Obsidian Sources and Prehistoric Trade in the Central Mediterranean

在美国国家科学基金会的支持下，罗伯特·蒂科特博士将进行两个季节的地质考古研究，并对收集到的材料进行实验室分析。他将进行调查，以记录Palmarola，Pantelleria和Lipari地中海岛屿上的黑曜石流和露头，并对其进行物理和化学表征。包括颜色、透明度和密度在内的物理性质将补充电子探针分析的主/次元素数据以及ICP质谱法的微量元素和同位素比率数据。他将对从考古遗址中发现的大量黑曜石文物进行类似的分析。黑曜石是一种火山玻璃，可以很容易地被改造成锋利的刀刃，因此在史前被广泛使用和交易。它是重建贸易的理想材料，因为它在地质上出现在有限数量的地点，经常在考古遗址上发现，甚至距离来源很远，并且可能是化学上的“指纹”，允许确定文物的来源属性。由于这些原因，它已被广泛用于重建史前贸易和交换。虽然地中海地区的一些来源已被仔细研究和很好的特点，其他人没有和博士Tykot的工作将构成一个重要的除了这一不断增长的知识体系。这些数据将用于解决一些具体的人类学问题。它将深入了解地中海岛屿的最早定居点，从狩猎和采集到农业生活方式的转变，长途交换网络的发展，工艺专业化和社会分化的出现。这些数据还将用于测试假定的史前航海和海上运输能力的明确模型，以揭示岛屿和大陆人口之间的特定联系，并确定黑曜石在许多史前地中海社会中的重要社会政治和经济作用。它还将为复杂社会的崛起提供新的见解。

.With National Science Foundation support Dr. Robert Tykot will conduct two field seasons of geoarchaeological research and follow each with laboratory analysis of the materials collected. He will carry out survey to document obsidian flows and outcrops on the Mediterranean islands of Palmarola, Pantelleria and Lipari and characterize them both physically and chemically. Physical properties including color, translucency and density will complement major/minor element data from electron microprobe analysis and trace element and isotope ratio data from ICP mass spectrometry. He will conduct similar analyses of a large number of obsidian artifacts recovered from archaeological sites. Obsidian, a form of volcanic glass can be easily modified to produce a sharp cutting edge and therefore was widely used and broadly traded in prehistory. It is an ideal material for reconstructing trade since it occurs geologically in a limited number of locations, is frequently found on archaeological sites even great distances from a source and may be chemically 'fingerprinted' allowing definitive source attributions of artifacts. For these reasons it has been widely used to reconstruct prehistoric trade and exchange. While some sources in the Mediterranean region have been carefully studied and well characterized, others have not and Dr. Tykot's work will constitute a significant addition to this growing body of knowledge. The data will be used to address a number of specific anthropological questions. It will provide insight into the earliest settlement of the Mediterranean islands, the transition from hunting and gathering to an agricultural way of life, the development of long distance exchange networks, craft specialization and the emergence of social differentiation. The data will also be used to test explicit models of presumed prehistoric navigational and maritime transport capabilities, to reveal specific connections between island and mainland populations and to define the important sociopolitical and economic role of obsidian in many prehistoric Mediterranean societies.This fundamental research will provide a data base which will be widely utilized by prehistorians to address a range of scientific questions. It will also yield new insight into the rise of complex societies.