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An Assessment of the Acid-Extraction Approach to Compositional Characterization of Archaeological Ceramics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Hector Neff ,
Michael D. Glascock ,
Ronald L. Bishop  and
M. James Blackman
Hector Neff
Affiliation:
Research Reactor Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211
Michael D. Glascock
Affiliation:
Research Reactor Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211
Ronald L. Bishop
Affiliation:
Conservation Analytical Laboratory, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560
M. James Blackman
Affiliation:
Conservation Analytical Laboratory, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560
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Abstract

We criticize the acid-extraction approach to chemical characterization of ceramics previously advocated in this journal by Burton and Simon (1993). The instrumental technique used by Burton and Simon (inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy [ICP]) is a highly precise chemical characterization technique, but noise introduced by characterizing acid extracts from sherds nullifies the usefulness of the resulting elemental concentration data for archaeological sourcing.

Resumen

Resumen

Criticamos el uso de extractos de ácido en la caracterización química de la cerámica, que Burton y Simon (1993) defendieron recientemente en esta revista. La técnica instrumental utilizada por Burton y Simon (espectroscopia de plasma de acoplamiento inductivo) es una tecnica de caracterización química altamente precisa. Sin embargo, la interferencia introducida al caracterizar los extractos de ácido de los tiestos anula la utilidad de las concentraciones de elementos como datos que pueden reflejar lasfuentes de cerámica arqueológica.

Type
Comments
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 61 , Issue 2 , April 1996 , pp. 389 - 404
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1996

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