Sourcing Turquoise Using H and Cu Isotopes

使用 H 和 Cu 同位素采购绿松石

• 批准号: 0609638
• 负责人: Mostafa Fayek
• 金额: $ 12.59万
• 依托单位: University of New Mexico
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-07-01 至 2010-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0609638&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Sourcing; Turquoise; Using; Cu; Isotopes

With National Science Foundation support, Dr. Mostafa Fayek and an international team of colleagues will conduct field work as well as use a combination of geologic and isotopic methods to characterize and differentiate between turquoise source areas in southwestern United States and archeologically recovered turquoise artifacts. The team brings together U.S., Canadian and Mexican specialists in archaeology and geochemistry to examine the prehistoric southwestern turquoise trade networks. The evolution of the turquoise trade played a crucial role in the cultural intensification of the social systems along the northern frontier of Mesoamerica and southwestern portions of the United States. In Mesoamerican iconography, the color green represented all things of exceptional value and objects made of green stone appear early in archaeological contexts. In addition, mineral exploration, exploitation and procurement are among the organizing postulates in the formation of the ancient Mesoamerican trade structure and this activity was important at many levels of economic organization. The largest number of turquoise artifacts from any site in the North American Southwest was found in Pueblo Bonito, the largest site in Chaco Canyon. Although this site has been extensively studied for over 50 years the level of social complexity in this society is a contentious issue. The ability to pinpoint sources of turquoise artifacts is an important line of evidence in evaluating the level of complexity associate with sites such as Chaco Canyon.Recent results using a newly developed H and Cu isotopic method show that the inhabitants of Chaco Canyon received their turquoise from several areas and that the turquoise trade network extended far into northern Nevada. This isotopic technique is the basis for the project and presents a rare opportunity to combine both geochemical and archaeological methods in a conjunctive approach. The goal is to focus on isotopically fingerprinting turquoise sources. Once signatures for source areas have been established, artifacts from prehistoric archaeological sites can then be tested and inferences about their socio-political organization can be evaluate. Specific tasks are in two parts: (a) continue to characterize turquoise from the additional source (mining) regions using hydrogen (H) and copper (Cu) isotopes to verify the isotopic sourcing technique by characterizing as many turquoise sources as possible, including those located in California and northern Mexico; and (2) characterize turquoise artifacts recovered from pre-Columbian cultural areas, specifically the early Pueblo or Chaco World, but to include materials from the Casas Grandes, Mexico.If the results to date are confirmed, the turquoise sourcing project will provide a 'source fingerprint' for turquoise, permitting archaeologists to identify the sources of turquoise found at sites across the continent and providing new insight into pre-contact trade patterns in North America. The intellectual merit of the research will be to better understand the evolution of the turquoise trade and its role in the cultural intensification of the social systems along the northern frontier of Mesoamerica and southwestern portions of the United States.The broader impacts of the study are that it will contribute significant information about the social systems along the northern frontier of Mesoamerica and southwestern portions of the United States. The substantial increase in knowledge will provide the basis for major revisions in the scientific understanding of the prehistory of this dynamic region. U.S., Canadian and Mexican students will participate in the project to enhance their training and increase their knowledge of the importance of southwestern and Mesoamerican prehistory.

在国家科学基金会的支持下，Mostafa Fayek博士和一个国际同事团队将进行实地工作，并结合使用地质和同位素方法来表征和区分美国西南部的绿松石产地和考古发现的绿松石文物。 该团队汇集了美国，加拿大和墨西哥的考古学和地球化学专家将考察史前西南部的绿松石贸易网络。 绿松石贸易的演变在中美洲北方边境和美国西南部沿着社会制度的文化强化中发挥了至关重要的作用。 在中美洲的图像学中，绿色代表了所有具有特殊价值的东西，绿色石头制成的物品很早就出现在考古学中。 此外，矿物勘探、开采和采购是古代中美洲贸易结构形成的组织前提之一，这种活动在许多经济组织层次上都很重要。 在北美西南部发现的绿松石文物数量最多的是普韦布洛博尼托，这是查科峡谷峡谷最大的遗址。 虽然这个地方已经被广泛研究了50多年，但这个社会的复杂程度是一个有争议的问题。 查明绿松石文物来源的能力是评估与查科峡谷等遗址相关的复杂程度的重要证据。最近使用新开发的氢和铜同位素方法的结果表明，查科峡谷的居民从几个地区获得绿松石，绿松石贸易网络延伸到北方内华达州。 这种同位素技术是该项目的基础，并提供了一个难得的机会，联合收割机结合地球化学和考古学方法在一个联合的方法。 目标是专注于同位素指纹绿松石来源。 一旦确定了来源地区的特征，就可以对史前考古遗址的文物进行测试，并对其社会政治组织进行评估。 具体任务分为两个部分：（a）继续利用氢和铜同位素对来自其他来源（开采）地区的绿松石进行定性，以核实同位素来源技术，尽可能多地对绿松石来源进行定性，包括位于加州和北方墨西哥的绿松石来源;以及（2）描述从前哥伦布文化区，特别是早期普韦布洛或查科世界发现的绿松石文物，但包括来自卡萨斯格兰德的材料，墨西哥。如果迄今为止的结果得到证实，绿松石采购项目将为绿松石提供一个“来源指纹”，使考古学家能够确定在整个大陆发现的绿松石的来源，并为北美接触前的贸易模式提供新的见解。 这项研究的学术价值将是更好地了解绿松石贸易的演变及其在中美洲北部边境和美国西南部沿着社会制度文化强化中的作用。这项研究的更广泛影响是，它将为中美洲北方边境和美国西南部沿着社会制度提供重要信息。 知识的大幅增加将为对这一动态地区史前史的科学理解的重大修订提供基础。 美国，加拿大和墨西哥学生将参加该项目，以加强他们的培训，增加他们对西南部和中美洲史前史重要性的认识。