Obsidian Sourcing Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Inhabited by Native Americans for at least 13,000 years, California's Channel Islands were isolated from the adjacent mainland throughout the Quaternary. A rich archaeological record demonstrates that island peoples thrived for millennia, with access to abundant marine and terrestrial resources. Exchange with mainlanders for various goods is well documented, with long-distance material conveyance occurring very early and intensifying later in time. Obsidian was one exotic material imported to the islands from distant quarries beginning at least ~11,750 years ago and continuing until the collapse of native exchange networks after European contact. Geochemical sourcing shows that nearly 94% of obsidian artifacts found on the islands comes from the Coso Volcanic Field located ~300 km or more from the islands, with smaller percentages originating from sources as much as >850 km from the islands. Hydration data generally support radiocarbon dates that show that islanders participated in long-distance conveyance networks for millennia. Using these obsidian data, we examine Channel Island conveyance networks through space and time. We argue that conveyance of goods between islanders and mainlanders was a by-product primarily of social networks that functioned as sources of information, innovation, marriage partners, and strategic alliances.

- by and +1
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- Social Networks, Obsidian, Obsidian Sourcing, California Coast and Channel Islands Archaeology

SUMMARY: Chapter 9, in Renfrew & Bahn's textbook (Archaeology: Theories, Methods, and Practice), covers the various types of trade and exchange in past societies, and how one may assess it, including different types of interactions (e.g., gift exchange), various scientific techniques (e.g., microscopic examination of materials; trace-element analysis; isotopic analysis), studying material and/or artifact distributions, assessing production and consumption, and analyzing the various means of exchange and interaction. In my view, this is one of the best college textbooks available, and is invaluable for students, archaeologists, and the public in general, to obtain a top notch overview of approaching and interpreting the archaeological record. UPDATED/REVISED March, 2021, some editing and new formatting, minimal new materials.

- by Gregory Mumford
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- Archaeology, Anthropology, International Relations, International Trade

In 197 4 and 197 5, a study of Peruvian archaeological obsidian at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) identified a distinctive chemical composition of obsidian utilized in artifacts. For ease of reference it was called Pampas Type obsidian. Pampas Type obsidian was one of eleven common kinds of obsidian utilized in pre-Hispanic times in what now is Peru. I Pampas Type obsidian was documented as common only in the samples from sites in the Carhuarazo Valley of southern Ayacucho (Figure 1).2 These obsidian artifacts had been collected by William Isbell, Patricia Knobloch, and Katharina

We present data produced through archaeological and geological survey, as well as geochemical analysis of the Zaragoza-Oyameles obsidian source area located on the northern and western flanks of the Los Humeros Caldera in eastern Puebla, Mexico. One result of the intensive archaeological surface survey of this obsidian source area was the identification of 117 obsidian flow-band exposures. Geologic samples from 40 of these were submitted for instrumental neutron activation analysis. Eighty-five projectile points collected from the surface were characterized using portable X-ray fluorescence. These analyses identified three sub-sources: Z-O1, Potreros Caldera, and Gomez Sur. The Gomez Sur sub-source appears chemically similar to the previously identified Altotonga source, located 25 km to the northeast. Results of the geological survey help elucidate the relationship of Altotonga obsidian with the Zaragoza-Oyameles source area. The data from the three sub-sources are compared to all ...

- by Charles L. F. Knight
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- History, Geography, Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology

Excavation at the Mesolithic site of Damnoni in southwest Crete generated nine tools made of obsidian, a raw material foreign to the island. This study characterises these artefacts' raw material via elemental analyses and their techno-typological nature. These data when located within a broader consideration of the larger Damnoni
chipped stone assemblage and the consumption of obsidian at other Mesolithic sites of the larger region enables us to further develop our understanding of maritime activity and hunter-gatherer interaction in the Early Holocene Aegean. Using energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy the obsidian is shown to be Melian, primarily from Sta Nychia, in keeping with Aegean Mesolithic procurement habits more generally. The artefacts
were accessed in the form of ready-made tools, likely via exchange with intermediaries, the procurement of such exotic pieces conceivably serving to both maintain and reproduce social relations and cultural traditions at distance.

