Dark materials: pre-Columbian black lithic carvings from St Vincent and the wider Caribbean

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dc.contributor.authorBrock, Fiona
dc.contributor.authorOstapkowicz, Joanna
dc.contributor.authorCollinson, Margaret Elizabeth
dc.contributor.authorBull, Ian D.
dc.contributor.authorDyer, Chris
dc.contributor.authorLane, David W.
dc.contributor.authorDomoney, Kelly
dc.contributor.authorUden, Jeremy
dc.date.accessioned2020-07-28T16:31:04Z
dc.date.available2020-07-28T16:31:04Z
dc.date.issued2020-06-07
dc.description.abstractA small number of pre-Columbian black lithic carvings have been found at archaeological sites across the Caribbean, as well as in parts of neighbouring mainland South America. The identity of the material used to create these artefacts is often unknown, but suggestions include lignite, wood, petrified wood, manja(c)k, jet (or ‘jet-like’ materials) and hardened asphalt. These identifications are often historical and lacking any scientific basis, and as such can be unreliable. However, identification of the material has the potential to inform on the source of the carving and thereby pre-Columbian trade routes within the circum-Caribbean region. Four analytical techniques (reflectance microscopy, FTIR, Py-GC/MS, x-ray fluorescence) were applied to samples taken from two carvings found on St Vincent and five comparative materials. Both artefacts were found to be most likely carved from cannel coal, indicating that they originated in South America (where cannel coal is found extensively in locations in Colombia and Venezuela), as the material is not found within the Caribbean region.en_UK
dc.identifier.citationBrock F, Ostapkowicz J, Collinson ME, et al., (2020) Dark materials: pre-Columbian black lithic carvings from St Vincent and the wider Caribbean. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, Volume 32, August 2020, Article number 102393en_UK
dc.identifier.issn2352-409X
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102393
dc.identifier.urihttp://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/15605
dc.language.isoenen_UK
dc.publisherElsevieren_UK
dc.rightsAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International*
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/*
dc.subjectCircum-Caribbeanen_UK
dc.subjectCannel coalen_UK
dc.subjectLigniteen_UK
dc.subjectCarvingsen_UK
dc.subjectPre-Columbianen_UK
dc.titleDark materials: pre-Columbian black lithic carvings from St Vincent and the wider Caribbeanen_UK
dc.typeArticleen_UK

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