Articles by Kyle Freund
Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology, 2022
This paper characterizes the geology and geochemistry of the Ferguson Wash obsidian source in the... more This paper characterizes the geology and geochemistry of the Ferguson Wash obsidian source in the eastern Great Basin and contextualizes the prehistoric exploitation of its raw materials. Procurement of Ferguson Wash obsidian begins in the Early Holocene and continues into the Late Holocene, but it is distributed over a relatively small area when compared to other sources in the region. Likely of Miocene age, the primary deposits of Ferguson Wash extend along a canyon hillside roughly half a kilometer in length. Although known as a source for lithic raw material, Ferguson Wash has not been well characterized, and to better understand its geochemistry, we collected and analyzed 60 geological samples from the primary outcrop using portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) spectrometry. By compiling previous references to the presence of Ferguson Wash obsidian in archaeological contexts, this study also develops the chronology of the source’s exploitation and highlights its role within wider networks of resource acquisition and consumption.
Journal of Archaeological Sciences Reports, 2021
Available calibrations for obsidian transform X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectral data into analyti... more Available calibrations for obsidian transform X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectral data into analytical units such as parts per million or weight percent through complex algorithms built around known geologic rock references (USGS and NIST) or independent matrix matched sets (Bruker from MURR and PYRO from Yale) characterized by other analytical methods, complex physics-based models of atomic energy dispersion, or both. The current portable XRF (pXRF) industry uses two main part per million predictive methods: Lucas-Tooth empirical calibration (regression-based) and Fundamental Parameters with standards. These procedures are often exclusive to a given pXRF manufacturer and claims of superiority are often cited. In addition to these associations, obsidian calibration sets are also available to either create your own regression calibration or fine-tune a Fundamental Parameters algorithm using a post-processing slope correction, thus potentially complicating pXRF accuracy through unique user customizations beyond claims by the manufacturer. This paper reviews calibration methods and examines the accuracy of three in-use pXRF instruments with respect to calibration methods and obsidian calibration sets thereby independently evaluating claims of accuracy by manufacturers. Research of this kind serves to inform new users of how to evaluate and disclose instrument and calibration accuracy before the analysis of archaeological materials.
Open Archaeology , 2021
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/opar-2020-0140/html
New investigations on Ustica (... more https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/opar-2020-0140/html
New investigations on Ustica (Palermo, Sicily) originated from the need to improve our knowledge of the island’s archaeological and environmental heritage. Through field surveys, particular attention was paid to human occupation in the Neolithic phases and focused on the less investigated southern side of the island. The systematic survey of the area of Piano dei Cardoni in 2018 brought to light a new Middle/Late Neolithic site, already partially documented in the literature. The island was settled for the first time during these phases, as also testified from the area of Punta Spalmatore. The presence of Serra d’Alto, incised dark burnished, and Diana styles suggests that the site and the archaeological assemblage dates from the mid to late 5th millennium BC, as confirmed by AMS dating. In addition to pottery, obsidian artifacts were also recovered, and a preliminary study of these materials is presented here. Portable XRF analyses on a sample of 41 obsidian artifacts, representing a high percentage of the lithic assemblage compared to chert tools, show that the provenance of the raw material is Gabellotto Gorge (Lipari) and Balata dei Turchi (Pantelleria). These results provide new insight into broader regional debates about obsidian technology and its exchange during the Neolithic and open an important consideration for sites that are far from the raw material sources.
Florida Anthropologist, 2021
Using data collected through the systematic recording of historic grave markers at Pine Grove Cem... more Using data collected through the systematic recording of historic grave markers at Pine Grove Cemetery (n=329) and White City Cemetery (n=355) in Saint Lucie County, this paper contextualizes mortuary traditions from the late 19th to early 21st centuries in east-central Florida. The results of this study highlight how decisions about burial are rooted in long-standing cultural traditions and religious beliefs, exploring the material manifestations of ethnic preferences, diverse cultural expressions, and embodied actions relating to the commemoration of the dead. Of particular interest are the burials of five Highwaymen landscape painters at Pine Grove Cemetery, whose grave markers have been modified as their legacies as artists have evolved.
