presence in Plains archaeological assemblages, the distribution and technical specificity of early Holocene (Denali complex) microblade technology makes it readily identifiable and comparable to similarly-aged Paleoindian projectile point occurrences. In this paper we review the co-occurrence of Denali and Cody complex materials in Alberta, in particular the obsidian and Knife River Flint (KRF) artifacts of these two early Holocene archaeological complexes, employing both lab-based (EDXRF) and portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) analyses. A strong pattern is revealed of southern (Wyoming, Idaho, North Dakota) obsidian sources being limited to southern Alberta microblade and Cody artifacts while northern obsidian sources in British Columbia are only attributed to artifact assemblages from northwestern Alberta and northern British Columbia. Northeastern British Columbia and most of Alberta were ice free at 11,000–10,000 cal BP, and Denali-related artifacts across the deglaciated corridor area indicate southward movement of this technology at a time when the region was also being more broadly and intensively utilized by people using Cody complex technology. We offer scenarios to explain Denali and Cody complexes' archaeological co-occurrence, while recognizing technical issues in pXRF source identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obsidian was broadly used along the Andean Cordillera in South America. Particularly in Peru, its use can be traced to the earliest human occupations, continuously through pre‐Columbian times to contemporary Andean agro‐pastoralist societies. In order to distinguish the provenance of obsidians from Peru, this paper reports a new X‐ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis on several obsidians obtained in surface collections of the Ayacucho region. The analysis and source determination were made by XRF on 52 specimens. The source assignments involved comparisons between the compositional data for the specimens and the University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR) XRF obsidian database for sources in Peru. After analysing the samples, obsidian sources were recognized and documented. All had small nodules not larger than about 4 cm. They were recovered from Ñahuinpuquio and Marcahuilca hill which belonged to the previously identified Puzolana source. Another identified source was the well‐known Quispisisa, located 120 km south of the city of Ayacucho, and distributed through a vast region in central Peru. The results expand previous observations made on the obsidian provenance at Ayacucho Basin, as well as the extension of the Puzolana source between Yanama and Huarpa hills, south of Ayacucho city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent excavations at the site of Bahçelievler (in modern Bilecik, northwest Anatolia) revealed a Neolithic settlement that was established during the late 8th/early 7th millennium BCE and continuously occupied until ca. 6000 BCE. One of the earliest Neolithic villages known in the region, its obsidian assemblage offers a good opportunity to investigate regional networks and obtain a better understanding of the mechanisms behind the spread of farming to regions peripheral to the earliest Neolithic communities in southwest Asia. To this end, we present here the results of a portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) analysis conducted on obsidian artefacts representing the entire sequence in Bahçelievler. Results indicate that a wide variety of obsidian sources were utilised, ranging from outcrops in central and northwest Anatolia to the Aegean islands. Even though the majority of the obsidians originated in Nenezi Dağ in central Anatolia, some of the other obsidian artefacts in Bahçelievler are from sources known to be only rarely used in prehistory such as Acıgöl, Hasan Dağ, and Yağlar. Contextualisation of Bahçelievler results within analytically sourced obsidians from Neolithic sites in the region indicates that a coastal colonisation along the Mediterranean shore might not have played a major role in the Neolithisation of west Anatolia. • Source attribution of the obsidians from the ca. 1000 years long occupation of Neolithic Bahçelievler in northwest Anatolia. • Six different sources of obsidian, ranging geographically from the Aegean to central and northwest Anatolia, were identified. • Inhabitants relied mainly on Nenezi Dağ for their procurement through the history of the settlement (ca. 7000-6000 BCE). • First known prehistoric use of Yağlar (Galatia) and Hasan Dağ (Cappadocia) obsidians from a stratified context. • Coastal colonisation might not have played a major role in the Neolithisation of west Anatolia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kendale Hecala is located on the Ambar River in the Upper Tigris Basin, province of Diyarbakır in Southeast Anatolia. Various raw materials, including obsidian, radiolarite, chert, jasper, chalcedony, and quartzite, were