Journal
JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE
Volume 35, Issue 1-2, Pages 199-212Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/jqs.3158
Keywords
cryptotephra; Middle Paleolithic; radiocarbon dating; tephrochronology; Upper Paleolithic
Funding
- National Science Foundation [BCS-1917173, BCS-1460366, BCS-1917191, BCS1460376]
- Hyde Family Foundations
- Institute of Human Origins (IHO) at Arizona State University (ASU)
- John Templeton Foundation
- Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development
- Graduate Professional and Student Association (GPSA)
- ASU
- National Geographic (Waitt Program) [W391-15]
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada [435-2017-1520, 430-2018-00846]
- H2020 European Research Council [724046 -SUCCESS]
- Fonds de Recherche du Quebec-Societe et Culture [2016-NP-193048]
- Canada Foundation for Innovation (JFELS) [37754]
- Universite de Montreal
- Wenner-Gren Foundation
- Leakey Foundation
- CU Denver ORS, CRISP
- Washington University in St. Louis
- Cryptotephra Laboratory for Archaeological and Geological Research (CLAGR) at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)
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Chemical characterization of cryptotephra is critical for temporally linking archaeological sites. Here, we describe cryptotephra investigations of two Middle-Upper Paleolithic sites from north-west Italy, Arma Veirana and Riparo Bombrini. Cryptotephra are present as small (<100 mu m) rhyolitic glass shards at both sites, with geochemical signatures rare for volcanoes in the Mediterranean region. Two chemically distinct shard populations are present at Arma Veirana (P1 and P2). P1 is a high silica rhyolite (>75 wt.%) with low FeO (<1 wt.%) and a K2O/Na2O > 1 and P2 is also a high silica rhyolite (>75 wt.%) but with higher FeO (2.33-2.65 wt.%). Shards at Riparo Bombrini (P3) are of the same composition as P1 shards at Arma Veirana, providing a distinct link between deposits at both sites. Geochemical characteristics suggest three possible sources for P1 and P3: eruptions from Lipari Island (56-37.7 ka) in Italy, the Acigol volcanic field (200-20 ka) in Turkey and the Miocene Kirka-Phrigian caldera (18 Ma) in Turkey. Eruptions from Lipari Island are the most likely source for P1,3 cryptotephra. This study highlights how cryptotephra can benefit archaeology, by providing a direct link between Arma Veirana and Riparo Bombrini as well as other deposits throughout the Mediterranean.
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