Bone or shell? Using ED-XRF to determine the nature of prehistoric ornaments

When determining the nature of prehistoric ornaments, the degree of transformation can play an important role, as occasionally the technical traces (as polishing or smoorthing) applied to define the morphology of the desired object can substantially modify the original surface. When this occurs, it...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of archaeological science, reports reports, 2018-10, Vol.21, p.128-136
Main Authors:	Sánchez De La Torre, Marta, Oms, F. Xavier, Le Bourdonnec, François-Xavier, Aliaga, Sara, Mercadal, Oriol, Cebrià, Artur, Mangado, Xavier
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Analytical chemistry Archaeology and Prehistory Chemical Sciences ED-XRF Geochemistry Humanities and Social Sciences Prehistoric ornaments Raw materials
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	When determining the nature of prehistoric ornaments, the degree of transformation can play an important role, as occasionally the technical traces (as polishing or smoorthing) applied to define the morphology of the desired object can substantially modify the original surface. When this occurs, it is sometimes difficult to determine the nature of the object. In this paper a protocol to quickly and easily distinguish between shell and bone materials in a non-destructive manner is presented. Both elements were frequently used during prehistory to make personal ornaments. After a first analysis with a stereoscopic microscope and a basic morphological description to observe the degree of standardization of the selected objects, energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) was applied to determine chemical components. To test the validity of this protocol, the study focused on the analysis of discoidal beads and V-perforated buttons whose nature, in some cases, had already been noted using macroscopic methods. Prehistoric ornaments analysed were recovered at three archaeological sites of NE Iberia: Tutes de Menús Cave (Béixec, Montellà i Martinet, Lleida, Spain), Espluga Negra Cave (Vilanova de Meià, Lleida, Spain) and Ànimes Cave (Matadepera, Barcelona, Spain). •A new protocol using ED-XRF has been establish to determine the nature of prehistoric ornaments.•The differentiation between shell and bone ornaments has been established by the use of ED-XRF.•Discoidal beads and V-perforated buttons recovered at three archaeological sites of NE Iberia have been analysed.
ISSN:	2352-409X 2352-4103