Portable X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry: A New Tool for Provenance-Based Research in Archaeology

在美国国家科学基金会的支持下，迈克尔·D.密苏里大学哥伦比亚分校的Rebeccock和他的团队将购买组装便携式X射线荧光（XRF）光谱仪所需的组件。 这种最先进的仪器将使用一个微型X射线管和一个高精度的热电冷却探测器。 可对直径大于1厘米的样品进行考古材料的例行非破坏性分析，以确定来源。 当与专门设计的准直器一起使用时，还将研究分析较小样品的潜力。 便携式XRF将允许在传统的实验室环境之外对考古材料进行快速、低成本、多元素的表征。 由于仪器体积较小，而且只有在仪器运行时才产生辐射，因此运输这一设备无需政府许可。 考古学中的许多研究问题都与贸易和交换中的物质流动有关。 元素特征数据提供了一种确定考古材料来源的手段，为调查不同的交换模式提供了信息。 希望有更多的机会获得可靠的低成本化学分析方法，随着这项研究的成功，将来将有可能。 作为实施该仪器在考古学中广泛使用的第一步，我们将开发用于表征黑曜石，陶器，颜料，合成玻璃和沉积物的分析协议。 在校准和开发分析协议和标准之后，我们预计将使用便携式XRF分析博物馆，教室和考古遗址中的文物。 便携式XRF的更广泛的影响将使基于化学的来源确定成为考古研究的一个更常规的部分。 通过将分析设备带给考古学家，博物馆馆长，甚至是普通公众，便携式XRF将为考古学教学提供更多的机会。

With National Science Foundation support, Dr. Michael D. Glascock and his team at the University of Missouri-Columbia will purchase the components necessary to assemble a portable X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer. This state-of-the-art instrument will use a miniature X-ray tube and a high-precision, thermoelectrically-cooled detector. Routine non-destructive analysis of archaeological materials for provenance determination will be possible on samples larger than 1 cm in diameter. When used with a specially-designed collimator, the potential of analyzing smaller samples will also be investigated. The portable XRF will permit rapid, low-cost, multi-elemental characterizations of archaeological materials outside the traditional laboratory setting. Given the instrument's relatively small size and the fact that radiation is produced only when the instrument is operating, this equipment can be transported without government permits. Many of the research questions in archaeology are concerned with the movement of materials through trade and exchange. Elemental characterization data offer a means of determining the origins of archaeological materials providing information to investigate different models of exchange. Greater access to reliable low-cost methods of chemical analysis is desirable and with the success of this research will be possible in the future. As a first step in implementing this instrument for widespread use in archaeology, we will develop analytical protocols for characterizing obsidian, pottery, pigments, synthetic glasses, and sediments. After calibration and development of analytical protocols and standards, we anticipate using the portable XRF to analyze artifacts in museums, in classrooms, and at archaeological sites. The broader impact of the portable XRF will be to make chemistry-based provenance determinations a more routine part of archaeological research. By bringing the analytical equipment to the archaeologist, to the museum curator, or even to the general public, the portable XRF will provide greater opportunities for teaching archaeological science.