- by Tristan Carter and +2
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- Aegean Prehistory (Archaeology), Mesolithic/Neolithic, Aegean Prehistory, Archaeology of Crete

Recent archaeological research has highlighted the potential role of mobile pastoral groups in the diffusion of raw materials and technological innovations between the southern Caucasus and north‐western Iran from the Neolithic onwards. Two successive projects, PAST‐OBS and SCOPE, were designed to explore this hypothesis through the study of obsidian consumption patterns from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age using a flexible analytical strategy that considerably extends the scale of obsidian studies in these regions. By focusing on the exploitation of obsidian at multiple levels—local, regional and interregional—we hope to unravel the complexity of the obsidian networks under study. The aim of this paper is to present (1) a reassessment of the work so far carried out by previous obsidian studies, with a view to homogenizing and to clarifying the nomenclature in use; and (2) an introduction to the PAST‐OBS and SCOPE projects in order to initiate a discussion of our preliminary results.

- by Marie Orange and +1
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- Iranian Archaeology, Neolithic Archaeology, Chalcolithic Archaeology, Bronze Age Archaeology

750 obsidian artifacts in this study suggest that human groups associated with them were not limited in their ability to procure obsidian resources for production of stone tools from locations over 1,000 kilometers distant. A minimum of twenty-two geologically distinct sources were in use by these groups, spanning the entire occupational history of the region. These findings not only suggest numerous obsidian sources were utilized throughout time, but that humans on the plains of Alberta had access to networks of resource procurement that ranged the length and breadth of the Rocky Mountains.

- by Heather McKillop
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- Obsidian, Maya Archaeology, Obsidian Sourcing, Belize archaeology

A B S T R A C T In recent years, source provenance studies employing portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) technology have become commonplace in archaeology; however, they are not without critiques. Concerns center on the capability of instruments to produce valid results and researchers' abilities to accurately interpret those results and make correct source assignments. In this paper, we focus on the latter issue with a look towards statistical means of assigning artifacts to obsidian types using data provided by pXRF spectrometers. Using a sample of 677 obsidian artifacts from the northwestern Great Basin, we evaluate the ability of various approaches (principal components, cluster, and discriminant function analyses) to correctly assign artifacts to particular obsidian types. These multivariate methods generally work well to separate artifacts into different groups (i.e., obsidian types); however, they are less well-suited to assign individual artifacts to an obsidian source or type. We therefore tested the ability of the statistical program Fordisc, commonly used in forensic anthropology, to assign individual artifacts to specific geochemical obsidian sources or types. Our results indicate that Fordisc made accurate source assignments. Furthermore, because Fordisc provides probability values for different possible matches, it offers an advantage over other methods.

- by Geoffrey Smith and +3
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- Obsidian Sourcing, Geochemical Characterization of Obsidians

1. Abstract …………………………………..................................…….. 1
2. Introduction .....................................................................2
3. Dissemination of the Antediluvian Knowledge:
Lawful or forbidden? …………………….................................……… 5
4. The ‘Seed from before the Flood’ and the Transgression of the Watchers ……………….............................................................…... 8
5. The apkallus as Evil Beings in Mesopotamian ............. 10
6. Mesopotamian and Jewish Demonology Compared ... 11
7. The Great Flood according to the Erra Epic …............... 12
8. The Term for Watchers in Aramaic and Akkadian ....... 14
9. Conclusion ………………………................................………….….. 15

This study presents a provenance analysis of the obsidian assemblage from Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) at Gre Fılla, in Turkey. A hand-held, portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) spectrometer was used to obtain the element contents of the artefacts. The major sources at the settlement were identified as Bingöl B, Bingöl A, and Nemrut Dağ. The comprehensive analysis of the data set enables us to establish the spatial variation in the relative proportions of each source. The preliminary results of spatial patterning at the site indicate that there could be a relation between the obsidian procurement practices and the function of the structures.

Obsidian artifacts is frequently used materials in prehistory and found widely in archaeological sites. Provenance studies of obsidian has been an issue of intense research and debate between archaeologists and geologists. Since different provenance studies has been carried out from 1960s up to 2015 in Anatolia and Caucasus but obsidian studies in Iran is in very early stage and consider as terra incognita. Recent research on obsidian mines in Iran accompanying by prehistoric obsidian provenance studies give this opportunity to establish of a database, as well as outlining a horizon and perspective for obsidian studies in Iran. This paper will try to discuss about old and new researches on obsidian studies in Iran. After a brief introduction of obsidian studies in Anatolia and Caucasus by Renfrew, Cann and Dixon, the paper addresses some recent researches that took place concerning obsidian provenance studies in Iran. The implications of the findings will discuss along with limitations and future research directions.

