SESSION 6 - Characterising lithic sources
Sourcing of north American Huron great lakes basin Early Holocene chert artifacts by LA-ICP-MS

Chert artifacts are often identified with geological sources by visual macroscopic or microscopic analysis in comparisons to reference samples from known geological locations and by geochemical methods. The sources of cherts can reveal travel routes and social interaction and exchange patterns through time. In this study brown and tan chert artifacts of unknown geological provenance, excavated from Early Holocene (Late Paleo-Indian - Early Archaic) archaeological sites are compared with visually similar materials from known geological formations, using semi-destructive laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS).