Trace element mapping of two Pyrenean chert deposits (SW Europe) by PIXE

Abstract

a b s t r a c tThe geochemical character of two chert formations from the Pyrenean mountain range (SW Europe) was established by PIXE analyses. While it was not possible to distinguish the formations through reference to major and minor elements, some variations were revealed at the trace elemental level. In order to determine if these elements are associated with the Si matrix or to the contents of a specific inclusion, elemental maps were acquired and the elemental composition of the identified inclusions were also determined. As a result, Sr, Ni and Zn are better represented in Montgaillard samples while Y, Hf, W and Zr are typical of Montsaunès cherts. Thanks to elemental maps it has been possible to determine that most of these characteristic elements are usually related to a specific inclusion content.

Chert sourcing using LIBS: The case of Cova del Parco, Spain

“…The last decades saw the development of new analytical strategies combining macroscopic characterisation with non‐ or micro‐destructive elemental (energy‐dispersive X‐ray fluorescence (ED‐XRF), laser ablation inductively‐coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA‐ICP‐MS), particle‐induced X‐ray emission (PIXE)) (Andersen et al, 2021; Moreau et al, 2019; Muntoni et al, 2022; Sánchez de la Torre et al, 2017) or mineralogical (Raman spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction) analysis (Jordão et al, 2022; Roldán et al, 2015) being applied to chert provenance with varied results. However, these methods mostly involved large laboratory equipment, meaning that large archaeological collections or pieces exposed at a museum were not often considered for analysis.…”

“…Classical archaeopetrographical analytic strategies are therefore not capable of discriminating different chert localities. Previous investigations have employed elemental characterisation techniques, such as ED‐XRF and LA‐ICP‐MS, in the analysis of lacustrine cherts (Sanchez de la Torre et al 2017, 2019, 2020). ED‐XRF has shown limited discrimination potential, with high error margins on trace elements, rendering LA‐ICP‐MS the more reliable choice.…”

Lithic raw material procurement at the Chaves cave (Huesca, Spain): A geochemical approach to defining Palaeolithic human mobility

“…In the south of France, particularly in the Pyrenean region, although such studies started some decades earlier with the works by Meroc (1944), Séronie‐Vivien and Séronie‐Vivien (1987), and Simonnet (1982, 1999), among others, the first years of the 21st century were also highly productive (Briois, 2005; Foucher, 2004; Grégoire, 2000; Lacombe, 2005; Normand, 2002). In recent decades other techniques to characterise lithic sources have been applied, with some examples in NE Iberia and the south of France of mineralogical and geochemical approaches (Roy‐Sunyer, 2016; Sánchez de la Torre, 2015; Sánchez de la Torre, Angyal, et al, 2017; Sánchez de la Torre, Angyal, et al 2019; Sánchez de la Torre, Le Bourdonnec, Dubernet, et al, 2017; Sánchez de la Torre, Le Bourdonnec, Gratuze, Domingo, et al, 2017).…”