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Obsidian Hydration Dating - Field, Laboratory, and Modeling Results

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2011

B.P. Mcgrail ,
L.R. Pederson ,
D.M. Strachan ,
R.C. Ewing  and
L.S. Cordell
B.P. Mcgrail
Affiliation:
Pacific Northwest Laboratory, Richland, WA
L.R. Pederson
Affiliation:
Pacific Northwest Laboratory, Richland, WA
D.M. Strachan
Affiliation:
Pacific Northwest Laboratory, Richland, WA
R.C. Ewing
Affiliation:
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
L.S. Cordell
Affiliation:
California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA
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Abstract

Hydration rind thicknesses found on obsidian artifacts provide one means of estimating the age of an archaeological site. The model used in the method usually assumes a diffusion-controlled reaction of the glass with water. However, results using this model are not always in agreement with other dating methods. Observations of secondary mineral formation on glasses in contact with water vapor suggests that other rate-controlling mechanisms may be operative. In this paper, we apply the glass dissolution code GLASSOL, coupled with the geochemical code PHREEQE to model the reaction of Glass Mountain obsidian in water. The results show the importance of accounting for the effects of solution chemistry on the time-dependence of the hydration reaction.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 123: Symposium L – Materials Issues in Art and Archaeology I , 1988 , 263
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1988

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