Alexander, C., Brown, K.A., Freund, K.P., Hofer, M., Mattioli, T., Di Miceli, A., Muntoni, I.M., and R.H. Tykot (2021). UAVs rather than planes in the Neolithic Tavoliere: understanding site structure using UAV-based NIR imaging, photogrammetry, magnetometry and field survey Archeologia Aerea, 2021
This paper presents the results of field walking, magnetometer survey and UAV-based near infrared... more This paper presents the results of field walking, magnetometer survey and UAV-based near infrared (NIR) photogrammetry at the Tavoliere Neolithic site designated J155/FG003663/ Posta Barone Grella I southwest of Cerignola (FG) in Puglia. These techniques were utilised as a means of locating areas for future excavation; the methodology presented here in turn provides a framework for future archaeologists interested in understanding the nature of subsurface site structures prior to excavation. Of particular note is the fact that the NIR photography picked up boundary ditches even though the crops in the field had already been harvested. Agreement between magnetometer survey and UAV-based imaging was also strong.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 33
The island of Tavolara off the coast of northeastern Sardinia (Italy) was intermittently occupied... more The island of Tavolara off the coast of northeastern Sardinia (Italy) was intermittently occupied from Neolithic to modern times, and recent excavations at the site of Spalmatore di Terra have revealed the presence of Villanovan ceramics on the island dating to the 9th century BCE (according to the traditional chronology).
Contacts between Etruria and Sardinia during the Early Iron Age are well documented by the recovery of Nuragic vessels and metal objects in Etrurian burial contexts, but the presence of Villanovan artefacts in Sardinia is comparably rare.
Indeed, discoveries from Spalamatore di Terra represent the first evidence of Villanovan ceramics in Sardinia, likely originating from Tyrrhenian Etruria.
To investigate the provenance of the ceramics found at Spalamatore di Terra, a representative sample of these materials was chosen to be studied through a combination of petrographic and geochemical characterisation. A particular emphasis was placed on the Villanovan materials that were most abundant, but a selection of Nuragic sherds was also included. The results of these analyses are significant in that they reveal a surprisingly diverse range of ceramic fabrics that can be linked to Etruria, thus providing insights into Tavolara’s place within a broader trans-marine network of interaction.
Freund, K.P., Amicone, S., Berthold, C., Tykot, R.H., Veronesi, U., and M.R. Manunza (2019). Early metallurgy in Sardinia: characterizing the evidence from Su Coddu Journal of Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2019
This paper contextualizes analyses of a collection of metal artifacts and ostensible metallurgica... more This paper contextualizes analyses of a collection of metal artifacts and ostensible metallurgical slag from the prehistoric settlement of Su Coddu in south-central Sardinia (ca. 3400-2850 BCE). To characterize the types of metals and associated alloys utilized by the earliest residents of Su Coddu, two pins and an unshaped lump of unknown composition were analyzed using portable XRF spectrometry. In addition to metal artifacts, a large quantity of putative slag was discovered at the site that is consistently cited as the earliest evidence of in situ smelting in prehistoric Sardinia. To reconstruct firing temperatures and characterize mineral phases, four samples of the overfired material were selected for thin section petrography and powder XRD analysis.
The results of this study indicate that the two pins were made of copper while the unshaped lump was composed of pure lead, making it the earliest lead-based artifact on Sardinia. XRD and petrographic analyses of the fired “slags” reveal that these samples are unrelated to metallurgical smelting and are likely burnt wall coatings whose mineralogical phases correspond with unfired plasters also recovered from the site. These results in combination contribute towards understanding early metallurgical practices in Sardinia and are relevant in reconstructing the events that have shaped the life history of Su Coddu.
