Technical Reports SeriEs No. 4I6 Nuclear Analytical Techniques in Archaeological Investigations NUCLEAR ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS The following States are Members of the International Atomic Energy Agency: AFGHANISTAN GUATEMALA PHILIPPINES ALBANIA HAITI POLAND ALGERIA HOLY SEE PORTUGAL ANGOLA HONDURAS QATAR ARGENTINA HUNGARY REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA ARMENIA ICELAND AUSTRALIA INDIA ROMANIA AUSTRIA INDONESIA RUSSIAN FEDERATION AZERBAIJAN IRAN, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF SAUDI ARABIA BANGLADESH IRAQ SENEGAL BELARUS IRELAND SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO BELGIUM ISRAEL SEYCHELLES BENIN ITALY SIERRA LEONE BOLIVIA JAMAICA SINGAPORE BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA JAPAN BOTSWANA JORDAN SLOVAKIA BRAZIL KAZAKHSTAN SLOVENIA BULGARIA KENYA SOUTH AFRICA BURKINA FASO KOREA, REPUBLIC OF SPAIN CAMEROON KUWAIT SRI LANKA CANADA LATVIA SUDAN CENTRAL AFRICAN LEBANON SWEDEN REPUBLIC LIBERIA CHILE LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA SWITZERLAND CHINA LIECHTENSTEIN SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC COLOMBIA LITHUANIA TAJIKISTAN COSTA RICA LUXEMBOURG THAILAND CÔTE D’IVOIRE MADAGASCAR THE FORMER YUGOSLAV CROATIA MALAYSIA REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA CUBA MALI TUNISIA CYPRUS MALTA TURKEY CZECH REPUBLIC MARSHALL ISLANDS UGANDA DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC MAURITIUS OF THE CONGO MEXICO UKRAINE DENMARK MONACO UNITED ARAB EMIRATES DOMINICAN REPUBLIC MONGOLIA UNITED KINGDOM OF ECUADOR MOROCCO GREAT BRITAIN AND EGYPT MYANMAR NORTHERN IRELAND EL SALVADOR NAMIBIA UNITED REPUBLIC ERITREA NETHERLANDS OF TANZANIA ESTONIA NEW ZEALAND UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ETHIOPIA NICARAGUA URUGUAY FINLAND NIGER UZBEKISTAN FRANCE NIGERIA VENEZUELA GABON NORWAY GEORGIA PAKISTAN VIETNAM GERMANY PANAMA YEMEN GHANA PARAGUAY ZAMBIA GREECE PERU ZIMBABWE The Agency’s Statute was approved on 23 October 1956 by the Conference on the Statute of the IAEA held at United Nations Headquarters, New York; it entered into force on 29 July 1957. The Headquarters of the Agency are situated in Vienna. Its principal objective is “to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world’’. © IAEA, 2003 Permission to reproduce or translate the information contained in this publication may be obtained by writing to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Wagramer Strasse 5, P.O. Box 100, A-1400 Vienna, Austria. Printed by the IAEA in Austria August 2003 STI/DOC/010/416 TECHNICAL REPORTS SERIES No. 416 NUCLEAR ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY VIENNA, 2003 THIS SAFETY SERIES PUBLICATION IS ALSO ISSUED IN FRENCH, RUSSIAN AND SPANISH IAEA Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Nuclear analytical techniques in archaeological investigations. — Vienna : International Atomic Energy Agency, 2003. p. ; 24 cm. — (Technical reports series, ISSN 0074–1914 ; no. 416) STI/DOC/010/416 ISBN 92–0–106203–6 Includes bibliographical references. 1. Archaeology—Methodology. 2. Archaeology—Latin America. 3. Archaeological chemistry. 4. Nuclear chemistry. I. International Atomic Energy Agency. II. Technical reports series (International Atomic Energy Agency) ; 416. IAEAL 03–00325 FOREWORD Pre-Hispanic pottery has long been a focal point of archaeological investigations in the New World, particularly in Latin American countries where these studies can form bridges from the ancient population to modern society. Identification of the chemical composition of ceramic materials can help in this connection to identify: (a) ancient production centres, (b) ceramic production modalities and special techniques, (c) trade habits and, hence, the socioeconomic interactions of the past. Some of the countries of this continent have only recently introduced nuclear analytical facilities that are ready to be applied to relevant applications in various fields. A particularly successful combination of analytical expertise and a field of common interest in the Latin American region was created through the Co-ordinated Research Project (CRP) on Nuclear Analytical Techniques in Archaeological Investigations, organized by the IAEA following the recommendations of an Advisory Group meeting. The first Research Co-ordination Meeting (RCM) of the CRP was held in June 1997 at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, where the participants were introduced to the concept of the project and the preliminary work plans were outlined. Emphasis was given to a close collaboration between analytical scientists and archaeologists — from the definition of the problem, selection of sampling sites and samples to interpretation of analytical results using multifunctional statistical analysis. Also highlighted was the validation of analytical techniques using several certified reference materials. In April 1999 a second RCM was held in Cuzco, Peru, to present and discuss preliminary results of the individual projects and to refine the methods used. The final RCM, which was held in Santiago, Chile, from 6–10 November 2000, revealed extensive information