As new analytical techniques are brought to sourcing studies and researchers compile data into multi-laboratory databases, systematic evaluation is essen- tial. The importance of precision and accuracy is clear, but Shackley (2005) also calls for “archaeological accuracy.” Hughes (1998) offered a framework to consider precision and accuracy alongside the concepts of reliability and valid- ity. These four concepts can serve as a foundation to evaluate archaeological sourcing data and procedures, but adoption of Hughes’ framework has been nearly nonexistent. Unfortunately, Hughes’ formulations of reliability and va- lidity are somewhat at odds with their conventional definitions, hindering his framework. Furthermore, the concept of precision has become outdated in an- alytical circles, and superfluous terms (e.g., replicability) have emerged in the archaeological literature. Here I consider the basis of Hughes’ framework and how its four components, when applied consistently by the sourcing commu- nity, are best applied to evaluate analytical data and techniques for sourcing.

- by Ellery Frahm
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Assessment, Evaluation Research

A few of the major portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) manufacturers have released new models in the past year or two. The technologies in these latest instruments have advanced so much that any performance appraisals more than a few years old are essentially obsolete. The X-ray detectors and associated electronics inside a new pXRF analyzer are more sensitive than those in many benchtop models just five or ten years ago. This report summarizes initial tests of the newest pXRF series – Vanta – from Olympus Scientific Solutions. The tests included sourcing 40 artifacts from two Early Bronze Age settlements in Armenia and analyzing a collection of geological specimens that had been measured using other techniques, including neutron activation analysis and energy- dispersive XRF at the University of Missouri Research Reactor as well as electron probe X-ray microanalysis at the University of Minnesota. This report is intended as documentation of the Vanta’s high potential for non-destructive obsidian artifact sourcing that is fast, precise, and accurate.

- by Ellery Frahm
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- Archaeology, Archaeological Science, Archaeometry, Obsidian

The Olmec were the first complex society to develop in Mesoamerica between 1800-600 cal B.C. The earliest large Olmec center during this period was the archaeological site of San Lorenzo which emerged as Mesoamerica’s first large ritual and political center between 1400-1000 cal B.C. San Lorenzo’s growth as a prominent center included the development of long distance trade relationships with adjacent areas of Guatemala and highland Mexico. High precision chemical analysis of obsidian imported for use in the fabrication of cutting tools is used to reconstruct the growth, size and extent of San Lorenzo’s interregional exchange networks with areas of Mexico and Guatemala where obsidian occurs as raw material. A total of 852 obsidian artifacts were analyzed to reconstruct changes in obsidian procurement between 1800-800 cal B.C. This represents one of the largest samples of sourced obsidian from a Mesoamerican site and it provides a comprehensive picture for the development of interregional trade networks for Mesoamerica’s first large Olmec center.

- by Michael D Glascock
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- Obsidian Sourcing

All papers published in SCIENTIFIC CULTURE journal for 2020.(www.sci-cult.com) See all papers since 2015 and free download.

Collaborating with multiple portable laboratory XRF instruments enables larger than normal datasets to be analyzed by multiple analysts in a short period. However, certain protocols must be followed to control for and understand inter-instrument variation. Here, we present our project's methodology and results. The study was conducted using five Tracer instruments to analyze over 6,000 obsidian and fine-grained volcanic (FGV) Paleoindian artifacts from western Utah's Old River Bed (ORB) delta. While discussing our obsidian analysis, we demonstrate that inter-instrument variation is insignificant within our regional context when strict instrument controls are followed.

- by Marina Milic
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- Neolithic Archaeology, Aegean Archaeology, Obsidian Sourcing, Exchange

This article is a critical review of published data from the earliest evidence of pressure knapped microblade technology from various regions in Northeast Asia (Siberia, Korea, China, Mongolia, Japan, Sakhalin, and Russian Far East), including discussions not only on published dates, but also on published artifacts (drawings and photos) relating to these assemblages. The issue concerning the geographical and chronological origin of micro-blade technology in Northeast Asia remains a widely debated concern, not only as new data emerge, but also due to researchers having different definitions of the term " microblade " and " microblade core ". In this case, by microblade technology, I refer to the systematic production of microblades using the pressure knapping technique. I therefore review the data in light of this defining feature and conclude that, based on the present state of research, pressure knapping microblade technology probably emerged in the Far East (China, Korea, or Japan) around 30,000–25,000 cal BP, in spite of most authors considering that microblade technology emerged in southern Siberia 40,000–35,000 years ago. In the discussion section, I argue about the potential role of obsidian in the emergence of pressure knapped microblade technology.

