scholarly journals Chemical compositional analysis of polychrome pottery in the northern Casas Grandes area (a.d. 1200-1450)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Candace A. Sall
Keyword(s):  
Neutron Activation Analysis ◽  
New Mexico ◽  
Activation Analysis ◽  
Compositional Analysis ◽  
Petrographic Analysis ◽  
Casas Grandes ◽  
Production Location ◽  
Far North ◽  
Religious System ◽  
Mimbres Valley

The northern area of the Casas Grandes Medio Period (A.D. 1200-1450) was not well known archaeologically. 76 Draw is on the border of the Casas Grandes and Salado (A.D. 1275-1450) regions and the nature of interaction and integration with both areas at this site was examined through excavation. 76 Draw, an Animas Phase settlement in Luna County, New Mexico, had both Ramos Polychrome vessels, a Casas Grandes polychrome type, and Gila Polychrome vessels, a Salado polychrome type, and neutron activation analysis was conducted to determine if both types were made at 76 Draw. The Ramos Polychrome pottery at the site came from three production locations based on the geochemical groups as well as petrographic analysis of some of the sherds. One of the production locations is at or near Paquimé and one might be at or near 76 Draw. The Gila Polychrome vessels came to 76 Draw from one production location in the Mimbres Valley north of the site. 76 Draw was integrated with Casas Grandes in Chihuahua, Mexico, as it was participating in the religious system that included the production and use of the iconographic Ramos Polychrome pottery. Evidence of roasting ovens, obsidian from southern sources, shell, and bird burial information from 76 Draw, along with Ramos Polychrome data, demonstrates that the Casas Grandes interaction sphere operates as far north as southern New Mexico.

scholarly journals Bibliography on Woodland and Caddo Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis and Petrographic Analysis Studies in East Texas, Northwest Louisiana, eastern Oklahoma, and Southwest Arkansas

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy K. Perttula ◽  
Robert Z. Selden
Keyword(s):  
Neutron Activation Analysis ◽  
Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis ◽  
Activation Analysis ◽  
Neutron Activation ◽  
Mineralogical Composition ◽  
Petrographic Analysis ◽  
Economic Relationships ◽  
Ceramic Vessels ◽  
Trade And Exchange ◽  
Instrumental Neutron Activation

Characterizing the chemical and mineralogical composition of ceramic vessels and sherds from Woodland and Caddo sites by means of instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and petrographic analysis provides a unique opportunity to gather and investigate empirical evidence from ceramic vessels (and perhaps their contents?) on their trade and exchange at varying scales conducted by ancestral Caddo people with their neighbors, both near and far (i.e., other ancestral Caddo groups as well as non-Caddo communities). This evidence in turn can be used to explore changes in the nature of social and economic relationships between particular Caddo groups and other prehistoric populations. Identified compositional and paste differences that have been identified between the different wares made by Caddo groups (i.e., plain wares, utility wares, and fine wares) have also been employed to explore functional and technological differences in vessel function and form.

scholarly journals Large Sample Neutron Activation Analysis for Cultural Heritage Studies

2012 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 121
Author(s):  
T. Vasilopoulou ◽  
F. Tzika ◽  
I. E. Stamatelatos
Keyword(s):  
Neutron Activation Analysis ◽  
Activation Analysis ◽  
Neutron Activation ◽  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Compositional Analysis ◽  
Bulk Sample ◽  
Element Analysis ◽  
Large Sample ◽  
Heritage Studies ◽  
Non Destructive

Large Sample Neutron Activation Analysis (LSNAA) is a non-destructive, multi-element analysis technique with a broad range of scientific and technological applications. Since both neutrons and gamma rays have penetration depths of the order of several centimeters within materials, depending on their energy and sample material properties, LSNAA enables non-destructive compositional analysis of the inner structure of large volume samples (up to several litters in volume). In this work, applications of LSNAA in cultural heritage studies are presented and the unique capabilities of the technique for bulk sample elemental analysis of precious and archaeological objects that need to be preserved intact and cannot be damaged for sampling purposes are discussed.

Identification of the Sources of Hopewellian Obsidian in the Middle West

1969 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
James B. Griffin ◽  
A. A. Gordus ◽  
G. A. Wright
Keyword(s):  
Neutron Activation Analysis ◽  
New Mexico ◽  
Activation Analysis ◽  
Neutron Activation ◽  
National Park ◽  
Pacific Coast ◽  
Source Area ◽  
Central Mexico ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Middle West

AbstractOne hundred and twenty years ago, the first obsidian implements were reported from Hopewellian mounds by Squier and Davis (1848). Since that time, a number of regions have been suggested as the source area: Alaska, the Pacific Coast, Yellowstone National Park, New Mexico, and central Mexico. Neutron activation analysis of the elemental composition of Hopewellian obsidian indicates two separate element groups. One of these, the 150 Group, has its source at Obsidian Cliff in Yellowstone. The second, the 90 Group, is also located in Yellowstone, but the exact flow has not yet been discovered.

