MICROPETROGRAPHIC ANALYSIS AS A TOOL FOR PROVENANCE STUDIES OF LIMESTONE USED IN PREHISTORY AND ANTIQUITY OF ISTRIA, CROATIA (original) (raw)
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Determining the source of a stone raw material, for example, limestone for building a villa rustica, can be very useful in enlightening the distribution networks of different types of raw material. One of the analyses that can help locate the sources is the micropetrographic analysis. This method, to an extent, allows us to identify the type and geological age of raw material used for an activity. This data can be a starting point in raw material provenance study, using geological maps of the potential area of procurement. However, micropetrographic analysis besides obvious advantages has some shortcomings, and its results are not always enough for answering specific archaeological questions. This paper will showcase the application and limitations of the micropetrographic analysis in determining the archaeological raw material sources.
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As a part of my doctoral research, I studied stone raw material exploitation in prehistory and antiquity of the Istrian peninsula which is located in the western part of the Republic of Croatia. The Istrian peninsula is mostly characterized by Mesozoic carbonate surface deposits of Jurassic and Cretaceous age (limestone and dolomite); in this instance, I would like to present the results of the research on the Roman exploitation of these deposits in the form of quarries found throughout the peninsula. The first part of my research included field surveys, the documentation and sampling of the quarries, and the creation of a geographic database in QGIS. The second part consisted of the sampling of several Roman funerary and profane stone monuments for micropetrographic analysis in the attempt to locate their provenance. This research showed the advantages of interdisciplinary work with colleagues from other disciplines and the possibilities of applying geology to answer certain archaeological questions, as for example questions on the Roman stone economy in Istria. The next part of my research would be a creation of a geological database of Roman quarries with data on the microfacies of limestones in each quarry. This part of the research is currently under way and the database is under construction.
PROCEEDINGS FROM THE 5TH SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE METHODOLOGY AND ARCHAEOMETRY
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Methodology and Archaeometry is an annual scientific conference organized since 2013 by the Department of Archaeology of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Zagreb and the Croatian Archaeological Society. The first digital edition includes papers from the 5th scientific conference Methodology and Archaeometry which was held at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Zagreb, from 30th November – 1st of December 2017. Six scientific papers presented in this volume are focused on different aspects of archaeology, including case studies from Slovenia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Albania and Spain. Topics cover the range from the role of archaeological methodology in preventive archaeology; archaeological surface survey methods; identification of the cultural landscape as a part of the procedure for the protection of cultural heritage sites; analytical techniques applied to ceramic assemblages, and the development, benefits and shortcomings of the archaeological research and its impact to the understanding of the past.
Abstract book: Conference: 61st Annual Meeting of the Hugo Obermaier-Society: New Perspectives on Neanderthal Behaviour (23-27 Abril 2019, Erkrath and Mettmann, 2019
The development of raw material characterisation in Palaeolithic Archaeology in the last fifty years has widened our knowledge about the societies who inhabited Europe in the past. The characterisation of raw material, specially flint, has allowed defining the mobility of stones and people, selective processes to obtain specific varieties and proto-mining or mining activities. It also enables the researchers to a better understand knapping or use properties of specific raw materials. Quartzite was the second most-often used lithic raw material in Europe in the Palaeolithic. However, this rock has not been characterized fully from the geo-archaeological point of view. The main aim of this presentation is present partial results of my recently defended PhD, focussed in the understanding of acquisition, distribution and management mechanisms implemented by Middle-Palaeolithic societies in the Cantabrian Region (Asturias and Cantabria communities, NW Spain) to exploit quartzite. To do so, we are going to present the data of two middle-Palaeolithic archaeological sites: El Habario and El Arteu. We also present through a comprehensive way, the quartzite distribution in the area: The Deva, Cares and Güeña valleys. Finally, and due to the scarcity of previous research on the properties of this raw material, we also present the characteristics of these quartzites from a geo-archaeological point of view. The methodology used for this research combines three different approaches: microscopic, macroscopic and regional scales. The first one is based on petrographic, geochemical and binocular characterisation. The second, is the macroscopic approach and it is founded on the analysis of lithic assemblages based on technological, typological, petrological and metric criteria. The same macroscopic approach is used to characterise the potential raw material acquisition areas through the geological survey of the geological strata and deposits where quartzites are present. Finally, the regional scale is based on the geographic, geologic and archaeological analysis of landscape, mainly using Geographic Information Systems. The application of this comprehensive methodology to a narrow area, the Deva, Cares and Güeña valleys, allow us to understand quartzite from geological and archaeological perspectives. On one hand, we surveyed the source area of the sediment which formed the “archaeological quartzites”, their transformations due to sedimentary and metamorphic forces, and the mineralogy of these rocks according to the different geological environments where quartzites were formed. The understanding of all these phenomena allows us to classify quartzite into seven petrogenetic types and varieties, according to grain size and mineralogy. We also describe the geological strata where quartzite is present, characterising both their arrangement and its dispersion based on the types and varieties defined. On the other hand, we inferred the acquisition, management, and mobility patterns of Prehistoric societies in the Deva, Cares and Güeña valleys during the Middle Palaeolithic based on the analysis of the lithic assemblages from the archaeological sites of El Habario and El Arteu. This allowed us to understand the different strategies of landscape management of such a heterogeneous and mountainous area as the central Cantabrian Region is. The exploitation of quartzites in the sites of El Habario and El Arteu allow us to understand the dialectical territorial management of this mountainous area through the combination of selective processes and mobility mechanisms in lower and middle altitudes. These perspectives let us to understand this mountainous region not as a barrier but as an environmental-mosaic managed and optimised by Middle Palaeolithic societies. In addition, the recognition of the quartzite types using non-destructive methods in both complete assemblages through comprehensive analysis, lets us to understand preferential catchment and management of specific quartzites and different behaviours. Among others, a) adaptable mobility patterns and selection of specific types of quartzites; b) Complex management of lithic mass based on stock creation; or c) tool-kit maintenance on certain quartzite types and the dismissal of others.
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2020
Several isolated studies have tried to understand quartzite from an archaeological perspective by applying two different meth-odological approaches. The first one is based on non-destructive characterisation, aiming to understand human procurement and management of quartzite, without solid geoarchaeological criteria. The second characterised the material from archaeological sites using only petrographic or geochemical perspectives of a limited sample. Currently, both perspectives are unconnected, creating a methodological gap that needs to be solved to study the procurement and management of quartzite in greater depth. The present study, mainly methodological, will explore the gap between petrographic analysis and non-destructive characterisation. Doing so, we could fill this vacuum of information and generate a solid geoarchaeological basis to characterise not only a sample but complete assemblages. To this end, we analyse the lithic assemblages at El Arteu and El Habario, two Middle-Palaeolithic sites in the Cantabrian Region, northern Spain. We summarise the main results derived from petrographic analysis, but especially we will focus on non-destructive criteria to characterise the lithic surfaces of archaeological quartzite using stereoscope micros-copy. This process allows us to understand the complete assemblage but also, through technological characterisation, understand the management of different quartzite petrogenetic types in both sites.