Justification for reassessing elemental analysis data of ceramics, sediments and lithics using rare earth element concentrations and ratios

The mensuration of multi‐elemental concentrations from assorted archaeological materials has always required great care and attention to detail to ensure good‐quality data and their ensuing interpretations. Although most suspect data were generated before the wide use of computers, error‐free data a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Archaeometry 2019-12, Vol.61 (6), p.1430-1445
Main Authors: Hancock, R. G. V., Michelaki, K., Mahaney, W. C., Aufreiter, S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Archaeology
Ceramics
elemental analysis data
Lithic
lithics
Rare earth elements
reassessing elemental data
Sediment composition
sediments
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Summary:The mensuration of multi‐elemental concentrations from assorted archaeological materials has always required great care and attention to detail to ensure good‐quality data and their ensuing interpretations. Although most suspect data were generated before the wide use of computers, error‐free data are not still a certainty. This paper presents the geochemical rationale for a proposed chemical data‐assessment process, using a globally dispersed collection of ceramic, sediment and lithic data. It is argued that this process can allow archaeologists and archaeometrists to investigate systematically older and current data sets and, if need be, alter them to the reliable values they were originally intended to include.
ISSN:0003-813X
1475-4754
DOI:10.1111/arcm.12497