used in the lithic industry. Obsidian artefacts constitute an average of 64% of the chipped stone assemblage. Technological analysis reveals that obsidian was brought to the settlement as nodules and chipped into various tools at the settlement. Understanding the operational sequence of the lithic industry, chaîne opératoire, including the distribution of raw material from source to site, is important to demonstrate the socio-cultural organization of the settlement in Southeastern Anatolia during the Ubaid period. In order to identify source varieties, the obsidian artefacts uncovered from Ubaid layers of Kendale Hecala were analyzed by macro-observations, and the characterization of archaeological samples was performed using a handheld XRF. Multivariate analysis of the data indicates the use of obsidian from different resources at the settlement, including Nemrut Dağ, Bingöl B, and Group 3d.

Nineteen obsidian artifacts from surface contexts of probable Dismal River complex sites in the Sand Hills of Nebraska were analyzed via energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometry. The artifacts derive from six distinct geological volcanic glass sources. One of the artifacts was made from ash-flow tuff obsidian of the Brown's Bench chemical type and another from Wild Horse Canyon, Utah obsidian, representing the first documented use of these western source materials in Nebraska. Southwestern obsidian sources are less well represented than those to the west of Nebraska in this study sample, indicating that more than one pattern of obsidian use and conveyance may have existed during the Dismal River complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Northern and Central Plains obsidian artifacts curated by the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History have received little attention by researchers working to understand the nature of long-distance trade, exchange, and interaction. We present the results of a chemical analysis of obsidian stone tools and debitage from these collections. Significant differences in patterns of obsidian use exist between the Northern and Central Plains. Shifts in obsidian use through time within the Central Plains may indicate larger socioeconomic shifts, while obsidian from Northern Plains assemblages suggests an antiquity to interaction networks at least as old as the first Plains Village sites in the region. By creating the first multi-regional obsidian database encompassing parts of the Northern and Central Plains, we expect that the data and our interpretations enhance discussions at the intersection of trade, exchange, and inter-group interaction in the Northern as well as Central Plains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geochemical analysis of 102 obsidian artifacts from the lower reaches of the Kolyma River was performed to understand the provenance of the raw material; previously, there were no such studies in this region. Sites under investigation belong to the Arctic Neolithic, generally dated to ca. 6000–1500 BP. Based on the data for potential obsidian sources in Northeastern Siberia and neighboring territories, available to us, it was found that all obsidian artifacts originated from the Lake Krasnoe source in Chukotka, with a straight-line distance of ca. 800–1100 km from archaeological sites of the Kolyma River. This is a remarkable example of long-distance exchange/transport of obsidian in Northeastern Siberia during the Stone Age. The Lake Krasnoe locale was the primary obsidian source for prehistoric populations in this vast region, including Chukotka, the Kolyma River basin, and Okhotsk Sea coast; this obsidian was also identified at some Alaskan sites near the Bering Strait. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obsidian-tempered ceramics represent a typical production of the Chalcolithic period in the southern Caucasus. Previous studies have already assessed the viability of LA-ICP-MS analysis to identify the provenance of the obsidian temper contained in the ceramic paste. In this article the results of the analyses of the obsidian-tempered ceramics and of the obsidian lithic artefacts from the sites of Aratashen (Armenia) and Mentesh Tepe (Azerbaidjan) are compared. The aim of this comparison is to define analogies and differences in the modalities of acquisition of the obsidian as they are revealed by ceramic and lithic production at two sites that were localised at different distances from primary and secondary sources of obsidian. The results of this comparison allowed us to highlight different modalities of provisioning and exploitation of the same raw material by knappers and potters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to study and compare the obsidian economies of Renaghju and I Stantari, two neighbouring Neolithic sites located on the Cauria plateau (south-western Corsica). The occupation phase 3 of Renaghju and phase 1 of I Stantari, both attributed to the Middle Neolithic (fifth millennium BC), have