Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14279/30948
Title: X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy of Picrolite Raw Material on Cyprus
Authors: Moutsiou, Theodora 
Ioannides, Demetrios 
Charalambous, Andreas 
Schöder, Sebastian 
Webb, Sam M. 
Thoury, Mathieu 
Kassianidou, Vasiliki 
Zomeni, Zomenia 
Reepmeyer, Christian 
Major Field of Science: Social Sciences
Field Category: History and Archaeology
Keywords: Cyprus;picrolite;sourcing;synchrotron microspectroscopy;X-ray fluorescence
Issue Date: 1-Jun-2022
Source: Heritage, 2022, vol. 5, iss. 2, pp. 664 - 676
Volume: 5
Issue: 2
Start page: 664
End page: 676
Journal: Heritage 
Abstract: Picrolite artefacts comprise some of the most distinctive material remains in the prehistory of the island of Cyprus, in the Eastern Mediterranean. Picrolite exploitation dates from at least 12,000 years ago for the manufacture of personal ornaments and items with a symbolic function. It is commonly assumed that picrolite nodules were collected in secondary deposits on an ad hoc basis. This narrative, however, ignores the fact that picrolite carriers can only be found in very specific locations on the island, discrete from each other. Here we report initial outcomes of the application of handheld portable X-ray fluorescence (HHpXRF) and synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (SR-µXRF) to the analysis of picrolite raw materials performed at the newly opened PUMA beamline of the SOLEIL Synchrotron Radiation Facility. Our work refines the basic characteristics of the elemental constituents of the picrolite raw material and highlights key micro-structural differences between two distinct source regions on the Troodos Massif in western Cyprus. Picrolite source characterisation is expected to contribute significant new knowledge to the study of rare raw material consumption, prehistoric social organisation, networking and possible long-distance exchange of this idiosyncratic raw material within and beyond the island’s geographic boundaries.
URI: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14279/30948
ISSN: 25719408
DOI: 10.3390/heritage5020037
Rights: © by the authors
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
Type: Article
Affiliation : University of Cyprus 
James Cook University 
Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History 
Stanford University 
Geological Survey Department 
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed
Appears in Collections:Άρθρα/Articles

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