Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Geography

Nathan M Craig

INAA

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Macusani Obsidian From Southern Peru: A Characterization Of Its Elemental Composition With A Demonstration Of Its Ancient Use, Nathan M. Craig, Robert Speakman, R. Popelka-Filcoff, Mark Aldenderfer, Luis Flores Blanco, Margaret Brown Vega, Michael Glasscock, Charles Stanish Jan 2010

Macusani Obsidian From Southern Peru: A Characterization Of Its Elemental Composition With A Demonstration Of Its Ancient Use, Nathan M. Craig, Robert Speakman, R. Popelka-Filcoff, Mark Aldenderfer, Luis Flores Blanco, Margaret Brown Vega, Michael Glasscock, Charles Stanish

Nathan M Craig

Transparent obsidian artifacts have been reported for the northern Lake Titicaca Basin. Based on instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) of these artifacts a distinct chemical group was identified. Yet, the location of the source of transparent obsidian in the southern Andes remained unreported in the archaeological literature. This paper reports on the chemical composition and geographic location of a source of transparent obsidian from the Macusani region of Peru. Through the use of INAA and portable X-ray fluorescence (PXRF) we demonstrate that Macusani obsidian or macusanite comprises (at least) two chemical groups. One of these groups was used for making …


Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis Of Ochre Artifacts From Jiskairumoko, Peru, Rachel S. Popelka-Filcoff, Nathan M. Craig, Michael D. Glascock, David Robertson, Mark Aldenderfer, Robert J. Speakman Jan 2007

Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis Of Ochre Artifacts From Jiskairumoko, Peru, Rachel S. Popelka-Filcoff, Nathan M. Craig, Michael D. Glascock, David Robertson, Mark Aldenderfer, Robert J. Speakman

Nathan M Craig

Ochre is very common in the Terminal Archaic-Early Formative archaeological site of Jiskairumoko, (Rio Ilave, Lake Titicaca Basin, southern Peru). Within the site, ochre was found on tools, palettes, and in burials and soil deposits within structures in several contexts, suggesting both symbolic and functional uses of ochre. Variations in the color and contexts imply possibilities for different uses of ochre.. Instrumental neutron activation analysis was used to analyze the ochre samples found in Jiskairumoko. Multivariate analysis of the elemental data by principal components analysis suggests trends in the data related to the compositional variation of ochres on the site. …