Assessing the viability of portable Raman spectroscopy for determining the geological source of obsidian

Kelloway, Sarah J.; Kononenko, Nina; Torrence, Robin; Carter, Elizabeth A.

doi:10.1016/j.vibspec.2010.02.006

Cited by 25 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…However, the necessary miniaturization that compromises the instrumental characteristics and capabilities of any portable Raman spectrometer (in particular the spectral resolution, spot‐size, wavenumber region and laser power at the sample) could still allow for the successful identification of main components in simple mixtures, but could be detrimental for the unambiguous analysis of complex mixtures . On the other hand, the advantages of such portable Raman instruments have been actually proved in cases when samples cannot be easily moved to the laboratory such as the analysis of prehistoric pictographs, wall paintings in historical buildings, extraplanetary exploration and so on …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Raman spectroscopy analysis of Palaeolithic industry from Guadalteba terrace river, Campillos (Guadalteba county, Southern of Iberian Peninsula)

Hernández

Villar

Ferrón

et al. 2012

J Raman Spectroscopy

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A representative set of eight lithic tools suitably selected among the very rich Palaeolithic industry collected over the past years in different archaeological sites of the Guadalteba County (Málaga, Spain) has been nondestructively investigated by means of Raman spectroscopy using both portable and benchtop Raman spectrometers. This article reports on the first archaeometric Raman analysis of these archaeological samples with the scope of checking if these readily available, nondestructive, fast and cheap vibrational spectroscopic techniques, which in addition do not require a preliminary sample preparation, could provide any meaningful information for characterizing the mineral composition of chert artefacts and ultimately some specific arguments about their assignment to distinctive groups of raw materials of a particular provenance. On the basis of the vibrational data, it was confirmed that a-quartz was the raw material in all the cases, although a small amount of moganite was also evidenced as a distinctive fingerprint in these chert samples. On the other hand, crusts were mainly made of calcite in all the cases, sometimes accompanied by other minerals such as barite or anatase. This first Raman spectroscopic study on chert and sandstone artefacts from the Guadalteba county reveals that there are good premises for a further and more thorough archaeometric investigation of these lithic tools based on sets of Raman measurements (Raman mapping) on each specimen rather than on single-point Raman experiments such as in the present case, given the wide macroscopic heterogeneity of this kind of samples (colour, grain size, transparency, etc.). The Raman-mapping archaeometric analyses of bulks and crusts would be also complemented with X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence data.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Raman spectroscopy analysis of Palaeolithic industry from Guadalteba terrace river, Campillos (Guadalteba county, Southern of Iberian Peninsula)

Hernández

Villar

Ferrón

et al. 2012

J Raman Spectroscopy

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“…As all sources (volcano or volcanic event) should exhibit a specific elemental composition and may also be associated with a specific thermal history, the exploitation of specific Raman signatures provides clustering of the obsidian sources. Some exploratory studies using multivariate analysis (principal component analysis) of the whole spectrum [169], or of characteristic bands [17], demonstrate the possibility of determining obsidian provenance in specific geographic contexts such as the Pacific region and the western Mediterranean.…”

Section: Glassmentioning

confidence: 99%

Raman Spectroscopy of cultural heritage Materials: Overview of Applications and New Frontiers in Instrumentation, Sampling Modalities, and Data Processing

2016

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“…For example, one study is incapable of establishing the reproducibility of portable Raman spectroscopy for obsidian sourcing in a particular region (e.g., Kelloway et al, 2010). For example, one study is incapable of establishing the reproducibility of portable Raman spectroscopy for obsidian sourcing in a particular region (e.g., Kelloway et al, 2010).…”

Section: Reliabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An important implication is that it is difficult for any individual study to determine the reproducibility of an analytical technique. For example, one study is incapable of establishing the reproducibility of portable Raman spectroscopy for obsidian sourcing in a particular region (e.g., Kelloway et al, 2010). The technique must be tested with other observers, instruments, and conditions over time, and only then may its reproducibility be claimed.…”

Section: Reliabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of Archaeological Sourcing Techniques: Reconsidering and Re‐Deriving Hughes’ Four‐Fold Assessment Scheme

Frahm

2012

Geoarchaeology

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As new analytical techniques are brought to sourcing studies and researchers compile data into multi‐laboratory databases, systematic evaluation is essential. The importance of precision and accuracy is clear, but Shackley (2005) also calls for “archaeological accuracy.” Hughes (1998) offered a framework to consider precision and accuracy alongside the concepts of reliability and validity. These four concepts can serve as a foundation to evaluate archaeological sourcing data and procedures, but adoption of Hughes’ framework has been nearly nonexistent. Unfortunately, Hughes’ formulations of reliability and validity are somewhat at odds with their conventional definitions, hindering his framework. Furthermore, the concept of precision has become outdated in analytical circles, and superfluous terms (e.g., replicability) have emerged in the archaeological literature. Here I consider the basis of Hughes’ framework and how its four components, when applied consistently by the sourcing community, are best applied to evaluate analytical data and techniques for sourcing.

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Assessing the viability of portable Raman spectroscopy for determining the geological source of obsidian

Cited by 25 publications

References 19 publications

Raman spectroscopy analysis of Palaeolithic industry from Guadalteba terrace river, Campillos (Guadalteba county, Southern of Iberian Peninsula)

Raman spectroscopy analysis of Palaeolithic industry from Guadalteba terrace river, Campillos (Guadalteba county, Southern of Iberian Peninsula)

Raman Spectroscopy of cultural heritage Materials: Overview of Applications and New Frontiers in Instrumentation, Sampling Modalities, and Data Processing

Evaluation of Archaeological Sourcing Techniques: Reconsidering and Re‐Deriving Hughes’ Four‐Fold Assessment Scheme

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