- by Yan Axel Gómez Coutouly
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Siberia, Obsidian
- by Chris Loendorf
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- Historical Archaeology, Lithic Technology, Southwestern Archaeology, Lithics

In this article, chipped stone raw materials from the Garrett Allen site are discussed, with emphasis on the stone tools. As indicated by Eckles (2013), who discussed the history of investigations and chronology, this is one of several articles to be presented on various aspects of the site’s artifacts. One of the remarkable aspects of the site is the variety of chipped stone raw materials. There are varieties of flint, chert, agate, jasper, chalcedony, petrified wood, orthoquartzite, metaquartzite, quartz, silicified shale, clinker, non-volcanic glass, obsidian, and basalt from many parts of Wyoming and surrounding states. The diversity of raw material types is present throughout the cultural deposits. There is no knappable tool stone on site; the only rocks are small fragments of drab, buff-gray sandstone. All culturally manipulated lithic materials were therefore brought into the site, many from considerable distances. The site is located on private land in southeastern Carbon County, Wyoming at the northern end of the Medicine Bow Mountains and southern edge of the Hanna-Carbon Basin. It is within a homoclinal valley near the perennial Quealy Spring. Deposits are primarily alluvial, derived from the surrounding geological formations (Hayter 1981:31).

- by Adam Guinard
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Geology, Collections Management
- by Rodrigo Esparza
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- Mesoamerican Archaeology, Obsidian Sourcing, Guachimontones, History of Jalisco
- by Arianna Gallo
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- Prehistoric Archaeology, Obsidian, Paleolithic Europe, Archeologia

Widestem points are to some degree common at the Witt Site (Ca-Kin-32) locality of Tulare Lake. Within the Hopkins collection, there are 101 examples of widestem points that were complete enough to allow classification. These artifacts were manufactured from a variety of toolstone materials. Most of these points were fashioned from locally available chert (cryptocrystalline silicate = ccs) and other materials (fine grained volcanic = fgv) including basalt, fine grained igneous (aka rhyolite), quartz (crystal, milk white and rose) and quartzite (n = 65) along with (n = 36) specimens made of obsidian (obs). Virtually identical point forms to the Tulare Lake Widestems are recognized from Northern California and are identified at the Borax Lake Site (CA-LAK-36) and in the larger vicinity of the Clear Lake region. Those North Coast Range projectile point forms (known as Borax Lake Widestem Points) appear to overlap in age with both fluted points and crescents, but continue to be employed until a more recent era discontinuing at a time estimated to be 6,000 years cal b.p. In the present study, we formally classify Tulare Lake Widestem Point forms from Tulare Lake found within the Witt locality and determine whether they are of comparable age to other early Holocene artifacts recovered from Borax Lake. The entire sample of formally classifiable Tulare Lake Widestem Points manufactured from obsidian was analyzed to both chemically characterize these artifacts as to provenience (geographic source) and to determine their obsidian hydration measurements. Obsidian studies appear to date the Tulare Lake Widestem Points to an average age of 8,250 calibrated years before present. Applying a single standard deviation added to that mean or average provides a time range for the bulk of the Tulare Lake Widestem assemblage from ca. 7,500 to 9,000 years ago. Source determinations for Tulare Lake Widestem show that a brisk trade was taking place with imported obsidian coming from Fish Springs, Coso, Annadel and Casa Diablo obsidian sources. Most of the obsidian Widestems at Tulare Lake came from the Casa Diablo suite of obsidian sources. This obsidian toolstone contributes a significant portion to the Widestem assemblage and testifies to long range movement and the value of the imported toolstone to the indigenous people who occupied Tulare Lake.

- by Alan Garfinkel
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- Archaeology, Anthropology, Obsidian, Lithic Technology

Newberry Cave, located in San Bernardino County, California, is home to the only known green pictographs in the central and eastern Mojave Desert. These archaic pictographs mimic the only split twig figurines known from California and provide a unique pairing of rock art images with such figures. The rich artifact assemblage adds context to the split twig figurine tradition. Pigment stones found in Newberry Cave match the paint on the walls and some artifacts. New examination under a scanning electron microscope, obsidian hydration tests, and a full recording of the rock art yields more detailed information on a truly unique place.

