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Trace and Minor Element Analysis of Obsidian from the San Francisco Volcanic Field Using X-Ray Fluorescence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 March 2019

Suzanne C. Sanders ,
John D. Zahrt  and
Graydon Bell
Suzanne C. Sanders
Affiliation:
Northern Arizona University Chemistry Department Flagstaff, Arizona 86001
John D. Zahrt
Affiliation:
Northern Arizona University Chemistry Department Flagstaff, Arizona 86001
Graydon Bell
Affiliation:
Northern Arizona University Chemistry Department Flagstaff, Arizona 86001
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Abstract

Obsidian from eight localities in the San Francisco volcanic field of Northern Arizona was analyzed for 21 minor and trace elements (Ti, Mn, Fe, Co, Zn, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, Nb, Mo, Tc, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag, Cd, W, Au, Hg, Th) usincf x-ray fluorescence analysis. All samples exhibited irregular analyzing surfaces. This was a more in-depth study of a previous study (1) in which a very small number of standards were used.

The data, in the form of intensity ratios relative to iron, were statistically analyzed and the trace and minor element patterns established. The obsidian clustered into four well-defined groups each consisting of two localities: Government Mountain/Obsidian Tank, Slate Mountain/Kendrick Peak, Robinson Crater/O'Leary Peak, and RS Hill/Spring Valley. The four distinct groups were treated individually to refine the separation between the similar sites. Classification function coefficients were calculated for each locality, then used to identify the source of thirteen obsidian artifacts recovered from a Northern Arizona archaeological site.

Type
III. XRF Applications: Mineral and Geological
Information
Advances in X-Ray Analysis , Volume 25: Thirtieth Annual Conference on Applications of X-ray Analysis, August 3-7, 1981 , 1981 , pp. 121 - 126
Copyright
Copyright © International Centre for Diffraction Data 1981

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References

1. Jack, Robert N. “The Source of Obsidian Artifacts in Northern Arizona,” Plateau 43 (3): 103-14 (1970).Google Scholar
2. Dixon, W. J. and Brown, M. B. Biomedical Computer Programs P-Series. University of California Press: Berkeley (1979).Google Scholar
3. Nie, Norman H., Hadlai Hull, C., Jenkins, Jean G., Steinbrenner, Karen, and Bent, Dale H.. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. 2nd ed. McGraw-Hill, Inc: New York (1975).Google Scholar