Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (Inaa)
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INSTRUMENTAL NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS (INAA) CHARACTERIZATION OF PRE-CONTACT BASALT QUARRIES ON THE AMERICAN SAMOAN ISLAND OF TUTUILA A Thesis by PHILLIP RAY JOHNSON II Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS December 2005 Major Subject: Anthropology INSTRUMENTAL NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS (INAA) CHARACTERIZATION OF PRE-CONTACT BASALT QUARRIES ON THE AMERICAN SAMOAN ISLAND OF TUTUILA A Thesis by PHILLIP RAY JOHNSON II Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Approved by: Chair of Committee, Frederic B. Pearl Committee Members, Suzanne L. Eckert William D. James Head of Department, David L. Carlson December 2005 Major Subject: Anthropology iii ABSTRACT Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) Characterization of Pre-contact Basalt Quarries on the American Samoan Island of Tutuila. (December 2005) Phillip Ray Johnson II, B.A., University of Kentucky Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Frederic B. Pearl This thesis presents a material-centered characterization of 120 geologic samples from four fine-grained basalt quarries on the Samoan Island of Tutuila. Previous unsuccessful attempts at definitive Tutuilan quarry differentiation have utilized x-ray fluorescence (XRF). In this study, clear differentiation of each analyzed quarry was achieved using instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). Biplots of canonical discriminant function scores for the INAA data illustrate clear separation based on the variation in chemical composition between each quarry. The samples analyzed not only define quarry separation, but also provide the "core group" for a preliminary baseline necessary for future artifact-centered provenance studies. Inclusion of these "core group" samples in the baseline was confirmed by stepwise discriminant analysis. These findings suggest the ability to determine quarry of origin on the island of Tutuila, which can elucidate the importance of individual Tutuilan quarries in the export and exchange of fine-grained basalts. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to thank the wonderful people of American Samoa whose friendship and hospitality have been the most rewarding aspect of the thesis process. So many people on Tutuila helped with this project along the way. To everyone who has touched this project from its inception to its completion, I would like to say fa'afetai tele. Thank you to the villages of Alega, Alofau, Leone, and Tula. Very special thanks are in order for Mr. David Herdrich, territorial archaeologist, deputy SHPO, and all around nice guy. Without his moral support, enthusiasm, and expertise this project could have never been successful. I also owe an enormous amount of gratitude to Dr. John Enright and Ms. June Auelua of the American Samoa Historic Preservation Office, whose generous funding and logistical support made this project possible. For their wonderful hospitality, great thanks go to the ASPA archaeology team: David Addison, Tim Currey, Natasha Lynch, Jackie Maisano and Siaki Vaueli. Thanks guys for the nicest digs I've ever had on the island, Thanksgiving dinner fa'a Samoa, and the scariest movie of all time. Thank you to NPS archaeologist Ms. Epi Suafoa and her husband John for their assistance and, most importantly, their friendship. Great thanks go to Tisa and Candyman for the fantastic umu dinner and allowing me in their "backyard". I would also like to thank my committee chair, Dr. Pearl, and my committee members, Dr. Eckert and Dr. James. I could not have survived without their guidance and support. Thanks to Michael Raulerson for working so hard to make sure all of my samples saw their way to the reactor. I have a tremendous amount of gratitude for the v encouragement from my cohort at Texas A&M. Special thanks to Ms. Kristine Nicole Ferre for the wonderful illustration of basalt tools on page 5. Last and most certainly never least, I need to thank my parents and my girlfriend Holly for their love, patience and support. Throughout this entire process they have kept me confident, sane and happy. I love you all very much. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ............................................................ iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................ vi LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................... viii LIST OF TABLES ....................................................... ix CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ....................................... 1 Project and Goals ................................. 1 Basalt Tools in Polynesian Prehistory ............. 4 Types of Provenance Studies in Polynesia ......... 6 II RESEARCH AREA ...................................... 9 Geography ........................................ 9 Geology ........................................... 12 Tutuilan Quarries .................................. 15 Summary .......................................... 22 III PREVIOUS RESEARCH ................................. 23 Samoan Archaeology .............................. 23 Samoan Provenance Studies ....................... 24 Tutuilan Geochemical Characterization Studies..... 28 Summary .......................................... 39 vii CHAPTER Page IV METHODS ................................................. 40 Introduction ......................................... 40 Sample Selection .................................... 41 Sample Processing .................................. 46 Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA)... 48 Statistical Methodology ............................. 52 V RESULTS .................................................. 58 Project .............................................. 58 Results .............................................. 58 VI CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION ....................... 71 Factors for Success .................................. 73 Caveats ............................................. 75 Future Research ..................................... 75 Conclusion .......................................... 78 REFERENCES CITED..................................................... 79 APPENDIX ................................................................ 86 VITA ...................................................................... 102 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1 The Polynesian triangle ............................................. 2 2 Basalt adze and flake from Tutuila, American Samoa ................ 5 3 The major islands of Samoa ......................................... 11 4 Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga ............................................. 13 5 Tutuilan volcanic provinces as described by Stearns (1944) and MacDougall (1985) ............................................. 15 6 Biplot of CDA scores one and two for INAA data ................... 63 7 Biplot of first two PCA scores for INAA data ....................... 69 ix LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1 Archaeological fine-grained basalt quarries on Tutuila .............. 17 2 Quarries analyzed by INAA ........................................ 44 3 Isotope, energy, and half-life ...................................... 51 4 CDA scores for INAA data ......................................... 59 5 CDA quarry source probability ..................................... 60 6 K-means clusters of INAA data .................................... 66 7 PCA scores for INAA data ......................................... 68 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Project and Goals This project attempts to distinguish between individual fine-grained basalt quarries on the Samoan island of Tutuila utilizing geochemical characterization. It is designed to differentiate Tutuilan basalt-quarries based on chemical composition. The key objective of this research is to establish the intraisland source variation of four Tutuilan basalt quarries, providing a preliminary baseline for future artifact-centered endeavors. Prior to definition of Tutuilan quarry variability, artifacts cannot be confidently sourced to their quarry of origin. This analysis of Tutuilan basalt samples definitively differentiated the four quarries included, creating a baseline or “core group” of samples for future artifact-centered provenance studies. The definitive characterization of these four quarries creates the foundation for confident provenance studies on the fine-grained basalt artifacts of Tutuila. The archipelagos of Polynesia (Figure 1) stretch great distances across the Pacific. Some islands are isolated by hundreds of kilometers of open water, but Polynesian ocean voyaging tradition allowed for continued contact and societal interaction based on interisland trade networks (Davidson 1977; Kaeppler 1978). _____________ This thesis follows the style of American Antiquity. 2 Figure 1. The Polynesian triangle. Certain Polynesian societies may have heavily relied on this interaction to augment the marginal environments they inhabited and subsequently abandoned before European contact (Weisler 1997, 2002, 2003b). Considering the rapid displacement of lithic industries by European introduced metal implements and the subsequent loss of knowledge of stone tool trade, basalt provenance studies potentially offer the best evidence for continued Polynesian seafaring and the complex socioeconomic machinations of interisland contact and exchange. There are three objectives inherent in the successful completion of this project.