Lithic Studies: Anatolia and Beyond aims to show networks of cultural interactions by focusing on the latest lithic studies from Turkey, Greece, and the Balkans, bringing to the forefront the connectedness and techno-cultural continuity of knapped and ground stone technologies. Lithic studies are mostly conducted on a site by site basis, and specialist studies on lithics tend to focus primarily on technology and typology. As a result, information acquired through lithic research is presented as the identifier of the particular site with the addition of brief local correlations. This creates isolated islands of information. This volume is intended to bring these islands together to build the bigger picture, showcasing the fluidity of technological change, transitional cultural developments, and cultural formation by focusing on the interrelations between sites, localities and regions. Individually and collectively the wide range of papers in the volume give perspectives on Neolithization as seen through stone technologies, highlighting both regional trends and interregional relationships. The volume lays the foundations for creating an integrated understanding of Neolithic lithic technologies across the broad geographical regions of Turkey, Greece and the Balkans.

- by Adnan Baysal
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Anthropology, Neolithic Archaeology

This volume contains the following articles: "Editor's Preface" by Daniel H. Sandweiss; "Heidy Fogel, 1956-1994" by Richard L. Burger; "Daniel Wolfman, 1939-1994" by Izumi Shimada; "The Inca Compound at La Centinela, Chincha" by Dwight Wallace; "Reconstructing the Great Hall at Inkallacta" by Vincent R. Lee; "Reconstructing Andean Shrine Systems: A Test Case from the Xaquixaguana (Anta) Region of Cusco, Peru" by Brian S. Bauer and Wilton Barrioneuvo Orosco; "The Temple of Blindness: An Investigation of the Inca Shrine of Ancocagua" by Johan Reinhard; "Ethnogenesis in Huamachuco" by John R. Topic; "Coca Production on the Inca Frontier: The Yungas of Chuquioma" by Catherine J. Julien; Creating a Ruin in Colonial Cusco: Sacsahuaman and What Was Made of It" by Carolyn S. Dean; "The Alca Obsidian Source: The Origin of Raw Material for Cusco Type Obsidian Artifacts" by Richard L. Burger, Frank Asaro, Paul Trawick, and Fred Stross; "The Chivay Obsidian Source and the Geological Origin of Titicaca Basin Type Obsidian Artifacts by Richard L. Burger, Frank Asaro, Guido Salas, and Fred Stross; "The Jampatilla Obsidian Source: Identifying the Geological Source of Pampas Type Obsidian Artifacts from Southern Peru" by Richard L. Burger, Katharina J. Schrieber, Michael D. Glascock, and Jose Ccencho; "Unifaces in Early Andean Culture History: The Nanchoc Lithic Tradition of Northern Peru" by Jack Rossen; "Lithic Provenience Analysis and Emerging Material Complexity at Formative Period Chiripa, Bolivia" by David L. Browman; "Textiles from the Lower Osmore Valley, Southern Peru: A Cultural Interpretation" by Ran Boytner; "Corbel Vaulted Sod Structures in the Context of Lake Titicaca Basin Settlement Patterns" by Sergio J. Chavez; "Archaeomagnetic Results from Peru: A.D. 700-1500 by Daniel Wolfman and Richard E. Dodson.

- by Monica Barnes and +3
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- Architecture, Andean Archaeology, Textiles, Obsidian

