Prehistoric Flint Mines and Their Identification as Sources of Raw Material

Abstract

S This paper is a statistical and geological study of the results of analysis of flint from British and West European flint mines, carried out by emission and atomic absorption spectroscopy. Groups of flint specimens were studied from each geographically separate flint mining area. Flints were analysed for a group of easily measured trace elements shown by previous work to be generally present. The ratios between the trace elements form a consistent pattern for each flint mine and statistically valid differences of pattern can be recognized between different flint mines. A geological investigation shows that the measured trace elements may be derived from clay minerals and explains geographical and statistical variation in the composition of flint in terms of its mode of origin in the chalk. An advanced statistical technique allows individual flint specimens of unknown origin to be attributed by their composition to one or other of the identified flint sources. The archaeological implications of this study are discussed.

Stone Artefact Production and Exchange among the Lesser Antilles

“…Similar trends can be found among the northwestern European flints (Bush & Sieveking 1986;Sieveking et al 1972). Although not mentioned by the authors, close inspection of their data reveals that flints with relatively high concentrations of clay related elements, for example those from the mine of Beer, have relatively higher Al/K ratios, than those with relatively low trace-element concentrations, most of the other mines (Bush & Sieveking 1986, 134 table 14.1;Sieveking et al 1972).…”

“…Following Luedtke (1979), who tested different identification methods, the application of Discriminant Analysis is most suited to this purpose. The recurrent use of this technique supports this notion (Craddock et al 1983;De Bruin et al 1972;Glascock et al 1998;Sieveking et al 1972). Keckla (1980, 7) defines Discriminant Analysis as "a statistical technique which allows the researcher to study the differences between two or more groups of objects, with respect to several variables simultaneously."…”

“…Although not mentioned by the authors, close inspection of their data reveals that flints with relatively high concentrations of clay related elements, for example those from the mine of Beer, have relatively higher Al/K ratios, than those with relatively low trace-element concentrations, most of the other mines (Bush & Sieveking 1986, 134 table 14.1;Sieveking et al 1972). Al/K ratios fall in a similar range as the ones found in this study, suggesting environments of formation are similar between the Caribbean flints and these European ones.…”

“…Source characterisation and discrimination using trace-element concentrations has become a common method within archaeology (Cackler et al 1999b;Craddock et al 1982;De Bruin et al 1982;Glascock et al 1998;Luedtke 1978Luedtke , 1979Luedtke , 1992Shackley 1998;Sieveking et al 1972;Sieveking & Thompson 1986;see Church 1994 for an overview). The possibility of obtaining a large number of variables (the concentrations of the different elements) as well as their quantification (the concentration values), gives a great advantage over traditional macroscopic and microscopic techniques.…”

A comprehensive approach for a techno-economic assessment of nodule mining in the deep sea

“…First mining activities go back to the Stone Age (Sieveking et al 1972). Since then, technologies have evolved from manual picking to high-tech mining, from the surface to the underground, and from the land to the sea.…”