provided respectively 112 and 99 obsidian artefacts. With the aim of completing our rather lacunary knowledge of the obsidian consumption behaviours in place in Corsica during this period, the entire assemblages have been geochemically characterised virtually non-destructively using LA-ICP-MS at SOLARIS (Southern Cross University [SCU]). Our analyses revealed that, while the obsidian raw materials were exclusively sourced from the Monte Arci complex in Sardinia (SA, SB2, and SC sub-types only), rather different consumption patterns are observed for the two sites despite their comparable nature (megalithic sites) and geographical proximity (400 m apart). These differences in obsidian consumption on adjacent sites could be explained by their divergent functions (ceremonial site [Renaghju] vs . ceremonial locus and large settlement [I Stantari]), or eventually point towards the need for a readjustment of the chronological attribution of the I Stantari phase 1 occupation level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With its well-preserved archaeological and environmental records, Aghitu-3 Cave permits us to examine the settlement patterns of the Upper Paleolithic (UP) people who inhabited the Armenian Highlands. We also test whether settlement of the region between ∼39–24,000 cal BP relates to environmental variability. The earliest evidence occurs in archaeological horizon (AH) VII from ∼39–36,000 cal BP during a mild, moist climatic phase. AH VI shows periodic occupation as warm, humid conditions prevailed from ∼36–32,000 cal BP. As the climate becomes cooler and drier at ∼32–29,000 cal BP (AH V-IV), evidence for occupation is minimal. However, as cooling continues, the deposits of AH III demonstrate that people used the site more intensively from ∼29–24,000 cal BP, leaving behind numerous stone artifacts, faunal remains, and complex combustion features. Despite the climatic fluctuations seen across this 15,000-year sequence, lithic technology remains attuned to one pattern: unidirectional reduction of small cores geared towards the production of bladelets for tool manufacture. Subsistence patterns also remain stable, focused on medium-sized prey such as ovids and caprids, as well as equids. AH III demonstrates an expansion of social networks to the northwest and southwest, as the transport distance of obsidian used to make stone artifacts increases. We also observe the addition of bone tools, including an eyed needle, and shell beads brought from the east, suggesting that these people manufactured complex clothing and wore ornaments. Remains of micromammals, birds, charcoal, pollen, and tephra relate the story of environmental variability. We hypothesize that UP behavior was linked to shifts in demographic pressures and climatic changes. Thus, by combining archaeological and environmental data, we gain a clearer picture about the first UP inhabitants of the Armenian Highlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents the earliest evidence of long-distance obsidian transport at the ∼200 ka Sibilo School Road Site (SSRS), an early Middle Stone Age site in the Kapthurin Formation, Kenya. The later Middle Pleistocene of East Africa (130–400 ka) spans significant and interrelated behavioral and biological changes in human evolution including the first appearance of Homo sapiens . Despite the importance of the later Middle Pleistocene, there are relatively few archaeological sites in well-dated contexts ( n < 10) that document hominin behavior from this time period. In particular, geochemically informed evidence of long-distance obsidian transport, important for investigating expansion of intergroup interactions in hominin evolution, is rare from the Middle Pleistocene record of Africa. The SSRS offers a unique contribution to this small but growing dataset. Tephrostratigraphic analysis of tuffs encasing the SSRS provides a minimum age of ∼200 ka for the site. Levallois points and methods of core preparation demonstrate characteristic Middle Stone Age lithic technologies present at the SSRS. A significant portion (43%) of the lithic assemblage is obsidian. The SSRS obsidian comes from three different sources located at distances of 25 km, 140 km and 166 km from the site. The majority of obsidian derives from the farthest source, 166 km to the south of the site. The SSRS thus provides important new evidence that long-distance raw material transport, and the expansion of hominin intergroup interactions that this entails, was a significant feature of hominin behavior ∼200 ka, the time of the first appearance of H. sapiens , and ∼150,000 years before similar behaviors were previously documented in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of an XRF analysis on the provenience of 118 obsidian artifacts from archaeological sites of the Antofagasta de la Sierra basin (Catamarca Province Argentina) dating to the late Middle and Late Holocene ( c. 4500–1100 BP). The time span considered encompasses a local process of