Building ED-XRF datasets for sourcing rhyolite and quartzite artifacts: A case study on the Homa Peninsula, Kenya

Finestone, Emma; Braun, David R.; Plummer, Thomas W.; Bartilol, S.; Kiprono, Nelson

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102510

Cited by 3 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…Similarly, hominins at the Kanjera South locality on the Homa Peninsula of Lake Victoria extensively exploited sources of volcanic rhyolite between 1.95 and 2.3 Ma (Plummer 2004). Application of energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) has proven viable for distinguishing rhyolitic sources and these studies show that hominins at Kanjera South regularly traveled over 13 km in multiple directions to access durable, high-quality, raw material sources (Finestone et al 2020). Analyses of the lithic assemblages from Koobi Fora and Olduvai Gorge indicate that by c. 1.8 Ma hominids across eastern Africa may have been regularly transporting high quality volcanic stone to archaeological sites ~20 km away (Braun et al, 2007;Leakey 1971;Key et al 2020;Kimura 1999).…”

Section: Emergence Of Hominin Toolstone Selection and Extended Mobilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Two-million-years of obsidian extraction, utilization, and exchange in eastern Africa

Goldstein¹,

James²,

Ranhorn

2022

Preprint

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Eastern Africa hosts the longest record of human evolutionary and cultural change on the planet. Archaeological sites across what are today Kenya and Tanzania preserve evidence for the emergence of bipedal hominins, our ancestors’ earliest experiments with stone tools, technological and social innovations, and expansions of diverse forms of food production. Here, we present a synthesis of recent advances in geochemical methodologies, source identifications, and applied sourcing studies that have enhanced our understanding of human-obsidian relationships across the volcanic landscapes of Kenya and Tanzania over the last two million year

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Section: Emergence Of Hominin Toolstone Selection and Extended Mobilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Two-million-years of obsidian extraction, utilization, and exchange in eastern Africa

Goldstein¹,

James²,

Ranhorn

2022

Preprint

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“…On a regional scale, the Ikorongo group is correlated with the Bukoban supergroup, which consists of shale, siltstone, sandstone, quartzite, limestone, chert, and a variety of sedimentary deposits, some of which are provenanced to anorogenic flood basalts and andesites (Schlüter 1997). From an archaeological perspective, Oldowan toolmakers at Kanjera South (Kenya) (Figure 2) exploited rhyolite, felsite, and quartzite that are associated with the Nyanzian and Bukoban supergroups (Braun et al 2008;Finestone et al 2020).…”

Section: Geology and Raw Materials Of Eastern Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, some of these rhyolites were exposed to metasomatism by carbonatite magmatic doming in which additional elements were introduced into the rocks by circulating fluids (Finestone et al 2020). The HWK E site at Oldupai Gorge (Tanzania) (Figure 2) has yielded one Oldowan lithic manufactured from "altered but unmetamorphosed gabbro" (Hay 1976:185) that may be provenanced to the Tanzania Craton, although a closer Neoproterozoic outcrop has been proposed as an alternative source based on a petrogenetic analogue (Favreau et al 2020).…”

Section: Geology and Raw Materials Of Eastern Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In summary, there are several means to evaluate and explore multivariate geochemical data that can offer valuable insights regarding correlations along with preliminary inter-/intra-source patterns (Finestone et al 2020). However, it is often necessary to conduct additional statistical tests to discriminate raw material sources, particularly for non-obsidian rock types.…”

Section: Raw Materials Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Overall, there are several exploration and evaluation techniques that can allow for the effective discrimination of raw material sources using geochemical fingerprints and multivariate data more broadly (e.g. Finestone et al 2020;Pitblado et al 2013;Soto et al 2020a). In addition, there are emerging and innovative data evaluation techniques that fall under the framework of data science and artificial intelligence (e.g.…”

Section: Raw Materials Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sourcing Oldowan and Acheulean Stone Tools in Eastern Africa

