Search results for "obsidian"
showing 10 items of 17 documents
Shallow vent architecture during hybrid explosive-effusive activity at Cordón Caulle (Chile, 2011-12): Evidence from direct observations and pyroclas…
2013
International audience; In June 2011, an eruption of rhyolite magma began at the Puyehue-Cordón Caulle volcanic complex, southern Chile. By January 2012, explosive activity had declined from sustained pyroclastic (Plinian to sub-Plinian) fountaining to mixed gas and ash jetting punctuated by Vulcanian blasts. This explosive activity was accompanied by synchronous effusion of obsidian lava in a hybrid explosive-effusive eruption. Fortuitous climatic conditions permitted ground-based observation and video recording of transient vent dynamics as well as real-time collection of proximal juvenile ash as it sedimented from the active plume. The main eruptive vent complex and site of lava effusion…
Obsidian from the Site of Piano dei Cardoni, Ustica (Palermo, Italy): Preliminary Results on the First Occupation of the Island
2021
Abstract New investigations on Ustica (Palermo, Sicily) originated from the need to improve our knowledge of the island’s archaeological and environmental heritage. Through field surveys, particular attention was paid to human occupation in the Neolithic phases and focused on the less investigated southern side of the island. The systematic survey of the area of Piano dei Cardoni in 2018 brought to light a new Middle/Late Neolithic site, already partially documented in the literature. The island was settled for the first time during these phases, as also testified from the area of Punta Spalmatore. The presence of Serra d’Alto, incised dark burnished, and Diana styles suggests that the site…
Obsidian in the Upper Palaeolithic of Iberia
2021
Submitted by André Pereira (andrepereira@letras.ulisboa.pt) on 2021-07-28T13:04:08Z No. of bitstreams: 1 obsidian-in-the-upper-palaeolithic-of-iberia.pdf: 35662679 bytes, checksum: 4c261781e3211c52c02d47cc36e26d98 (MD5) Approved for entry into archive by Manuel Botelheiro Moreno (manuelmoreno@campus.ul.pt) on 2021-07-28T16:31:42Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 obsidian-in-the-upper-palaeolithic-of-iberia.pdf: 35662679 bytes, checksum: 4c261781e3211c52c02d47cc36e26d98 (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2021-07-28T16:32:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 obsidian-in-the-upper-palaeolithic-of-iberia.pdf: 35662679 bytes, checksum: 4c261781e3211c52c02d47cc36e26d98 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2021 info:eu…
The first archaeometric characterization of obsidian artifacts from the archaeological site of Samshvilde (South Georgia, Caucasus)
2019
This paper presents the first results about the provenance of obsidian fragments recovered in the archaeological site of Samshvilde (South Georgia, Caucasus) with the aim to obtain knowledge related to the network distribution and procurement of obsidian in Georgia. The geochemical characterization of thirty archaeological finds was obtained by the LA-ICP-MS method, an almost non-destructive technique capable of chemically characterizing the volcanic glass. A comparison of geochemical results obtained on both archaeological artefacts and geological samples collected from Chikiani outcrop in Georgia, together with literature data of southern Caucasus and eastern Turkey, allowed us to define …
New Insights into the Provenance of the Obsidian Fragments of the Island of Ustica (Palermo, Sicily)
2017
In this study we applied a multidisciplinary approach, coupling geophysical and geochemical measurements, to unveil the provenance of 170 obsidian flakes, collected on the volcanic island of Ustica (Sicily). On this island there are some prehistoric settlements dated from the Neolithic to the Middle Bronze Age. Despite not having geological outcrops of obsidian rocks, the countryside of Ustica is rich in fragments of this volcanic glass, imported from other source areas. The study of obsidian findings was carried out first through visual observations and density measurements. At least two different obsidian families have been distinguished, probably imported from Lipari and Pantelleria isla…
Obsidians of Pantelleria (Strait of Sicily): A Petrographic, Geochemical and Magnetic Study of Known and New Geological Sources
2020
Abstract This paper provides new petrochemical and paleomagnetic data from obsidian sub-sources on the island of Pantelleria, exploited since the Neolithic. Data has been obtained from 14 obsidian samples from 4 locations: Fossa della Pernice (2 sites), Salto la Vecchia and Balata dei Turchi. Here, we aim to better characterize these obsidians using a cross-disciplinary and multi-analytical approach, to further understand their archaeological significance. Major element analyses (EMP) have enabled two compositional super-groups to be distinguished: (i) Fossa della Pernice, less peralkaline and (ii) Balata dei Turchi–Salto la Vecchia, distinctly more peralkaline and having almost identical c…
New data on the exploitation of obsidian in the mediterranean basin: The harbour of pyrgi and the trade in neolithic age
2020
The contribution shows the first results of ongoing research on the origins and prehistoric assumptions of the well-known Etruscan and Roman harbour of Pyrgi, an ancient Ceretan harbour in southern Etruria. In the light of recent land and submarine investigations, traces of ancient frequentations and contacts dating back to the Neolithic era are emerging when the coastal morphology and environmental characteristics of the site were very different from the current ones. The Etruscan port of Pyrgi, which continues its historical history in Roman and Medieval times, appears as the heir of one or more landing points frequented perhaps already in the Middle Neolithic. As part of this contributio…
Investigating Jubaniyah. A Late Chalcolithic site on the Upper Tigris River, Iraqi Kurdistan. Preliminary report
2021
Jubaniyah is a blufftop settlement of 4 hectares set on a terrace overlooking the River Tigris in northern Iraq (Iraqi Kurdistan) demonstrating a significant and almost exclusive occupation during the Late Chalcolithic period (ca. 4800-3000 BC). Besides an agricultural-pastoral orientation, the site presumably also functioned as a central hub in riverine communication and exchange with the hinterland during most of this long period. Set within the catchment area of the Mosul Dam reservoir, Jubaniyah is also one among more than 150 flooded sites which periodically resurface due to the reservoir’s annual or cyclical water fluctuation, thus intermittingly revealing the spolia of their past. Th…
Short-term occupations at high elevation during the Middle Paleolithic at Kalavan 2 (Republic of Armenia).
2021
The Armenian highlands encompasses rugged and environmentally diverse landscapes and is characterized by a mosaic of distinct ecological niches and large temperature gradients. Strong seasonal fluctuations in resource availability along topographic gradients likely prompted Pleistocene hominin groups to adapt by adjusting their mobility strategies. However, the role that elevated landscapes played in hunter-gatherer settlement systems during the Late Pleistocene (Middle Palaeolithic [MP]) remains poorly understood. At 1640 m above sea level, the MP site of Kalavan 2 (Armenia) is ideally positioned for testing hypotheses involving elevation-dependent seasonal mobility and subsistence strateg…
Chlorine as a Discriminant Element to Establish the Provenance of Central Mediterranean Obsidians
2020
Abstract Chlorine is a minor element present in obsidians in quantities greater than in average igneous rocks. The chlorine concentration in obsidians is generally low, of the order of tenths of wt %, but it exhibits an appreciable differentiation among geological sources. Despite these characteristics, chlorine has rarely been taken into consideration as a possible indicator of obsidian provenance and it does not appear in the chemical analytical tables accompanying the geochemical characterisation of obsidian samples. In this work, after an overview of chlorine geochemistry and cycle, we present thirty-one new electron microprobe (EPMA) analyses, including Cl, of geologic obsidians sample…