gradual transformation from hunter-gatherer/early agro-pastoral groups to consolidated agro-pastoral societies. For this study, non-destructive elemental analysis of obsidian artifacts was conducted using two different X-ray fluorescence spectrometers (ED-XRF). This information was then supplemented by previous provenience results, undertaken on 59 obsidian archaeological artifacts from the same area. A comparative synthesis of chemical and macroscopic characterization of five obsidian sources located in Southern Argentinean Puna is also presented. The provenance of archaeological materials was assigned by comparison with twelve presently known Argentine sources. On this basis, late Middle and Late Holocene obsidian regional movement patterns, differential distribution and use of this raw material are discussed. Furthermore, this obsidian research lends support to the existence of exchange networks based on the use of different extra-regional obsidian sources located in the Northern Argentinean Puna. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strategies employed by Middle Palaeolithic hominins to acquire lithic raw materials often play key roles in assessing their movements through the landscape, relationships with neighboring groups, and cognitive abilities. It has been argued that a dependence on local resources is a widespread characteristic of the Middle Palaeolithic, but how such behaviors were manifested on the landscape remains unclear. Does an abundance of local toolstone reflect frequent encounters with different outcrops while foraging, or was a particular outcrop favored and preferentially quarried? This study examines such behaviors at a finer geospatial scale than is usually possible, allowing us to investigate hominin movements through the landscape surrounding Lusakert Cave 1 in Armenia. Using our newly developed approach to obsidian magnetic characterization, we test a series of hypotheses regarding the locations where hominins procured toolstone from a volcanic complex adjacent to the site. Our goal is to establish whether the cave's occupants procured local obsidian from preferred outcrops or quarries, secondary deposits of obsidian nodules along a river, or a variety of exposures as encountered while moving through the river valley or across the wider volcanic landscape during the course of foraging activities. As we demonstrate here, it is not the case that one particular outcrop or deposit attracted the cave occupants during the studied time intervals. Nor did they acquire obsidian at random across the landscape. Instead, our analyses support the hypothesis that these hominins collected obsidian from outcrops and exposures throughout the adjacent river valley, reflecting the spatial scale of their day-to-day foraging activities. The coincidence of such behaviors within the resource-rich river valley suggests efficient exploitation of a diverse biome during a time interval immediately preceding the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic “transition,” the nature and timing of which has yet to be determined for the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current status of research on colonization and early migration in the insular part of the Russian Far East is presented. Based on a critical evaluation of the latest data, it is concluded that the initial colonization of Sakhalin Island occurred at ca. 19,500 BP and possibly earlier, but no solid evidence has yet been found to determine this with more precision. The movement of people from neighboring Hokkaido (northern Japan) to Sakhalin continued throughout the Paleolithic–Neolithic since ca. 10,000 BP with the help of maritime transport. In the Middle–Late Neolithic, ca. 5200–4400 BP, migration from the adjacent mainland (via the lower reaches of the Amur River) to Sakhalin is detected. The southern part of the Kurile Archipelago was initially colonized from Hokkaido in the Early Jomon (i.e., Neolithic) at ca. 7200–7000 BP; the northern part was subsequently settled possibly as early as ca. 5300 BP. Active contacts between Hokkaido and the Kurile Islands continued throughout and after the Jomon period. The identification of obsidian sources used by inhabitants on Sakhalin and the Kuriles has created a solid foundation for examining the direction and timing for initial colonization and other population dispersals. