Using ichnofossils to characterize chert tools: A preliminary study from Southern Iberia

Abstract

Characterizing raw material of stone tools used by Late Neolithic and Copper Age communities is important for interpreting access to available sources and establishing regional routes of distribution. Ichnological analysis may be used to help characterize lithic material and determine the source of artifacts. Here we report for the first time the existence of trace fossils in artifacts from the Late Neolithic and Copper Age of southern Spain. Ichnological analysis indicates a trace fossil assemblage consisting of relatively scarce small‐sized Chondrites and abundant Phycosiphon. A regional survey of natural outcrops and chert quarries indicates the presence of discrete trace fossils only in the samples from geological formations that are part of the Campo de Gibraltar Complex. Ichnological composition in these samples is similar to that discerned in the artifacts and suggests that this was the probable source of the chert used in tool manufacture. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

US’ Interest Shifting as a Response to China’s Move in Cuba

“…Constructivist theories of international relations provide a tool to conceptualize national interests (Glanville, 1996). This re-conceptualization confirms the validity of previous knowledge and allows us to place it in a broader theoretical framework.…”

The Importance of Chert in Central Anatolia: Lessons from the Neolithic Assemblage at Çatalhöyük, Turkey

“…However, because INAA necessitates a nuclear reactor, choice of laboratories for sample submission is limited, and analysis can be relatively time consuming when compared to XRF. Other techniques employed include XRD (Malyk-Selivanova et al, 1998), inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (Evans et al, 2010;Olofsson & Rodushkin, 2011), electron microprobe analysis (Trogdon, 2006), thin-section petrography (Bustillo et al, 2009;Rodriguez-Tovar et al, 2010), visible/nearinfrared (VNIR) reflectance spectroscopy (Hubbard et al, 2004;Parish, 2011), and chert luminescence properties (Akridge & Benoit, 2001). Our decision to use nondestructive XRF analysis was based on instrument accessibility and future research objectives.…”

Resilience and Redundance: Resource Networks and the Neolithic Chert Economy at Çatalhöyük, Turkey

“…To complement our visual analysis, we geochemically characterized materials from all known deposits of chert in central Anatolia, as well as a random subsample (n = 1169) of chert artefacts at Çatalhöyük, using a portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) instrument. Although multiple forms of instrumental analysis have been used to chemically characterize chert objects-instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) ( Glascock, 2004;Kendall, 2010;Huckell et al, 2011), x-ray diffraction (Malyk-Selivanova et al, 1998), inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (Evans et al, 2010;Olofsson & Rodushkin, 2011), electron microprobe analysis (Trogdon, 2006), thin-section petrography (Bustillo et al, 2009;Rodriguez-Tovar et al, 2010), visible/near infrared (VNIR) reflectance spectroscopy (Hubbard et al, 2004;Parish, 2011), and chert luminescence properties (Akridge & Benoit, 2001)many of these are either destructive in nature, or require specialized laboratory settings that limit the choice of institutions available for sample submission. Alternatively, pXRF analysis is cheap, non-destructive, and can be used in both field and laboratory settings.…”