Journal of Archaeology and Education, 2019
This article focuses on a for-credit cemetery recording class taught at Indian River State Colleg... more This article focuses on a for-credit cemetery recording class taught at Indian River State College (IRSC) and on the impact of the project on student perceptions of cultural heritage and historic preservation. One of the goals in creating this service learning course was to promote student awareness of the destructive risks that many historic cemeteries face and to impart the importance of stewardship over the archaeological record. To assess the effectiveness of the course in meeting this goal, a series of five interviews with students enrolled in the class were conducted to get participants to discuss their motivations and perceptions of the class and to expound on its impact.
We suggest that engagement in service learning can have a positive impact on student perceptions of archaeology and heritage preservation, an auspicious conclusion that supports the further integration of such opportunities in higher education. Cemetery recording projects that are integrated into the college curriculum offer an opportunity to preserve the cultural information associated with these sites and build awareness about their historical importance, all while training students in transferable skills that are demanded of 21st century professionals.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2018
This paper discusses Bronze Age Nuragic obsidian exploitation by combining raw material sourcing ... more This paper discusses Bronze Age Nuragic obsidian exploitation by combining raw material sourcing with techno-typological analysis of a total of 363 obsidian artifacts from two sites in west-central Sardinia. The results are then combined with previously published data to make broader interpretations about obsidian reduction strategies and island-wide exchange networks, making it one of the largest compilations of data on Nuragic obsidian procurement, production, and consumption to date.
These new data add nuance to prior generalizations of Nuragic obsidian consumption as an expedient flake-based technology centered on the exploitation of one primary outcrop of obsidian, in turn highlighting the presence of bladelet production as well as regional differences in source exploitation that are distinct from earlier time periods. Despite such diversity, lunates of SC obsidian are ubiquitous and may have circulated as finished products. In this context, the exchange of obsidian likely acted as a means of regulating social relations across space, in turn structuring the flow of goods, information, and ideas that were key to the creation and maintenances of Nuragic identity.
Quaternary International, 2018
Of the four major island sources of obsidian in the Central Mediterranean, Lipari raw materials h... more Of the four major island sources of obsidian in the Central Mediterranean, Lipari raw materials have the widest distribution, being found at over 200 archaeological sites throughout mainland Italy, southern France, northern Africa, and Sicily. As a means of contextualizing the importance of Lipari obsidian within broader cultural processes, this paper discusses the long-term exploitation of the island’s raw materials from the 6th to 2nd millennia B.C., in turn emphasizing the reflexive relationship between the movement of Lipari obsidian and the broader circumstances that mediated its use.
Over the past 50 years, a large number of studies have been published on obsidian in the Central Mediterranean, the majority of which relate to the sourcing of archaeological objects. In total, over 10,000 artifacts have been elementally or visually characterized from well over 400 archaeological sites. Using a newly compiled database of prior obsidian studies, this paper highlights the importance of Lipari obsidian within wider networks of interaction. Through a diachronic overview of the distribution of Lipari obsidian along with a consideration of how these materials were consequently reduced and used, this paper highlights the impact of the spread of Neolithic lifeways on the establishment of large-scale obsidian circulation networks as well as the effects that shifting value regimes associated with the adoption and proliferation of metal technology had on the collapse of long-distance exchange networks. By the second millennium B.C., the use of Lipari obsidian becomes a localized phenomenon largely restricted to sites on Sicily and increasingly associated with human burials. While it is easy to explain the continued use of obsidian in these areas as being the result of its ease of procurement, the last vestiges of a dying practice, this paper demonstrates that the situation is slightly more complex.
In many ways, the exploitation history of Lipari obsidian mirrors that of other Central Mediterranean sources. However, this paper brings to light unique factors that allowed raw materials from a relatively small Aeolian island to become an object of value throughout the entire Central Mediterranean.
