Abstract

DURAN, Víctor et al. Non-destructive x-ray fluorescence (XRF) characterization and sourcing of obsidian from archaeological sites in Central West Argentina and Central Chile. Intersecciones antropol. [online]. 2012, vol.13, n.2, pp.423-437. ISSN 1850-373X.

The results of chemical analysis by X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) performed on 101 obsidian artifacts from archaeological sites of Central western Argentina and Central Chile are presented. A chemical characterization of six obsidian sources and subsources located in both Andean and extra-Andean environments of Southern Mendoza, Northern Neuquén and Central Chile, is also performed. Based on this information, different proposals related to mobility patterns and exchange systems of human societies that occupied the two slopes of the Andes during the middle and late Holocene are discussed. The results confirm that non-destructive X-ray Fluorescence is a valid tool to determine the origin and dispersal of archaeological obsidian artifacts.

Keywords : X-ray Fluorescence; Obsidian; Archaeological artifacts provenance; Central western Argentina; Central Chile.

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