This volume of Andean Past contains the following articles, research reports, and obituaries: "Editor's Preface" by Monica Barnes; "Donald Frederick Sola" by Monica Barnes; Paulina Mercedes Ledergerber-Crespo" by A. Jorge Arellano-Lopez; "Death Notices (Robert Ascher, Bernd Lambert, Daniel W. Gade, and George Bankes) by Monica Barnes and Bill Sillar; "Obsidian Procurement and Cosmopolitanism at the Middle Horizon Settlement of Conchopata, Peru" by Richard L. Burger, Catherine M. Bencic, and Michael D. Glascock; "Characteristics and Significance of Tapia Walls and the Mochica Presence at Santa Rosa de Pucala in the Mid-Lambayeque Valley" by Edgar Bracamonte; "Health at the Edge of the Wari Empire: An Analysis of Skeletal Remains from Hatun Cotuyoc, Huaro, Peru" by Sara L. Juengst and Maeve Skidmore; "Demographic Analysis of a Looted Late Intermediate Period Tomb, Chincha Valley, Peru" by Camille Weinberg, Benjamin T. Nigra, Maria Cecilia Lozada, Charles Stanish, Henry Tantalean, Jacob Bongers, and Terrah Jones; "Macrobotanical Remains from the 2009 Season at Caylan: Preliminary Insights into Early Horizon Plant Use in the Nepena Valley, North-Central Coast of Peru" by David Chicoine, Beverly Clement, and Kyle Stich; "Obsidian Technology at the Wari Site of Conchopata in Ayacucho, Peru" by Catherine M. Bencic; "Incahuasi, Canete" by Alejandro Chu; "Luis Barreda Murillo's Excavations at Huanuco Pampa, 1965" Monica Barnes; "Early Village Formation in Desert Areas of Tarapaca, Northern Chile (Eleventh Century B.C.--Thirteenth Century A.D.)" by Simon Urbina, Leonor Adan, Constanza Pellegrino, and Estefania Vidal; and "Don Mateo-El Cerro, a Newly Rediscovered Late Period Settlement in Yocavil (Catamarca, Argentina) by Alina Alvarez Larrain.

- by Monica Barnes and +13
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- Architecture, Archaeobotany, Settlement Patterns, Architectural History
- by Selena Vitezović and +1
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- Obsidian, Raw materials, Lithic Raw Material Sourcing, Obsidian Sourcing

Magdalena Black-on-white ceramics from two sites (Gallinas Springs and Pinnacle Ruin) in west-central and southwestern New Mexico have been interpreted as evidence of a migration of Northern Pueblo groups from the Four Corners region into southwestern New Mexico during the thirteenth century. They also appear to be linked to sites with similar carbon-painted ceramics on the Rio Puerco of the east and beyond. An additional site (Roadmap Village) reveals import of Magdalena Black-on-white ceramics produced at Gallinas Springs as well as possible local production. Limited quantities of carbon paint ceramics have been found on El Paso Phase sites in south-central New Mexico that have previously been attributed to contemporaneous carbon painted
pottery produced at communities in the Galisteo Basin and the upper
Rio Grande. Recent compositional analysis of carbon-painted ceramics from the Gallinas Springs, Pinnacle, and Roadmap sites has identified characteristic chemical signatures that suggest local production of carbon paint ceramics at all three sites and distribution of carbon paint ceramics from Gallinas Springs to Pinnacle and Roadmap in the eastern Black Range of southwestern New Mexico. Analysis of carbon paint ceramics from Madera Quemada, an El Paso Phase site in the Tularosa Basin indicates that the carbon paint wares found in El Paso Phase sites were acquired through trade connections from the Black Range rather than from more northern sources. The overall Magdalena Black-on-white production patterns are contrasted with the obsidian procurement data from the same sites to reveal a complex and divergent pattern.

- by Myles Miller and +2
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- Pottery (Archaeology), Southwestern Archaeology, Obsidian Sourcing, Neutron Activation Analysis
- by Ellery Frahm
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- Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Archaeological Science, Obsidian

İnsanlığı medeniyet yolunu açan avcılıktan çiftçiliğe (tarıma) geçiş, araştırmacılar için bir dizi ilginç soru ortaya koyuyor, bunlardan en önemlisi, erken dönem insan yerleşimleri arasındaki iletişimin kapsamı. Son yıllarda yapılan arkeolojik keşifler Güneybatı Asya'da ve Akdeniz çevresinde yaygın olarak dağılmış tarih öncesi köylerin varlığını ortaya çıkardı. En eski topluluklardan biri olan Jarmo, günümüzde Irak'ta ve Ürdün'de Eriha'da-görünüşe göre yaklaşık 10.000 yıl önce yerleşim başlamıştır (bkz. "Tarım Devrimi", Robert J. Braidwood; SCIENTlFIC AMERICA: Eylül 1960). Yüzlerce mil uzaklıkta ve genellikle dağlar veya akarsularla ayrılmış ilkel köylerin birbirlerinin varlığından bile haberdar olmayan münferit gelişmelere sahne olduğunu varsayabiliriz. Aynı zamanda, durumun böyle olmadığından şüphelenmek için bazı nedenlerimiz vardı ve şimdi Yakın Doğu ve Akdeniz bölgesindeki tarih öncesi toplulukların aktif iletişim halinde olduklarına dair ipuçları, yapılan çalışmalar neticesinde kesinlik kazanmıştır. Bu nedenle binlerce yıl önce yaşamış bu toplulukların birbirleriyle bilinçli bir iletişim içerisinde olduklarını rahatça söyleyebiliriz. Coğrafi olarak birbirlerinden ayrılmış insanlar arasında ne tür iletişim kanıtları aranabilir? Açıktır ki, tarih öncesi insanlar söz konusu olduğunda, incelenmek için mevcut olan tek materyal, yaptıkları veya kullandıkları nesnelerin kalıntılarıdır. Arkeologlar, iki kültür 1