Lithic Technology, 2017
Through the analysis of 106 obsidian artifacts from eight Chalcolithic sites throughout the islan... more Through the analysis of 106 obsidian artifacts from eight Chalcolithic sites throughout the island of Sicily (ca. 3500-2500 B.C.) this paper discusses the interplay between the procurement of obsidian raw materials and their consequent reduction, in turn highlighting long-term trends in lithic exploitation from the Neolithic through Chalcolithic eras. By combining obsidian sourcing with techno-typological analysis, this paper takes an initial step towards a more comprehensive understanding of the nature of obsidian exploitation in Chalcolithic Sicily and a more thorough comprehension of how obsidian was distributed from the islands of Lipari and Pantelleria. We in turn argue that when lithic data are analyzed within a chaîne opératoire approach combining analyses from multiple stages of artifact life histories this information represents a powerful means of engaging with major social science questions, where a particular regional dataset can be used to contribute to debates of broader archaeological significance.
Carter, T., Contreras, D., Campeau, K., and K.P. Freund (2016). Spherulites and aspiring elites: the identification, distribution, and consumption of Giali obsidian (Dodecanese, Greece)
Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology, 2016
This paper details the results of a survey of the obsidian sources on the island of Giali in the ... more This paper details the results of a survey of the obsidian sources on the island of Giali in the Dodecanese, Greece, together with a review of these raw materials’ use from the Mesolithic to the Late Bronze Age (ninth to second millennium Cal bc). Elemental characterization of 76 geological samples from 11 sampling locations demonstrates the existence of two geochemically distinct sources, termed ‘Giali A’, and ‘Giali B’. The latter material, available in small cobble form on the island’s southwestern half, seems to have only been exploited by local residents during the Final Neolithic (fourth millennium Cal bc). In contrast, Giali A obsidian comprises a distinctive white-spotted raw material, available in large boulders on the northeastern half of Giali, whose use changed significantly over time. During the Mesolithic to later Neolithic it was mainly used for flake-based tool-production by local Dodecanesian populations. Further away, handfuls of Giali A obsidian are documented from Early Neolithic to Early Bronze Age sites in Crete, the Cyclades, and western Anatolia. The distribution of this material is likely indicative of population movement, and regional socio-economic interaction more generally, rather than a significant desire for, and trade of, the material itself. This changed in the Middle Bronze Age (second millennium Cal bc), when Giali A obsidian was reconceptualized as a valued raw material, and used by Cretan palace-based lapidaries to make prestige goods. This radical shift in traditions of consumption resulted from Cretan factions appropriating Anatolian and Egyptian elite value regimes and craft practices as a means of creating new means of social distinction within a larger Eastern Mediterranean political arena.
Science and Technology of Archaeological Research (STAR), 2016
This study focuses on obsidian consumption at the 'ritual spring' of Mitza Pidighi in west-centra... more This study focuses on obsidian consumption at the 'ritual spring' of Mitza Pidighi in west-central Sardinia, Italy. The site dates to the late Nuragic I to Nuragic III phases of the Bronze Age (ca. 1350-850 B.C.) and is found just east of a contemporaneous residential village, Nuraghe Pidighi. While recent years have seen a surge of archaeological literature on the subject of obsidian use at residential sites throughout the island, there has been little consideration of its role in other archaeological contexts, a research bias that this presentation aims in part to redress.
For this study, 142 obsidian artifacts from Mitza Pidighi were analyzed non-destructively using a Thermo Scientific ARL Quant’X EDXRF spectrometer to determine their geological origins. In addition, each artifact was analyzed techno-typologically to allow for the reconstruction of the entire chain of events leading up to an artifact's discard. The sourcing results show that obsidians from all four Sardinian subsources are represented at the site, although most come from just one outcrop; the typological analysis indicates that people were physically knapping obsidian near the well to create expedient flake tools and non-prismatic bladelets. In combination, these results have important implications for interpreting the social, economic, and symbolic function of Mitza Pidighi and in understanding the role of obsidian outside of domestic contexts.
