Looking Through the Glass: An X-Ray Analysis of Pre-Colombian Obsidian Artifacts
Daigle, Kelly
Daigle, Kelly
Citations
Altmetric:
License
0
License
DOI
Abstract
Over 500 obsidian artifacts and tools were recovered from the Ecuadorian archaeological site La Tolita, providing invaluable insight to the ancient trade networks of the area during the Pre-Columbian era. The geochemical composition of obsidian can be used as a fingerprint for determining source materials. I analyzed the composition of obsidian shards using X-Ray Fluorescence, and performed statistical analysis to determine the level of heterogeneity in origin. Preliminary results suggest that only three to four possible individual sources were used as raw material during the site activity period, making the La Tolita obsidian a great candidate for trade route reconstruction.
Description
Undergraduate
Date
2024-01-01