Carpathian Obsidian in Macedonia, Greece

The excavations at Mandalo in Macedonia, Greece, have produced a remarkably high number of obsidian objects, dated to the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age. Eleven of these samples were analysed by instrumental neutron activation for 19 minor and trace elements, in order to determine their provenance. It was found that all Neolithic and one Bronze Age samples came from the Carpathian 1 source, while another Early Bronze Age sample came from the Demenegaki source in Melos. The overlap between Carpathian and Melian obsidian distributions is evidence for interactions of ancient Macedonia with central Europe and the Aegean. Also, according to this finding, the Carpathian distribution pattern has now been extended for another 400km to the south, from Vincˇa to Mandalo.