The Production and Distribution of Classic Mimbres Black-on-White Pottery

1994 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 695-709 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia A. Gilman ◽  
Veletta Canouts ◽  
Ronald L. Bishop
Keyword(s):  
Neutron Activation Analysis ◽  
Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis ◽  
Activation Analysis ◽  
Neutron Activation ◽  
Centralized Control ◽  
Petrographic Analyses ◽  
Production And Distribution ◽  
Mimbres Valley ◽  
Distributed Production ◽  
Instrumental Neutron Activation

Because the most abundant and finest quality Classic Mimbres Black-on-white ceramics are associated with large pueblos located in the Mimbres Valley, archaeologists have subscribed to a center-periphery model of exchange to explain the occurrence of these ceramics outside of the “heartland.” Recent instrumental neutron-activation analysis based on 117 samples from six sites and supported by petrographic analyses demonstrates that separable production groups can be distinguished outside of, as well as within, the valley proper. Widely distributed production locales do not support a model of centralized control over production and distribution. The analyses thus raise questions about the purposes of such visually distinct pottery and the nature of its exchange.

The Cahokia Connection at the Lake Providence Mounds, Louisiana

2020 ◽  
pp. 391-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard A. Weinstein ◽  
Douglas C. Wells
Keyword(s):  
Neutron Activation Analysis ◽  
Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis ◽  
Activation Analysis ◽  
Neutron Activation ◽  
Specific Region ◽  
Petrographic Analysis ◽  
Southern Illinois ◽  
American Bottom ◽  
Thin Sectioning ◽  
Coles Creek

Several hundred potentially exotic sherds were recovered from late Coles Creek period (ca. A.D. 1150 to 1260) contexts at the Lake Providence Mounds in northeast Louisiana. A number of these sherds appeared to represent the remains of vessels from Cahokia or sites in the American Bottom region of southern Illinois, while others likely were local copies of Cahokia vessels. A selected sample of these “exotic” sherds, along with recognized local specimens, were subjected to petrographic thin sectioning (petrographic analysis) and instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). These analyses suggested that some of the potentially exotic sherds were, indeed, from the American Bottom area, while others could not be sources to a specific region. Possible reasons for the exotic vessels at Lake Providence are discussed.

Inferences about Prehistoric Ceramics and People in Southeast Missouri: Results of Ceramic Compositional Analysis

2000 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark J. Lynott ◽  
Hector Neff ◽  
James E. Price ◽  
James W. Cogswell ◽  
Michael D. Glascock
Keyword(s):  
Neutron Activation Analysis ◽  
Activation Analysis ◽  
Neutron Activation ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
Compositional Analysis ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Mississippi River Valley ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Southeast Missouri ◽  
Prehistoric Ceramics

AbstractCeramic compositional studies using Instrument Neutron Activation Analysis indicates that it is possible to distinguish between ceramics manufactured from clays originating in the Central Mississippi River valley and clays originating in the Eastern Ozarks. The study also documents that shell-tempered ceramics were being made from Eastern Ozark clays during the period A.D. 700 to A.D. 1000. Shell-tempered ceramics made from clays originating in the Western Lowlands also are found at sites in the Eastern Ozarks during this time period, providing evidence for interaction between the Eastern Ozarks and Central Mississippi River valley.

On the Logic of Archaeological Inference: Early Formative Pottery and the Evolution of Mesoamerican Societies

2006 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Sharer ◽  
Andrew K. Balkansky ◽  
James H. Burton ◽  
Gary M. Feinman ◽  
Kent V. Flannery ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neutron Activation Analysis ◽  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis ◽  
Activation Analysis ◽  
Neutron Activation ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Petrographic Analysis ◽  
Lines Of Evidence ◽  
Early Formative ◽  
Instrumental Neutron Activation

AbstractThe 2005 articles by Stoltman et al. and Flannery et al. to which Neff et al. (this issue) have responded are not an indictment of instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) but, rather, of the way Blomster et al. (2005) misuse it and of the hyperbolic culture-historical claims they have made from their INAA results. It has long been acknowledged that INAA leads not to sources but to chemical composition groups. Based on composition groups derived from an extremely unsystematic collection of sherds from only seven localities, Blomster et al. claim that the Olmec received no carved gray or kaolin white pottery from other regions; they also claim that neighboring valleys in the Mexican highlands did not exchange such pottery with each other. Not only can one not leap directly from the elements in potsherds to such sweeping culture-historical conclusions, it is also the case that other lines of evidence (including petrographic analysis) have for 40+ years produced empirical evidence to the contrary. In the end, it was their commitment to an unfalsifiable model of Olmec superiority that led Blomster et al. to bypass the logic of archaeological inference.

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