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Philippine archipelago spans over two distinct biogeographic zones, Sundaland and Wallacea. We report in this paper on finds from Ilin Island just off the coast of SW-Mindoro, and El Nido in Northern Palawan. While the island of Palawan is linked to Sundaland, Mindoro and Ilin Island belong to Wallacea, east of Huxley's Line. Ongoing archaeological investigations at Bubog 1 Rockshelter on Ilin Island and Ille Cave & Rockshelter in northern Palawan, delivered obsidian artefacts, found in Terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene layers. PXRF analysis of the obsidian samples from Mindoro and Palawan shows that they were coming from the same, yet unknown source. They clearly indicate that the two distinct paleogeographical regions were linked to each other, suggesting human interaction and maritime networks as early as ca. 12ka BP. The results of this study contribute substantially to our understanding of the mobility of early islanders during the Terminal Pleistocene and the processes of human island adaptation and enhance our current knowledge of subsistence strategies across the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The opening and closing of the equatorial East African forest belt during the Quaternary is thought to have influenced the biogeographic histories of early modern humans and fauna, although precise details are scarce due to a lack of archaeological and paleontological records associated with paleoenvironmental data. With this in mind, we provide a description and paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the Late Pleistocene Middle Stone Age (MSA) artifact- and fossil-bearing sediments from Karungu, located along the shores of Lake Victoria in western Kenya. Artifacts recovered from surveys and controlled excavations are typologically MSA and include points, blades, and Levallois flakes and cores, as well as obsidian flakes similar in geochemical composition to documented sources near Lake Naivasha (250 km east). A combination of sedimentological, paleontological, and stable isotopic evidence indicates a semi-arid environment characterized by seasonal precipitation and the dominance of C 4 grasslands, likely associated with a substantial reduction in Lake Victoria. The well-preserved fossil assemblage indicates that these conditions are associated with the convergence of historically allopatric ungulates from north and south of the equator, in agreement with predictions from genetic observations. Analysis of the East African MSA record reveals previously unrecognized north–south variation in assemblage composition that is consistent with episodes of population fragmentation during phases of limited dispersal potential. The grassland-associated MSA assemblages from Karungu and nearby Rusinga Island are characterized by a combination of artifact types that is more typical of northern sites. This may reflect the dispersal of behavioral repertoires—and perhaps human populations—during a paleoenvironmental phase dominated by grasslands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores obsidian consumption during the Early/Middle Neolithic Stentinello period (ca. 5600–4000 cal B.C.) on the Italian island of Sicily through the analysis of 622 obsidian artifacts from eight sites in eastern Sicily and the Aeolian Islands. By combining obsidian sourcing by means of portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) spectrometry with techno-typological characterization, it is shown that distinctively wide Lipari blades were the primary artifact type used during this period. Our data suggest that the primary reduction of these materials occurred at the source area by local populations, with obsidian being transported from Lipari to eastern Sicily and Calabria in the form of preformed cores. Despite similarities between Sicily and southern Italy in the initial procurement of Lipari obsidian, there are distinct differences in how these materials were subsequently reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) has been demonstrated as a powerful tool to assign obsidian artifacts to sources. Newer instruments can even match artifacts from some regions to their sources in a matter of just seconds, not minutes. There remains, however, a reluctance to use pXRF instruments to characterize the sources themselves. Many past studies have used pXRF in a region where the sources have been well characterized using lab-based techniques. That is, earlier analytical work established compositional types for the obsidian sources, and pXRF was later used to sort artifacts into those types. This is due, at least in part, to notions that pXRF instruments are insufficiently accurate or reliable to characterize the sources. The motivations to use pXRF for characterizing sources are similar to those for sourcing artifacts: many more specimens can be analyzed without concern for the financial, practical, and legal considerations associated with instruments in distant facilities. This paper documents tests conducted to investigate the accuracy and reproducibility of pXRF data relative to five laboratory-based techniques (NAA, EDXRF, WDXRF, EMPA, and LA-ICP-MS) with a focus on Armenian obsidian sources. These tests demonstrate that there is no reason to believe pXRF is inherently inaccurate, unreproducible, or otherwise inadequate for source characterization. A case study of the Pokr Arteni source highlights the advantages of pXRF, including the capability to analyze large numbers of specimens, recognize variability, and elucidate field relationships. In these