Comptes Rendus Palevol, 2015
This study explores obsidian consumption during the Early/Middle Neolithic Stentinello period (ca... more This study explores obsidian consumption during the Early/Middle Neolithic Stentinello period (ca. 5600-4000 cal B.C.) on the Italian island of Sicily through the analysis of 622 obsidian artifacts from eight sites in eastern Sicily and the Aeolian Islands. By combining obsidian sourcing by means of portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) spectrometry with techno-typological characterization, it is shown that distinctively wide Lipari blades were the primary artifact type used during this period. Our data suggest that the primary reduction of these materials occurred at the source area by local populations, with obsidian being transported from Lipari to eastern Sicily and Calabria in the form of preformed cores. Despite similarities between Sicily and southern Italy in the initial procurement of Lipari obsidian, there are distinct differences in how these materials were subsequently reduced.
Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, 2014
Scholars typically argue that cultural interaction between the West Mediterranean islands of Sard... more Scholars typically argue that cultural interaction between the West Mediterranean islands of Sardinia and Corsica and the European mainland took place through the Tuscan Archipelago, via such intermediary islands as Elba and Pianosa. This path is posited as the prime route in and out of these islands for both people and objects throughout prehistory largely due to the belief that early - pre-sail - seafarers would have wished to avoid more treacherous open-sea voyages. This paper tests this hypothesis using social network analysis (SNA) to identify the strengths of inter-site relationships through time based on the relative proportions of West Mediterranean obsidian raw materials at 79 Neolithic sites dating from the 6th to 4th millennia BC. We argue that similar patterns of obsidian consumption reflect similar procurement mechanisms and the likelihood of more frequent interactions between the people of these communities. As such, it becomes possible to reconstruct the relationships that mediated the distribution of obsidian across the landscape.
Contrary to previous interpretations highlighting the role of Elba and Pianosa in the exchange of obsidian from the geological sources of Sardinia along the coast to northern Italy and France, our results suggest that obsidian also took a more direct open-sea path upwards of 200 km from Corsica to the coastal regions of Provence and Languedoc in southern France. These results are contextualized within broader patterns of obsidian circulation and use and have important implications for debates surrounding Neolithic obsidian procurement, exchange spheres, and early maritime navigation.
Journal of Archaeological Science, 2014
This study represents a contribution towards an understanding of the nature of obsidian exploitat... more This study represents a contribution towards an understanding of the nature of obsidian exploitation in Sardinia during the Chalcolithic (ca. 3200-2200 cal B.C.). A total of 154 obsidian artifacts from Bingia ’e Monti in south-central Sardinia was techno-typologically characterized. Of these, 146 were elementally analyzed employing energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) as a means of sourcing the raw materials. It is argued that the community’s residents obtained obsidian directly from Sardinian source areas, then reduced the material on-site for the production of lunates and expedient flake tools. By contextualizing the study within a broader consideration of obsidian distribution and use within Sardinia, it is shown that obsidian exploitation at this time differs from earlier periods, arguably related to a reconfiguration of socio-economic interaction spheres and exchange networks.
Archaeometry, 2013
This paper thematically characterizes a large body of recent obsidian sourcing discourse as a mea... more This paper thematically characterizes a large body of recent obsidian sourcing discourse as a means of highlighting the current place of obsidian provenance studies in larger archaeological discourse. It is shown that the field of obsidian sourcing is flourishing, with a clear upward trend in the number of published studies in the past decade. This paper further argues that sourcing is a means to an end, a way to determine where artefacts originate, and thus a means of addressing broader archaeological problems. Through this contextual framework, obsidian sourcing studies—and indeed all provenance studies—are seen as relevant because they transcend the increasingly specialized world of archaeological discourse.
