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STEATITE SOURCE CHARACTERIZATION IN EASTERN NORTH AMERICA: NEW RESULTS USING INSTRUMENTAL NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS *
Author(s) -
TRUNCER J.,
GLASCOCK M. D.,
NEFF H.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
archaeometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.716
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1475-4754
pISSN - 0003-813X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-4754.1998.tb00822.x
Subject(s) - neutron activation analysis , provenance , characterization (materials science) , mineralogy , geology , geochemistry , chemistry , materials science , radiochemistry , nanotechnology
Doubts have recently been cast on the ability to characterize steatite sources using rare earth elements (REEs). By increasing the number of samples and elements examined using instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and multivariate statistics, this study shows that, with unhomogenized samples, transition metals, not REEs, make the greatest contribution in characterizing steatite sources in the Middle Atlantic region of eastern North America. Preliminary results suggest that INAA has the potential to assign provenance to steatite artefacts, at least at a regional level.