obtained by the participating research groups during the CRP, which is described in detail in this report. As the research objectives of each group were very particular, i.e. related to each country’s specific situation, the range of results is exceptionally broad. The results demonstrated the great potential of the combination of nuclear analysis and archaeological research. It is hoped that the research teams maintain their collaboration and that others will learn from them in their respective countries to spread the idea of co-operative research in various fields and to use the expertise they have gained to advance nuclear analytical techniques. It would be most desirable to foster this approach through future activities in the region with more countries involved and, possibly, to apply it to common problems in the region. The IAEA wishes to thank all the participants in the CRP for their valuable contributions. R.L. Bishop from the Center for Materials Research and Education of the Smithsonian Institution helped a great deal with his emphasis on using the interdisciplinary approach and in encouraging the participants to go beyond mere phenomenological interpretations and to use their imaginations rather than the descriptive approach alone. The IAEA officers responsible for this CRP were M.A.R. Walsh, A.V.R. Reddy and M. Rossbach of the Division of Physical and Chemical Sciences. EDITORIAL NOTE In preparing this publication for press, staff of the IAEA have made up the pages from the original manuscript(s). The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the IAEA, the governments of the nominating Member States or the nominating organizations. Throughout the text names of Member States are retained as they were when the text was compiled. The use of particular designations of countries or territories does not imply any judgement by the publisher, the IAEA, as to the legal status of such countries or territories, of their authorities and institutions or of the delimitation of their boundaries. The mention of names of specific companies or products (whether or not indicated as registered) does not imply any intention to infringe proprietary rights, nor should it be construed as an endorsement or recommendation on the part of the IAEA. CONTENTS PART I: OVERVIEW OF THE CO-ORDINATED RESEARCH PROJECT CHAPTER 1. TECHNIQUES USED AND RESULTS OBTAINED . 3 1.1. Introduction . 3 1.2. Summary of research results . 4 1.3. Sample selection of archaeological ceramic materials for INAA . 6 1.3.1. Sampling of ceramic materials . 7 1.3.2. Sampling of clays . 8 1.3.3. Contamination issues . 9 1.4. Description of the analytical protocols . 10 1.4.1. Neutron activation analysis: Generalities . 10 1.4.2. Sample preparation techniques . 11 1.4.3. Standardization . 12 1.4.4. Elements to be determined: Choice of reactions and isotopes for quantification . 13 1.4.5. Other sources or related techniques providing complementary information . 17 1.4.6. Quality control activities . 17 1.4.7. Statistical evaluation of the data . 25 1.5. Conclusions . 28 1.6. Recommendations . 29 References . 30 PART II: REPORTS BY PARTICIPANTS IN THE CO-ORDINATED RESEARCH PROJECT . 33 CHAPTER 2. INSTRUMENTAL NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL CERAMICS: PROGRESS AND CHALLENGES . 35 R.L. Bishop 2.1. Introduction . 35 2.2. Developmental partnership . 36 2.3. Challenges in the interpretation of INAA data from ceramic systems . 38 2.3.1. Variations in natural and cultural systems . 38 2.3.2. Data analysis . 41 2.4. Bridging from analysis to interpretation: Beyond demonstration of contact . 42 References . 44 CHAPTER 3. PROVENANCE ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDIES OF CERAMIC RAW MATERIALS AND ARTEFACTS USING INSTRUMENTAL NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS: THE CASES OF CHASCHUIL AND BOLSÓN DE FIAMBALÁ (CATAMARCA, ARGENTINA) . 45 R.R. Plá, N. Ratto 3.1. Introduction . 45 3.2. Investigation area . 46 3.3. Environment and archaeological record . 46 3.4. Methodology . 48 3.4.1. Archaeological studies . 48 3.4.2. Analytical studies . 50 3.5. Results . 51 3.5.1. Technological characteristics of analysed samples . 51 3.5.2. Evaluation of results . 55 3.6. Discussion . 65 3.7. Conclusions . 67 References . 68 CHAPTER 4. TRIBES AND CHIEFDOMS: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF SOME BRAZILIAN CERAMICS . 71 C.V.S. Sabino, A.P. Prous, I. Wüst, V. Guapindaia 4.1. Introduction . 72 4.2. Description of the sites and problems . 73 4.2.1. Amazonian sites . 73 4.2.2. Peruaçu sites . 75 4.2.3. The Guará site . 77 4.3. Analytical procedure . 79 4.3.1. Sampling preparation . 79 4.3.2. Neutron activation analysis . 81 4.3.3. Data analysis . 81 4.4. Results . 81 4.4.1. Lower Amazonian ceramics . 81 4.4.2. Peruaçu region ceramics . 83 4.4.3. Guará site (Goiás) ceramics . 84 4.5. Conclusion . 85 Bibliography . 86 CHAPTER 5. CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF BRAZILIAN PREHISTORIC CERAMICS BY INAA . 89 C.S. Munita, R.P. Paiva, M.A. Alves, P.M.S. de Oliveira, E.F. Momose 5.1. Introduction . 89 5.2. Archaeological background . 90 5.3. Multivariate statistical analysis . 92 5.4. Experimental technique . ..