Temperature- and frequency-dependent magnetic susceptibility on archaeological ceramics of the Tlatilca culture (Mexico City): A pilot study towards an archaeointensity approach

• Published in: Journal of archaeological science, reports reports, 2023-12, Vol.52, p.104257, Article 104257
• Main Authors: Hernández-Cardona, A, Alva-Valdivia, L.M, Cruz-y-Cruz, T, Pérez-García, H
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Archaeological ceramics; Frequency-dependent susceptibility; Mexico City; Rock magnetism; Superparamagnetic grains; Temperature-dependent susceptibility
• ISSN: 2352-409X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.104257

•A pilot study of rock magnetism experiments of temperature- and frequency-dependence on ceramics of the Tlatilca culture.•Reheating pastillage ceramics shows grain content decrement trends, and a correlation with frequency-dependent susceptibility.•Unreported low-temperature susceptibility transition (−123 to −134 °C) observed in ceramic materials.•Important findings in reheating different ceramic types to be considered in archaeointensity procedures. Temperature-dependent susceptibility curves are commonly used in archaeointensity studies to identify changes in the magnetic mineralogy of archaeological ceramics. In this pilot study, we investigated the low- and high-temperature thermomagnetic behavior and frequency-dependent susceptibility of eight ceramics from a Tlatilca culture archaeological site in Mexico City, after heating them at five different temperatures (from 120 to 440 °C). Our objective is to establish a correlation between the thermomagnetic behavior and the parameters that determine the magnetic grain-size and magnetic domain in similar style of ceramics from different occupations of the site. Our findings show that superparamagnetic grains (SP) degrade with increasing reheating temperature in ceramics, and we conclude that this behavior is related to details in artifact processing, such as the use of pastillage to represent headdresses, and an important aspect to consider when working with samples for archaeointensity procedures.