This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
In 2007 the National Science Foundation granted funding (BCS 0716333) to purchase a new Thermo Scientific Quant-X EDXRF spectrometer for elemental analysis, and established a new lab in the Department of Anthropology. The instrument is installed and calibrated and a number of undergraduate, graduate, government, NSF and private sector projects are underway or have been concluded. A benefit of the new digital system is the ability to analyze smaller pieces of obsidian (volcanic glass) debitage, now down to at least 7 mm in smallest dimension, and faster analysis times. The lab is the core of a continually taught two semester course in XRF in Archaeology by the PI.
The University of California, Berkeley, has been a leader in the use of x-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) in the service of obsidian provenance studies. For nearly 40 years XRF has supported obsidian studies for undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty research from regions worldwide. The lab analyzes literally thousands of samples, most obsidian and other volcanic artifacts, each year. Many of these projects are student projects from Berkeley, but also other national and international universities. The lab has supported NSF, federal government, and private sector studies for over 19 years now. The lab is an integral part of the archaeology program at Berkeley, and is the basis for a field/lab course of study in Geoarchaeological Science cross-listed in the Earth and Planetary Science department and a physical science credit for non-majors. Additionally, the Archaeological XRF Laboratory is the only lab that places the elemental composition, location, and significant other data of western North American obsidian sources on the web for others to use (www.swxrflab.net). The current funding as well as the19 years of the lab's work has formed the foundation for the understanding of exchange, group interaction, the procurement of stone used in prehistory, and issues of social identity in prehistory..
This NSF award provides essential support to maintain lab productivity, and also provides Graduate Student Researcher funding for one year and one summer to maintain the system, and continue the training of graduate students in geoarchaeological science. The Geoarchaeological XRF Laboratory is a leader in geoarchaeological science, and this grant will augment the funding available to continue the leadership of the research and student training. This National Science Foundation funding will help to maintain the excellence in geoarchaeological research, student training in geoarchaeology and archaeological science (Archaeometry) and provide an crucial geoarchaeological service to archaeologist throughout the nation.
