3: Obsidian Characterization in the Eastern Mediterranean
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Published:16 Dec 2016
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Special Collection: RSC eTextbook CollectionProduct Type: Textbooks
Archaeological Chemistry, The Royal Society of Chemistry, 3rd edn, 2016, vol. 3, pp. 104-131.
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Obsidian is a volcanic glass widely used in antiquity to manufacture stone tools, prized for its sharp edges. The process by which obsidian forms gives each source of the material a relatively homogeneous and characteristic chemical composition. In the Eastern Mediterranean, workable sources of obsidian are well known and characterized. Trace element analysis of obsidian using a variety of analytical approaches, most recently including portable X-ray fluorescence, has been used to discriminate between sources. Establishing the provenance or source of origin of obsidian artefacts aims to clarify the mechanisms by which this unique material is distributed across the archaeological map.