respects, pXRF can facilitate more sophisticated obsidian sourcing studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In obsidian-rich Armenia, one of the most archaeologically significant obsidian resources is the Gutansar volcanic complex (GVC). Numerous Palaeolithic sites across Armenia consist of little more than deposits of obsidian tools and debris, and within the Hrazdan Gorge, the vast majority of artifacts is crafted from GVC obsidian. For example, about 93% of the lithic assemblages from the Lower Palaeolithic site of Nor Geghi 1 and the Middle Palaeolithic site of Lusakert Cave 1 are GVC obsidian. Although erupted from multiple volcanic centers, GVC obsidians are geochemically identical and cover an area more than 70 km2. For studies seeking to reconstruct movements of Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers throughout the local landscape, the expansive GVC is problematic: geochemically identical obsidians dominate the foraging territories of sites within and near the complex. Here we explore the potential of obsidian magnetic properties to reveal hitherto unobservable patterns in GVC obsidian utilization with the ultimate goal of elucidating Palaeolithic behavioral patterns. Our results show that magnetic properties vary over multiple scales within the GVC, allowing obsidian sourcing to become multiscalar. These measurements are rapid, inexpensive, and entirely nondestructive for small artifacts. Measuring a few basic magnetic properties enables us to distinguish geochemically identical obsidians from three eruptive centers and potentially to attribute artifacts to specific quarrying sites, recognize changes in provisioning strategy, and estimate a minimum number of cores represented by a lithic scatter. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We tested two portable XRF instruments (with different technologies) using two correction schemes ('soils' and 'mining') with both factory-set calibrations and linear regression calibrations derived from published data. All four Aegean obsidian sources, including Sta Nychia and Dhemenegaki on Melos, were distinguished in each case. The newer instrument provided better 'off-the-shelf' accuracy than the older instrument, but calibrations negated these differences. The newer model also offered superior precision for most elements, despite measuring specimens for shorter times. Both correction schemes for the newer instrument resulted in almost equal precision, meaning that either may be used for successful Aegean obsidian sourcing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Circumscription theory, originally proposed to explain the rise of state society, is appealing in that it gives us an elegant, straightforward way to account for warfare among farming communities in the transition to complex societies. It predicts that as populations increase, groups will come in to conflict over limited prime land, and thus explain why we see a spatial correlation between good farmland and fortifications; as has been noted in New Zealand (Aotearoa). But, to date we do not have strong data to support the notion that conflict between Maori was primarily about access to farmland, and counter to circumscription theory, ethnography suggests exclusive ownership was discouraged. Here we test the efficacy of circumscription for understanding Maori history using obsidian artefact data from Pouerua Pa, a fortification in the heart of Ngā Puhi's tribal territory. New geochemical sourcing clears up ambiguities in source assignments and shows shifts in access to local sources and long distance exchange. We interpret these changes as being consistent with circumscription having been a factor in the earliest stage of fortification construction, and easing over time as the area was largely confederated under a single tribal identity in the early post-contact period. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: It is widely held that crafting prismatic chert and obsidian blades was extremely specialised in the Bronze-Age Near East. The prevalent narrative holds that there were just a few dedicated workshops in Anatolia's Upper Euphrates Valley, from which blade segments were exported to Northern Mesopotamia. Due to the challenges of chert sourcing, obsidian has been incorporated into the narrative. Recently, Tell Mozan was added to the proponents' list of Mesopotamian sites with blades imported from Anatolian workshops. Two issues are addressed in this paper. First, does archaeological evidence regarding the spatial organisation of blade production support an interpretation that incomplete reduction sequences imply off-site production? It is shown here that, at known workshop sites, the reduction sequence occurs only in small portions of large urban centres, and even there certain reduction products are under-represented. Second, do obsidians at Tell Mozan and other sites originate from sources near the proposed blade workshops? Highly diverse obsidians at Tell Mozan are inconsistent with a reliance on Anatolian workshops, and a reassessment of prior sourcing studies reveals a regional “sourcescape” more variable than generally thought. The result is a very different picture of lithic craft specialisation in Northern Mesopotamia: diverse obsidian cores and preforms reaching the cities' specialists involved in household production principally for the local market. