Examining the diagnostic value of 87SR/86SR for midwestern blue-gray chert source determination

Identifying sources of lithic raw material can provide insight into interaction between distant communities in the form of travel or exchange. Geological sources might index symbolically meaningful locations or the settings of everyday local activities. Methods of sourcing lithic raw material have become increasingly sophisticated over the last 50 years as archaeologists explore interdisciplinary techniques for characterizing material from different proveniences. With more than ten visually similar bluish-gray chert sources in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia, geological provenience assignment of artifacts produced from these materials has proven to be a particularly confounding task. Geochemical analysis aimed at distinguishing bluish-gray chert from different Midwestern sources using strontium isotope analysis appears to be a promising technique based on data derived from analysis of 34 samples from four geological sources. Results show that the 87Sr/86Sr of Cobden-Dongola chert is distinct from Wyandotte, Kentucky Blue, and St. Louis chert from Robertson County Tennessee. It appears likely that bivariate classification using the ratio of rubidium to strontium as well as 87Sr/86Sr will increase the diagnostic potential of analyses of geological specimens and artifacts.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Anthropology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2023

Author dc:creator

• Evans, Madeleine G

Contributors dc:contributor

• Ambrose, Stanley H.
• Pauketat, Timothy R.

• Chert Source Provenience
• Lithic Material Procurement
• Strontium Isotope Analysis
• Midwestern Bluish-gray Chert

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2023, Madeleine G. Evans

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/121429

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F121429