Society for Archaeological Sciences Bulletin, 2013
Journal of Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2011
The study of the Sardinian Bronze Age (Nuragic period) and the factors which created and maintain... more The study of the Sardinian Bronze Age (Nuragic period) and the factors which created and maintained an island-wide identity as seen through the presence of its distinctive nuraghi has received considerable attention; however, the amount of research directly related to the stone tools of the era has been relatively limited despite the wealth of knowledge it is capable of yielding. This research hopes to contribute to Sardinian archaeology through the study of ancient technology, specifically obsidian lithic technology, by combining typological information with source data gleaned from the use of portable X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. This research also explores temporal changes in the acquisition of obsidian raw materials and the corresponding changes in how the obsidian was used. The results provide precedence for future work in Sardinia and create a model for integrating two types of analyses, sourcing and typological. By combining these results, it is possible to investigate ancient economies, exchange networks, and cultural values.
Edited Volumes and Book Chapters by Kyle Freund
Strategies of Obsidian Procurement, Knapping and Use in the First Farming Societies from the Caucasus to the Mediterranean, 2024
This paper examines the Neolithic-Chalcolithic transition in central Mediterranean prehistory and... more This paper examines the Neolithic-Chalcolithic transition in central Mediterranean prehistory and explores the reasons behind the collapse of a roughly 2500-year tradition of long-distance obsidian exchange. More specifically, this research studies the effects of early metalworking practices on pre-existing traditions of consumption and the connection between the adoption and proliferation of metallurgy and the reconfiguration of long-standing Neolithic exchange networks. During the Neolithic, the circulation of obsidian acted as a means of creating and maintaining social relations, becoming symbols of a community's place within a larger network of connected sites. With the arrival of a set of prestige items and social practices capable of expressing individual over collective identities, obsidian and the social relations these materials embodied were no longer relevant. Considering that obsidian circulation declines just at a time of increasing maritime mobility and long-distance exchange throughout most of Europe, this represents a major restructuring of socioeconomic interaction spheres and symbolic systems.
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Articles by Kyle Freund
New investigations on Ustica (Palermo, Sicily) originated from the need to improve our knowledge of the island’s archaeological and environmental heritage. Through field surveys, particular attention was paid to human occupation in the Neolithic phases and focused on the less investigated southern side of the island. The systematic survey of the area of Piano dei Cardoni in 2018 brought to light a new Middle/Late Neolithic site, already partially documented in the literature. The island was settled for the first time during these phases, as also testified from the area of Punta Spalmatore. The presence of Serra d’Alto, incised dark burnished, and Diana styles suggests that the site and the archaeological assemblage dates from the mid to late 5th millennium BC, as confirmed by AMS dating. In addition to pottery, obsidian artifacts were also recovered, and a preliminary study of these materials is presented here. Portable XRF analyses on a sample of 41 obsidian artifacts, representing a high percentage of the lithic assemblage compared to chert tools, show that the provenance of the raw material is Gabellotto Gorge (Lipari) and Balata dei Turchi (Pantelleria). These results provide new insight into broader regional debates about obsidian technology and its exchange during the Neolithic and open an important consideration for sites that are far from the raw material sources.
Contacts between Etruria and Sardinia during the Early Iron Age are well documented by the recovery of Nuragic vessels and metal objects in Etrurian burial contexts, but the presence of Villanovan artefacts in Sardinia is comparably rare.
Indeed, discoveries from Spalamatore di Terra represent the first evidence of Villanovan ceramics in Sardinia, likely originating from Tyrrhenian Etruria.
To investigate the provenance of the ceramics found at Spalamatore di Terra, a representative sample of these materials was chosen to be studied through a combination of petrographic and geochemical characterisation. A particular emphasis was placed on the Villanovan materials that were most abundant, but a selection of Nuragic sherds was also included. The results of these analyses are significant in that they reveal a surprisingly diverse range of ceramic fabrics that can be linked to Etruria, thus providing insights into Tavolara’s place within a broader trans-marine network of interaction.
