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The crystalline quartz-rich raw material from Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania): why is it called quartzite when it should be called quartz?

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Abstract

The major raw material documented in the archeological sites of Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania) is a geological material with crystalline appearance, white or colorless, foliated or seemingly massive only at the outcrop scale, with a very high quartz-rich composition, and apparently of metamorphic origin, named by us in this paper: Crystalline Quartz-rich Raw Material (CQRM). Since the early days of research in Olduvai Gorge, a long-lasting terminological imprecision has allowed defining this material in a confused way as quartz or quartzite. Stubbornness in terminological imprecision reflects the complexity and specificity of CQRM related to a protracted and complex geological history composed by quartz-bearing metamorphic rocks of varied types and origins from recycling and/or tectonic reworking of much older Precambrian orogens and cratons. Currently the term quartzite is preferred by most researchers, despite being materials that have an appearance macro- and microscopic similar to quartz and show a response to fracture mechanics, and cutting-edge functional response is closer to quartz. In our view, it is crucial to undertake a comprehensive analysis of the CQRM from the structural, metamorphic, and petrological perspectives. Bearing this in mind, the main objective of the present study is to build a robust and conclusive petrological background that will enable an accurate identification and classification of this quartz-rich mineral resource. This geological material should be identified as “quartz.” The most diagnostic features supporting this interpretation can be summarized as some of the microstructural relics identified concur undoubtedly with a hydrothermal origin of the quartz and the recognition of special deformational structures at macro and micro scale point to tectono-metamorphic overprint of the hydrothermal quartz under granulite-facies conditions during the Panafrican orogenesis about 640 Ma ago.

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Fig. 1
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Modified from Gray et al. (2008), Meert and Lieberman (2008), and Miller et al. (2011)

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Data availability

All relevant data are within the manuscript. All geological samples are stored in the Lithoteque of the Department of Geography, Prehistory and Archaeology of the University of the Basque Country.

Code availability

Not applicable.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to thank the Tanzanian Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH), the Division of Antiquities and NCAA (Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority), within the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism for permission to conduct research in Olduvai Gorge. We sincerely acknowledge the suggestions for improvement provided by two anonymous reviewers and the journal editor.

Funding

This study was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the National Plan I + D + i (projects PID2020-118359 GB-I00 and HAR2017-82463-C4-4-P) and the UPV/EHU GIU20/010 research grant.

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  1. Department of Geography, Prehistory and Archaeology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain

    Antonio Tarriño

  2. Department of Geology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Leioa, Spain

    Benito Ábalos, Pablo Puelles & Luis Eguiluz

  3. Department of Prehistory and Archaeology, University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain

    Fernando Díez-Martín

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Contributions

All authors contributed to this work. AT and FD conceptualized the work. AT, LE, and FD did fieldwork and collect samples, and AT and FD wrote the archeological contextualization. BA, PP, LE, and AT wrote the geological contextualization and made the figures. BA, PP, AT, and LE carried out petrological analysis. Funding acquisition was by FD, AT, and BA. FD is responsible for project management. All authors read, reviewed, and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Antonio Tarriño.

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Tarriño, A., Ábalos, B., Puelles, P. et al. The crystalline quartz-rich raw material from Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania): why is it called quartzite when it should be called quartz?. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 15, 78 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-023-01774-9

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