Oxygen-Isotope Ratios in Quartz as Indicators of the Provenance of Archaeological Ochres

Quartz hydration dating

“…This should lead to establishing source-specific quartz hydration rates, as they are determined in the OHD technique [18]. In this respect, several methods may be helpful which yield information on the provenance and rock-forming conditions of quartz crystals [42,44,45]. Once the influence of defects leading to the error term 6q is clarified, equation (5) can be refined.…”

Geochemical characterization of ochre from central coastal British Columbia, Canada

“…Ochre is a geochemically heterogeneous material in comparison to other raw materials such as obsidian and some clays, however, previous work on the characterization of ochre outcrops indicates that sufficient geochemical variability exists to satisfy the provenance postulate (Erlandson et al, 1999;Popelka-Filcoff et al, 2007, 2008Smith and Pell, 1997;Smith et al, 1998;Stafford et al, 2003;Weigand et al, 1977). Because there exists the potential for significant chemical variability in ochre, it is critical to obtain elemental concentration data on major, minor and trace elements and to explore trends among them through application of multivariate statistics.…”

“…However, the nature of its acquisition is poorly understood. The elemental analysis of raw materials of all types is continually increasing in frequency and occurrence, and the analysis of ochre for the purpose of determining ancient resource use and trade and exchange practices is an area of growing interest (Manscalco, 1989;Popelka-Filcoff et al, 2005;Smith et al, 1998;Smith and Pell, 1997;Stafford et al, 2003;Tankersley et al, 1995). As this body of knowledge continues to expand it is apparent that a foundation of knowledge of ochre geochemistry and local geological conditions must be established to enable detailed interpretations of ochre-related practices.…”

Microelemental characterisation of Aboriginal Australian natural Fe oxide pigments

“…6,[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] The majority of these samples have also been analysed by complementary techniques such as NAA. 6,24 From this larger combined collection, 165 samples were chosen for analysis by X-ray uorescence microscopy (XFM).…”