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The obsidian sources of central Anatolia, the Aegean and central Europe have been studied in detail over the past 50 years. Various analytical techniques have been employed to discriminate artefacts from each of these and to reconstruct their zones of distribution. This paper presents a pXRF method that allows mass sampling of artefacts focusing on three neighbouring regions, particularly where these zones overlap. Successful discrimination of the obsidian source for products could be achieved using three-dimensional scatter plots of trace elements Rb–Sr–Zr. PXRF can thus be appreciated as a powerful tool in the region, enabling non-destructive on-site analyses in contexts where the export of artefacts is often difficult if not impossible. The ability to rapidly process large assemblages also has major implications for generating data-sets of sufficient resolution to transform archaeological interpretation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This study represents a contribution towards an understanding of the nature of obsidian exploitation in Sardinia during the Chalcolithic (ca. 3200–2200 cal B.C.). A total of 154 obsidian artifacts from Bingia 'e Monti in south-central Sardinia was techno-typologically characterized. Of these, 146 were elementally analyzed employing energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) as a means of sourcing the raw materials. It is argued that the community's residents obtained obsidian directly from Sardinian source areas, then reduced the material on-site for the production of lunates and expedient flake tools. By contextualizing the study within a broader consideration of obsidian distribution and use within Sardinia, it is shown that obsidian exploitation at this time differs from earlier periods, arguably related to a reconfiguration of socio-economic interaction spheres and exchange networks. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper thematically characterizes a large body of recent obsidian sourcing discourse as a means of highlighting the current place of obsidian provenance studies in larger archaeological discourse. It is shown that the field of obsidian sourcing is flourishing, with a clear upward trend in the number of published studies in the past decade. This paper further argues that sourcing is a means to an end, a way to determine where artefacts originate, and thus a means of addressing broader archaeological problems. Through this contextual framework, obsidian sourcing studies-and indeed all provenance studies-are seen as relevant because they transcend the increasingly specialized world of archaeological discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a result of a programme devoted to obsidian geochemical analyses for the Red Sea region ( VAPOR), the register of analysed obsidian artefacts from Arabia has grown considerably in recent years. A percentage of these correspond to surveyed and excavated Neolithic contexts in Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Oman. This growing database of site to source matches has enabled us to consider the Neolithic of Arabia as more than just a period of sedentism and initial domestication, but as a period where we can begin piecing together the formulation of complex social networks and exchange mechanisms that included, and may even have depended to some extent on, mobile groups. Using obsidian source analyses coupled with spatial mapping, site and lithic data, we use obsidian as a guide to gain a better understanding of the early dynamics of interaction between regions in Arabia and beyond, and to assess what role the socio-economic networks identified may have had in the process of Arabian Neolithisation, or in certain cases, the lack thereof. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The response from Speakman and Shackley to my paper highlights a number of important issues currently facing archaeological sourcing research. Many of these issues, however, have little to do with HHpXRF itself and more to do with an artificial crisis triggered by specialists'' concerns about a hitherto restricted technique becoming available to a wider community. Despite their mantra of “validity and reliability,” Speakman and Shackley erroneously equate these two concepts with the accuracy of an instrument''s measurements. Additionally, they mischaracterise a self-contained test, conducted with specific parameters (i.e., “off-the-shelf” operation), as an endeavour to facilitate or endorse poor-quality data. Paradoxically, their disparagement of experimental internal consistency as “silliness” is incongruous with their own data. Furthermore, a discussion focused on handheld instruments is obfuscated by their inclusion of desktop instruments that are “portable” only in the sense of luggable to an electrical outlet in a laboratory context. Most troubling is that they envision themselves as the arbiters of science vs. “playing scientist.” Contrary to their claims, HHpXRF proliferation will improve reproducibility and archaeological results. