Series | Eurasian Studies
Review | Armenia, Caucasus and Central Asia
Chapter | New Data on Source Characterization and Exploitation of Obsidian from the Chikiani Area (Georgia)
New Data on Source Characterization and Exploitation of Obsidian from the Chikiani Area (Georgia)
Abstract
This paper presents the results obtained from two brief surveys carried out in 2012 and 2014 along the slopes of Mt. Chikiani in south Georgia. The scope of the surveys was to collect obsidian samples for characterization, to improve our knowledge of the raw material resources exploited in prehistoric times. The analysis of 69 samples retrieved from 20 different points have confirmed that Chikiani obsidian is to be subdivided into 3 main groups, characterised by variable percentages of barium and zirconium. The new results have important implications in the prehistory of the Caucasus and its related regions. They improve our knowledge on the exploitation of the obsidian resources, and their circulation in the territory.
Language: it
Keywords Obsidian geochemistry • Mt • Lesser Caucasus • Obsidian outcrops • LA-ICP-MS analysis • Georgia • Chikiani
Copyright © 2016 Paolo Biagi, Bernard Gratuze. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.14277/6969-093-8/EUR-6-1
