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Laser microsampling and multivariate methods in provenance studies of obsidian artefacts

Chemical Papers volume 69, pages 761–778 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

The provenance of obsidian artefacts and raw materials was studied by the multivariate statistical analysis of forty-five samples using elemental composition data obtained by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). One ICP-MS instrument equipped with a quadrupole mass filter and the other based on a time-of-flight analyser were coupled to the same type of laser ablation device (Nd:YAG 213 nm), thereby affording a comparison of the different mass spectrometers in terms of precision and verification of the consistency of the results. The influence of surface roughness (polished raw material vs artefact) and microinhomogeneity on the LA-ICP-MS signal was studied under the optimised working conditions of the laser ablation device. Principal component analysis, correspondence analysis, independent component analysis, multi-dimensional scaling, Sammon mapping and fuzzy cluster analysis were applied and compared in order to reveal statistically significant compositional differences between particular geological sites and to disclose the provenance of the raw materials used in manufacture of the artefacts. Twenty-seven artefacts and eighteen raw material samples from natural resources in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy, Greece, Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Mexico and Nicaragua were examined with special attention focused on samples from Moravia (Czech Republic) and some Near East sites (Tell Arbid, Tell Asmar). The Carpathian origin of the obsidian artefacts was investigated in the Moravian samples using the Pb, Rb and U contents. The Near East samples were classified according to their Sr, Ba, Zr and REE contents as per-alkaline obsidians (Bingöl A/Nemrut Dağ) originating from Southeast Anatolia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37, Brno, Czech Republic

    Lubomír Prokeš, Michaela Vašinová Galiová, Simona Hušková, Tomáš Vaculovič & Viktor Kanický

  2. Department of Physical Electronics, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37, Brno, Czech Republic

    Lubomír Prokeš

  3. R&D Centre for Low-cost Plasma and Nanotechnology Surface Modifications, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37, Brno, Czech Republic

    Lubomír Prokeš

  4. Central European Institute of Technology, Kamenice 5, 625 00, Brno, Czech Republic

    Michaela Vašinová Galiová, Tomáš Vaculovič, Aleš Hrdlička & Viktor Kanický

  5. Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Blvd, Long Beach, CA, 90840, USA

    Andrew Zed Mason

  6. Department of Anthropology and Institute for Integrated Research in Materials Environments, and Society (IIRMES), California State University, Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Blvd, Long Beach, CA, 90840, USA

    Hector Neff

  7. Department of Geological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37, Brno, Czech Republic

    Antonín Přichystal

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  1. Lubomír Prokeš
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  2. Michaela Vašinová Galiová
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  9. Viktor Kanický
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Correspondence to Viktor Kanický.

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Prokeš, L., Vašinová Galiová, M., Hušková, S. et al. Laser microsampling and multivariate methods in provenance studies of obsidian artefacts. Chem. Pap. 69, 761–778 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1515/chempap-2015-0019

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/chempap-2015-0019

Keywords

  • ICP-MS
  • laser beam sampling
  • principal component analysis d]correspondence analysis d]archaeological objects d]volcanic glasses