The results of this study indicate that the two pins were made of copper while the unshaped lump was composed of pure lead, making it the earliest lead-based artifact on Sardinia. XRD and petrographic analyses of the fired “slags” reveal that these samples are unrelated to metallurgical smelting and are likely burnt wall coatings whose mineralogical phases correspond with unfired plasters also recovered from the site. These results in combination contribute towards understanding early metallurgical practices in Sardinia and are relevant in reconstructing the events that have shaped the life history of Su Coddu.
We suggest that engagement in service learning can have a positive impact on student perceptions of archaeology and heritage preservation, an auspicious conclusion that supports the further integration of such opportunities in higher education. Cemetery recording projects that are integrated into the college curriculum offer an opportunity to preserve the cultural information associated with these sites and build awareness about their historical importance, all while training students in transferable skills that are demanded of 21st century professionals.
These new data add nuance to prior generalizations of Nuragic obsidian consumption as an expedient flake-based technology centered on the exploitation of one primary outcrop of obsidian, in turn highlighting the presence of bladelet production as well as regional differences in source exploitation that are distinct from earlier time periods. Despite such diversity, lunates of SC obsidian are ubiquitous and may have circulated as finished products. In this context, the exchange of obsidian likely acted as a means of regulating social relations across space, in turn structuring the flow of goods, information, and ideas that were key to the creation and maintenances of Nuragic identity.
Over the past 50 years, a large number of studies have been published on obsidian in the Central Mediterranean, the majority of which relate to the sourcing of archaeological objects. In total, over 10,000 artifacts have been elementally or visually characterized from well over 400 archaeological sites. Using a newly compiled database of prior obsidian studies, this paper highlights the importance of Lipari obsidian within wider networks of interaction. Through a diachronic overview of the distribution of Lipari obsidian along with a consideration of how these materials were consequently reduced and used, this paper highlights the impact of the spread of Neolithic lifeways on the establishment of large-scale obsidian circulation networks as well as the effects that shifting value regimes associated with the adoption and proliferation of metal technology had on the collapse of long-distance exchange networks. By the second millennium B.C., the use of Lipari obsidian becomes a localized phenomenon largely restricted to sites on Sicily and increasingly associated with human burials. While it is easy to explain the continued use of obsidian in these areas as being the result of its ease of procurement, the last vestiges of a dying practice, this paper demonstrates that the situation is slightly more complex.
In many ways, the exploitation history of Lipari obsidian mirrors that of other Central Mediterranean sources. However, this paper brings to light unique factors that allowed raw materials from a relatively small Aeolian island to become an object of value throughout the entire Central Mediterranean.
For this study, 142 obsidian artifacts from Mitza Pidighi were analyzed non-destructively using a Thermo Scientific ARL Quant’X EDXRF spectrometer to determine their geological origins. In addition, each artifact was analyzed techno-typologically to allow for the reconstruction of the entire chain of events leading up to an artifact's discard. The sourcing results show that obsidians from all four Sardinian subsources are represented at the site, although most come from just one outcrop; the typological analysis indicates that people were physically knapping obsidian near the well to create expedient flake tools and non-prismatic bladelets. In combination, these results have important implications for interpreting the social, economic, and symbolic function of Mitza Pidighi and in understanding the role of obsidian outside of domestic contexts.
Contrary to previous interpretations highlighting the role of Elba and Pianosa in the exchange of obsidian from the geological sources of Sardinia along the coast to northern Italy and France, our results suggest that obsidian also took a more direct open-sea path upwards of 200 km from Corsica to the coastal regions of Provence and Languedoc in southern France. These results are contextualized within broader patterns of obsidian circulation and use and have important implications for debates surrounding Neolithic obsidian procurement, exchange spheres, and early maritime navigation.
Edited Volumes and Book Chapters by Kyle Freund