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Handheld portable XRF (HHpXRF) has received considerable recent attention in archaeology, especially for obsidian sourcing. Published studies largely suggest a high potential for success. HHpXRF, though, has been met with debate and scepticism. Concerns fall into three categories: (1) low accuracy and precision, (2) data correction schemes and calibration, and (3) ignorance of fundamental XRF issues such as specimen size limits and morphology effects. The result is that archaeological interpretations in HHpXRF-based studies are cast into doubt. Should interpretations be believed if authors did not follow the perceived best practices? To address such questions, the validity of HHpXRF for Near Eastern obsidian sourcing was tested under deliberately “sub-optimal” conditions. Irregular obsidian debitage near the minimum size limits was sourced with a success rate of 94% (based on A-rank matches) to 100% (based on A- and B-rank matches) even under conditions chosen to mimic “off-the-shelf” operation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper details the use of obsidian sourcing to reconstruct networks of interaction (or ‘communities of practice’) amongst populations of south-eastern Anatolia and the Near East in the context of ‘Neolithisation’ during the late 11th–early 10th millennia BC. EDXRF was used to elementally characterise 120 artefacts of Epi-Palaeolithic – Pre-Pottery Neolithic A date from Körtik Tepe in south-eastern Anatolia. Four eastern Anatolian sources are represented, mainly Bingöl A/B and Nemrut Dağ, plus the first evidence for the use of Muş obsidian. When the source data is integrated with the artefacts'' techno-typological attributes it is possible to locate the assemblage within an Upper Tigris tradition (with some interesting local differences), which stands in stark contrast to contemporary practices in northern Mesopotamia and the Levant. These local and regional distinctions support recent views of the Neolithic being much more heterogeneous, with a ‘mosaic’ of community-specific/local traditions of subsistence practices, raw material choices and lithic technologies during the Younger Dryas–Early Holocene. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: New Zealand has some of the most active areas of rhyolitic volcanism in the world and this has produced numerous obsidian sources in the northern half of the North Island. In total archaeologists have recognized 27 named locations from which obsidian can be obtained scattered across 4 geological source regions. Shortly after colonization in the late 13th century AD Polynesian settlers began transporting this material some thousands of kilometers throughout the country and across the sea in small quantities to distant neighbors in the Kermadecs and Chatham islands. Although considerable research has been conducted on obsidian sourcing in New Zealand the complexity of geochemical source discrimination and the lack of a practical method of non-destructive geochemical analysis has hindered progress. We present the results of our use of PXRF to provide geochemical data on New Zealand obsidian sources and to compare the use of discriminant analysis and classification tree analysis to discriminate among sources and attribute archaeological samples to sources. Our research suggests that classification tree analysis is superior to discriminant analysis in sourcing studies. A large case study using an important settlement phase site (S11/20) from the Auckland region demonstrates the utility of the methods and the results support a model of high degrees of mobility and interaction during the early settlement of New Zealand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper we evaluate the relative analytical capabilities of SEM-EDS, PIXE and EDXRF for characterizing archaeologically significant Anatolian obsidians on the basis of their elemental compositions. The study involves 54 geological samples from various sources, together with an archaeological case study involving 100 artifacts from Neolithic Çatalhöyük (central Anatolia). With each technique the artifacts formed two compositional groups that correlated with the East Göllü Dağ and Nenezi Dağ sources. The non-destructive capabilities of these methods are emphasized (albeit with certain analytical limitations in the case of SEM-EDS), suggesting important new techniques for Near Eastern obsidian provenance studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]