X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (XRF) in Geoarchaeology

by M. Steven Shackley (Editor)

Overview

Since the 1960s, x-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF), both wavelength and energy-dispersive have served as the workhorse for non-destructive and destructive analyses of archaeological materials. Recently eclipsed by other instrumentation such as LA-ICP-MS, XRF remains the mainstay of non-destructive chemical analyses in archaeology, particularly for volcanic rocks, and most particularly for obsidian. In a world where heritage and repatriation issues drive archaeological method and theory, XRF remains an important tool for understanding the human past, and will remain so for decades to come.

Currently, there is no comprehensive book in XRF applications in archaeology at a time when the applications of portable XRF and desktop XRF instrumentation are exploding particularly in anthropology and archaeology departments worldwide.

The contributors to this volume are the experts in the field, and most are at the forefront of the newest applications of XRF to archaeological problems. It covers all relevant aspects of the field for those using the newest XRF technologies to deal with very current issues in archaeology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781441968852
Publisher:	Springer New York
Publication date:	10/21/2010
Edition description:	2011
Pages:	231
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

M. Steven Shackley is Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Berkeley Archaeological XRF Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley.

Table of Contents

1 X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry in Twenty-First Century Archaeology M. Steven Shackley 1

2 An Introduction to X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) Analysis in Archaeology M. Steven Shackley 7

3 Factors Affecting the Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) Analysis of Archaeological Obsidian M. Kathleen Davis Thomas L. Jackson M. Steven Shackley Timothy Teague Joachim H. Hampel 45

4 Non-destructive EDXRF Analysis of Archaeological Basalts Steven P. Lundblad Peter R. Mills Arian Drake-Raue Scott Kekuewa Kikiloi 65

5 Non-destructive Applications of Wavelength XRF in Obsidian Studies Annamaria De Francesco M. Bocci G.M. Crisci 81

6 Portable XRF of Archaeological Artifacts: Current Research, Potentials and Limitations Ioannis Liritzis Nikolaos Zacharias 109

7 Elemental Analysis of Fine-Grained Basalt Sources from the Samoan Island of Tutuila: Applications of Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) and Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) Toward an Intra-Island Provenance Study Phillip R. Johnson 143

8 Comparison and Contrast Between XRF and NAA: Used for Characterization of Obsidian Sources in Central Mexico Michael D. Glascock 161

9 Is There a Future for XRF in Twenty-First Century Archaeology? Rosemary A. Joyce 193

Appendix 203

Glossary 207

Index 227