Favreau¹

2022

Preprint

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Eastern Africa’s Plio-Pleistocene sedimentary record has shaped our understanding of human evolution and the development of stone tool technologies. Over the years, raw material sourcing has emerged as a key research topic in lithic analysis as it can allow for the identification of resource extraction points together with anthropogenic transport distances across palaeolandscapes as a means to infer other aspects of hominin behaviour. The goal of this article is to review and synthesise the aims, methods, challenges, and current knowledge on the sourcing of Oldowan and Acheulean stone tools from Plio-Pleistocene archaeological contexts in Eastern Africa, namely Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania. Beginning with the theoretical framework of lithic sourcing, a systematic, comprehensive, and multifactorial methodology is presented, which is applicable across archaeology’s sub-disciplinary boundaries. From thereon, the geology of Eastern Africa is reviewed to establish the range of available rock types during the Plio-Pleistocene along with the processes that led to the formation of primary and secondary raw material sources. Several drivers are identified to have affected the distribution, availability, and prehistoric utilisation of raw materials across Eastern Africa, including Precambrian tectono-thermal events, planation, and subsequent uplift, followed by Cenozoic volcanism, extensional faulting, subsidence, sedimentation, and geomorphological forcing. The following section comprises of a comprehensive review of Oldowan and Acheulean raw material provisioning in Eastern Africa to identify the state of knowledge and methodological trends. Four important patterns are identified: (1) Oldowan and Acheulean toolmakers regularly exerted selective criteria when choosing raw materials; (2) the spatio-temporal fragmentation of technological activities across the palaeolandscape emerged before the first appearance datum of the Acheulean; (3) hominin toolmakers preferentially utilised igneous rock types followed by metamorphic and sedimentary lithologies mirroring Eastern Africa’s lithostratigraphic sequence; and (4) Acheulean toolmakers largely mimicked their Oldowan counterparts in terms of raw material provisioning until the late Early Pleistocene, when they began to engage in qualitatively different behaviour best evidenced by anthropogenic stone transport over increasingly longer distances. Another informative pattern that emerges from the foregoing section is the limited efforts that have been historically devoted in sourcing lithic raw materials of Plio-Pleistocene age. This can be attributed to several factors, not least of which are a suite of interpretive challenges such as time-averaging, recycling, sourcing, and identifying selection criteria, which are featured in the ensuing section. The foregoing discussion also serves to preface a devoted section on the array of analytical methods that can be successfully employed by archaeologists to source lithic raw materials. Proven and innovative analytical methods are identified by bringing into dialogue key factors such as accuracy, precision, reproducibility, discriminatory power, sensitivity, destructiveness, throughput, cost, ease, and the question of spatial scale. It is also found that characterising non-obsidian lithologies is best accomplished using more than one analytical method with the understanding that once positive baseline results are obtained, subsequent archaeological testing can be narrowed down methodologically. Regardless of the analytical method of choice, it is imperative to implement effective means to analyse the resulting data, which constitutes the main topic addressed in the following section supplemented by two case studies. It is found that variably sophisticated forms of multivariate statistics are usually required to discriminate non-obsidian sources to probabilistically source stone tools, and it is argued that reporting is best done following the principles of open science. The final section reviews ethnographic and archaeological literature on sourcing, mobility, and geospatial modelling to outline their potential to enhance the interpretive remit of traditional raw material studies. Ultimately, this article reviews the state of knowledge about raw material sourcing in the Earlier Stone Age across Eastern Africa and highlights means through which archaeologists can garner the full potential of a non-renewable record.

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Raman Micro-Spectroscopic Investigation of Corrosion Products.

Conference¹

2023

Egypt. J. Chem.

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Selected four gilt-bronze statuettes have been studied after excavation from the burial environment. Soil deposits and corrosion forms were observed on the surface disfiguring the gold layer. Confocal micro-Raman spectroscopy and Portable Xray fluorescence (pXRF) were used to identify the molecular structure and elements distribution over the statuette's surfaces. Total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) has been utilized to recognize the surface/interface state before the conservation treatment and takes the high-resolution imaging. Chemical analyses indicated that it was made of leaded bronze. A high lead content in the statuettes was reflected by lead corrosion products admixed with green chloride and carbonate salts of copper. Conservation treatment was accomplished using fine and appropriate mechanical tools to recover all the gilding remains and surface details. Finally, the protection process of statuettes was accomplished using two layers of Permalac.

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Building ED-XRF datasets for sourcing rhyolite and quartzite artifacts: A case study on the Homa Peninsula, Kenya

Cited by 3 publications

References 44 publications

Two-million-years of obsidian extraction, utilization, and exchange in eastern Africa

Two-million-years of obsidian extraction, utilization, and exchange in eastern Africa

Sourcing Oldowan and Acheulean Stone Tools in Eastern Africa

Raman Micro-Spectroscopic Investigation of Corrosion Products.

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