Gusir Höyük (Siirt), located on the Upper Tigris Basin of Southeast Anatolia is one of several Pre-Pottery Neolithic sites in the region and it is important since it provides data about the PPNB transition as well as having well stratified PPNA deposits. Although it looks like a typical Upper Tigris settlement according to the chipped stone artefacts and many other features, it also shows some differences when compared to other settlements in the region. The absence of scalene microliths which are a typical tool group in the PPNA period of Upper Tigris Basin, and the presence of obsidian pressure blades recovered in the upper layers of the site are examples of these differences. In this paper as well as focusing on the general characteristics of the chipped stone artefacts of Gusir Höyük, the changes observed in the artefacts over time are also considered.

- by Çiler Altınbilek Algül and +1
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- Lithic Technology, Ancient Near East (Archaeology), Prehistory, Anatolian Prehistory

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.

- by Matthew Taliaferro
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- Obsidian, Lithic Technology, LA-ICP-MS, Obsidian Sourcing
- by Sylvain Mazet and +2
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- Prehistoric Archaeology, Sardinia (Archaeology), Neolithic Archaeology, Obsidian

Archaeologists' access to analytical infrastructure has grown exponentially over the last two decades. This is especially the case for benchtop X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and portable XRF (pXRF) instruments, which are now practically commonplace in archaeological laboratories and provide users with a non-destructive and rapid means to analyze the elemental compositions of archaeological specimens. As XRF has become more accessible, the volume of analytical measurements available in archaeological datasets as well as the number and diversity of researchers participating in data collection have inherently increased. Those researchers, who have various levels of experience with the nuances of lithic sourcing procedures, are also often the ones attempting to interpret the elemental data they produce. While standardized analytical procedures have enabled inexperienced analysts to take accurate and reproducible XRF measurements, interpreting the resulting data is more difficult to convert and standardize with the same degree of user-friendliness. To address this challenge, we have bundled a series of statistical approaches and data exploration tools into an intuitive open-source graphical user interface designed to facilitate reproducible and robust outcomes during lithic sourcing studies. Our application, SourceXplorer, permits easy access to and exploration of numeric baseline data using a map interface while facilitating a guided interpretation of source affiliations for archaeological specimens (e.g., lithics) within any natural context using multivariate statistical analyses. We demonstrate SourceXplorer's functionality in relation to a complex archaeological challenge by examining evidence for the procurement and use of lithic material from previously undocumented toolstone source locations in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. We also provide open access to SourceXplorer, including both a deployed version of the application that can be used with any Internet browser and the packaged script, which can be run locally in the open-source R statistical programming environment.

- by Ellery Frahm
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- Geochemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Geoarchaeology, Archaeological Science

Considerando la importancia de los artefactos lapidarios de obsidiana, no se habían hecho estudios sistemáticos de análisis de procedencia de la obsidiana. La presente investigación se ha enfocado en analizar obsidianas de distintas tonalidades con el objetivo de conocer los yacimientos de procedencia mediante su caracterización geoquímica con el empleo de un equipo portátil de fluorescencia de rayos X (pXRF).

- by Guillermo Acosta Ochoa
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- Archaeology, Mesoamerican Archaeology, Aztecs, Archaeometry

Historical Javakheti (nowadays Samtskhe-Javakheti) is located in southern Georgia, on the Minor Caucasus high plateau, and represents one of the vastest regions in the southern Caucasus volcanic mountains, a region generally marked by small valleys. Volcanic-erosive forms are dominant in its relief formation, expressed by hollows surrounded by volcanoes. The geology of the Javakheti region abounds in fossils and minerals as well as obsidian. The largest obsidian mine in Georgia is located in the north-eastern part of Javakheti, near Pharavani Lake, on the Tchikiani Mountain slope. Workshops and shelters that belong to the Mesolithic period have also been confirmed around Pharavani Lake, near the Samsari Mountain system. Major trade routes are known to have passed through the Javakheti region since antiquity. Among the oldest items of trade was obsidian.

