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TRACE ELEMENT GEOCHEMISTRY OF NATIVE COPPER FROM THE WHITE PINE MINE, MICHIGAN (USA): IMPLICATIONS FOR SOURCING ARTEFACTS *
Author(s) -
MAUK J. L.,
HANCOCK R. G. V.
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.tb00826.x
Subject(s) - arsenic , copper , antimony , neutron activation analysis , trace element , scandium , provenance , white (mutation) , geology , environmental chemistry , mineralogy , environmental science , geochemistry , metallurgy , chemistry , radiochemistry , materials science , biochemistry , gene
Eighty‐five samples of native copper from the White Pine mine in upper Michigan were analysed by neutron activation to document geochemical variability within a single locality. Silver, sodium, antimony and scandium contents vary by two orders of magnitude, whereas arsenic values vary by three orders of magnitude. This variability reinforces the need for provenance studies of artefacts to examine sufficient samples to test for heterogeneity within the source area. The White Pine suite contains some of the most impure native copper that has been analysed to date. Arsenic and silver values of these impure samples overlap with those of European coppers, but consideration of several elements can still distinguish native copper from European copper.