Abstract This report concerns the chemical characterization of obsidian sources from Central Anatolia by neutron activation analysis. The sources covered in this study were Göllü Dağ, Hotamiş Dağ, Köru Dağ, Nenezi Dağ, and Çatköy. The study reported here was undertaken with the object of obtaining an accurate “fingerprint” of the compositions of obsidian sources that would permit tracing the origin of archaeological obsidian artifacts to their sources, and in particular, archaeological obsidian recovered from prehistoric sites in Israel. The extent of the sampling within the sources was more thorough than hitherto reported and the results are of high precision and accuracy.
The PPNB site of Yiftahel in Lower Galilee, has yielded 8 pieces of obsidian. These obsidians were analysed by instrumental neutron activation analysis. Their provenience seems to be the Göllu Dag area attesting cultural contacts between the Lower Galilee and central Anatolia.
Two chemical studies of the ruma jar from Qumran Cave 7 are examined. It is shown that these researches, seemingly at odds, have more in common than not. It is argued that the evidence from both studies point to Jerusalem as the origin of the ruma jar although one of the studies concludes that the ruma jar was locally made in Qumran from local clay. The data from both studies are consistent but the interpretations differ.
Abstract A study of the L'MLK jar handles based on neutron activation analysis reported an average chemical composition of Roman period pottery excavated in Jerusalem. Evidence was presented supporting the idea that the pottery, made of Motza clay, was made in Jerusalem or vicinity. Recently, the validity of the group composition as well as its assignment to Jerusalem as the origin of this composition was questioned. In this article, I present the unpublished data for individual pot shards comprising the chemical group and take a new look at the data on which the reported average composition was based. It is shown that the reported group composition is valid and that the suggestion that the group represents Hebron and not Jerusalem is not convincing but commends further exploration.
A neutron activation programme aimed at archaeological provenance research operated at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem between the years 1974 and 1997. The history and accomplishments of that laboratory are presented. Endeavours to preserve unpublished results are described. Results on Cypriote pottery are presented.
AbstractAbstractObsidian artifacts are rare finds in prehistoric sites in Israel. The scarcity of the material and the absence of obsidian sources in Israel makes such artifacts especially important for understanding ancient exchange patterns. The closest sources of obsidian found in Israel are in the Cycladic Islands of Greece to the west and Anatolia to the north. Using neutron activation analysis (NAA), we identify the origin of seven obsidian artifacts from the Chalcolithic (ca. 4500–3500 B.C.) site of Gil at in Israel's northern Negev desert. These finds have been traced to the Nemrut Dağarea of eastern Anatolia, Göllü Dağin central Anatolia, and, most interestingly, Hotamis Dağ also in central Anatolia.
Abstract Under favorable circumstances petrographic studies supported by chemical analysis using inductively coupled plasma (ICP) suffice to establish the provenience of pottery. A case in point is Egyptian‐style pottery of Early Bronze Age found in Canaan. The pottery was divided into three groups according to four criteria determined by thin section analysis supplemented by X‐ray diffraction: sorting and volume of silt‐sized quartz, heavy minerals, the amount of carbonates in the matrix, and the firing temperature. Chemical analyses confirmed the classification. The source materials inferred for the three groups are Nile muds, Egyptian marly sediments, and local loess. Although the chemical analyses obtained by ICP and neutron activation analysis (NAA) were compatible, the existing database for NAA cannot be used indiscriminately. However, for provenience studies based on mineralogical and petrographic data, knowledge of the geology of the potential source areas can replace an extensive database.
A Late Bronze Age Mycenaean pictorial krater, decorated with a chariot procession, from tomb 387 at Tel Dan, Israel, was examined by instrumental neutron activation analysis. The origin of the krater is placed in the Argolid, very likely in the region of Mycenae or Berbati.