- by Dimitri Narimanishvili
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- Georgia, Obsidian Sourcing, Georgian archaeology, Obsidian in Prehistory

Ancient economies have been characterized by many researchers as localized, highly controlled by political actors, and static over long periods of time. In Mesoamerica, recent research has cast doubt on these views, with the recognition of early market place exchange, production by households for exchange, and the wide-ranging integration of communities into regional trade networks. Here, we expand onan earlier network analysis of obsidian assemblages from the Maya region during theClassic and Postclassic periods to incorporate data for all of Mesoamerica between 900BC and AD 1520. Using both visual graphical representations and formal network metrics, we find that the Mesoamerican economy was dynamic and generally not highly centralized over time. The topology of this interactive network underwent significant changes over time. In particular, trends towards decreasing network hierar-chy and size culminated in the highly commercialized “international” economy of LatePostclassic period as noted in previous studies. Based on this analysis, we make the case that the ancient Mesoamerican economy was neither predominantly top-down nor static, and so does not conform with oft-held presumptions regarding preindustrialeconomies.

- by Gary Feinman and +1
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- History, Ancient History, Economic History, Economic Sociology

Obsidian artifacts are geochemically traceable to their geological sources of origin. The results of their analysis provide some of the most accurate testimonies of interaction, exchange and population movement. This article presents results of obsidian analyses of artifacts from twelve sites from the Middle Euphrates to the Arabian Gulf. We demonstrate that the Sıcaksu flow of Nemrut Dağ in eastern Turkey consistently supplied obsidian to the majority of sites across this region from the 7th to 4th millennia BCE. This outcrop predominated in analyzed assemblages and as a production material for the region, across all site positions, sizes and periods; this has been argued to be a result of the quality, quantity and accessibility of this flow (Robin et al., 2016). The analyses demonstrate the presence of mainly finished products from a variety of additional sources in eastern Anatolia and Armenia (average N 4 sources) on northern Mesopotamian sites during this time span. We argue that the Nemrut region was a major economic node and chief actor in the establishment and dynamics of networks in the greater region. The diachronic persistence or breaks in obsidian supply from more minor sources are an additional source of information on the inner workings and development of subtle interregional socio-political and economic relations. Obsidian analysis provides a detailed picture of the contributions of increasingly complex networks and channels of communication to intensified adoption of common practices and styles across regions, to intensifica-tion of processes leading to urbanization and state formation, and to accentuating periods of stress and conflict. These data nourish and update existing models on social networks during the crucial Ubaid to Late Chalcolithic periods and advance debates on the role and impact of these networks on early state formation.

- by Lamya Khalidi and +5
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- Near Eastern Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Anatolian Archaeology, Neolithic Archaeology

The corpus of sourced obsidian glyptic objects, like inscribed amulets and cylinder seals, is virtually nonexistent across the Near East. Here we report our findings for two obsidian amulets and two cylinder seals in the Yale Babylonian Collection and Metropolitan Museum of Art. We analyzed the artifacts using portable X-ray fluorescence, which is quantitative, nondestructive, and deployable virtually anywhere in the world. Our results establish that, for such objects, style is an unreliable predictor of obsidian source. Although the amulets are meant to protect against the same demon, they reflect different styles, skill in stone cutting, and knowledge of cuneiform, and their contexts of production must have considerably differed. The amulets' obsidian sources, however, are identical: the Kömürcü outcrops of the Göllü Dağ volcanic complex in Anatolia. The two cylinder seals exhibit typical Old Babylonian style and iconography, and the seals' obsidians are indistinguishable to the naked eye. One seal, however, matches the Anatolian “Bingöl B" source, one of the most important sources in Mesopotamia. The other seal matches an obsidian source that is only known from a vessel fragment unearthed from the Egyptian site of Abydos. This is, to our knowledge, the first time that Egyptian-tied obsidian has been chemically identified amongst Mesopotamian, Anatolian, or Levantine artifacts. Our findings tantalizingly suggest that such artifacts likely had more complex origins than has previously been appreciated. These results also hint that such objects might have been produced closer to the context of their use rather than nearer the volcanic sources of the stone.

- by Ellery Frahm and +2
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- Archaeology, Classical Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Museum Studies