Sourcing Turquoise Using H and Cu Isotopes

使用 H 和 Cu 同位素采购绿松石

• 批准号: 0609638
• 负责人: Mostafa Fayek
• 金额: $ 12.59万
• 依托单位: University of New Mexico
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-07-01 至 2010-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0609638&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Sourcing; Turquoise; Using; Cu; Isotopes

With National Science Foundation support, Dr. Mostafa Fayek and an international team of colleagues will conduct field work as well as use a combination of geologic and isotopic methods to characterize and differentiate between turquoise source areas in southwestern United States and archeologically recovered turquoise artifacts. The team brings together U.S., Canadian and Mexican specialists in archaeology and geochemistry to examine the prehistoric southwestern turquoise trade networks. The evolution of the turquoise trade played a crucial role in the cultural intensification of the social systems along the northern frontier of Mesoamerica and southwestern portions of the United States. In Mesoamerican iconography, the color green represented all things of exceptional value and objects made of green stone appear early in archaeological contexts. In addition, mineral exploration, exploitation and procurement are among the organizing postulates in the formation of the ancient Mesoamerican trade structure and this activity was important at many levels of economic organization. The largest number of turquoise artifacts from any site in the North American Southwest was found in Pueblo Bonito, the largest site in Chaco Canyon. Although this site has been extensively studied for over 50 years the level of social complexity in this society is a contentious issue. The ability to pinpoint sources of turquoise artifacts is an important line of evidence in evaluating the level of complexity associate with sites such as Chaco Canyon.Recent results using a newly developed H and Cu isotopic method show that the inhabitants of Chaco Canyon received their turquoise from several areas and that the turquoise trade network extended far into northern Nevada. This isotopic technique is the basis for the project and presents a rare opportunity to combine both geochemical and archaeological methods in a conjunctive approach. The goal is to focus on isotopically fingerprinting turquoise sources. Once signatures for source areas have been established, artifacts from prehistoric archaeological sites can then be tested and inferences about their socio-political organization can be evaluate. Specific tasks are in two parts: (a) continue to characterize turquoise from the additional source (mining) regions using hydrogen (H) and copper (Cu) isotopes to verify the isotopic sourcing technique by characterizing as many turquoise sources as possible, including those located in California and northern Mexico; and (2) characterize turquoise artifacts recovered from pre-Columbian cultural areas, specifically the early Pueblo or Chaco World, but to include materials from the Casas Grandes, Mexico.If the results to date are confirmed, the turquoise sourcing project will provide a 'source fingerprint' for turquoise, permitting archaeologists to identify the sources of turquoise found at sites across the continent and providing new insight into pre-contact trade patterns in North America. The intellectual merit of the research will be to better understand the evolution of the turquoise trade and its role in the cultural intensification of the social systems along the northern frontier of Mesoamerica and southwestern portions of the United States.The broader impacts of the study are that it will contribute significant information about the social systems along the northern frontier of Mesoamerica and southwestern portions of the United States. The substantial increase in knowledge will provide the basis for major revisions in the scientific understanding of the prehistory of this dynamic region. U.S., Canadian and Mexican students will participate in the project to enhance their training and increase their knowledge of the importance of southwestern and Mesoamerican prehistory.

在国家科学基金会的支持下，Mostafa Fayek 博士和国际同事团队将进行实地工作，并结合地质学和同位素方法来描述和区分美国西南部的绿松石产地和考古发现的绿松石文物。 该团队汇集了美国、加拿大和墨西哥的考古学和地球化学专家，研究史前西南部的绿松石贸易网络。 绿松石贸易的演变对于中美洲北部边境和美国西南部地区社会体系的文化强化发挥了至关重要的作用。 在中美洲图像学中，绿色代表了所有具有特殊价值的事物，而由绿色石头制成的物体很早就出现在考古背景中。 此外，矿产勘探、开采和采购是古代中美洲贸易结构形成的组织前提之一，这项活动在许多经济组织层面都很重要。 北美西南部发现的绿松石文物数量最多的是普韦布洛博尼托 (Pueblo Bonito)，它是查科峡谷 (Chaco Canyon) 最大的遗址。 尽管这个网站已经被广泛研究了 50 多年，但这个社会的社会复杂程度仍然是一个有争议的问题。 确定绿松石文物来源的能力是评估查科峡谷等地点的复杂程度的重要证据。使用新开发的 H 和 Cu 同位素方法的最新结果表明，查科峡谷的居民从以下地方获得了绿松石：绿松石贸易网络延伸至内华达州北部。 这种同位素技术是该项目的基础，并提供了将地球化学和考古方法结合起来的难得机会。 目标是专注于绿松石来源的同位素指纹识别。 一旦建立了源区的特征，就可以测试史前考古遗址的文物，并评估其社会政治组织的推论。 具体任务分为两部分：(a) 继续使用氢 (H) 和铜 (Cu) 同位素对来自其他来源（开采）区域的绿松石进行表征，通过表征尽可能多的绿松石来源（包括那些来源）来验证同位素来源技术位于加利福尼亚州和墨西哥北部； (2) 描述从前哥伦布时期文化地区（特别是早期的普韦布洛或查科世界）发现的绿松石文物，但包括来自墨西哥卡萨斯格兰德斯的材料。如果迄今为止的结果得到确认，绿松石采购项目将提供“绿松石的“来源指纹”，使考古学家能够识别在整个大陆各地发现的绿松石来源，并为北美接触前的贸易模式提供新的见解。 这项研究的智力价值在于更好地了解绿松石贸易的演变及其在中美洲北部边境和美国西南部地区社会体系文化强化中的作用。这项研究的更广泛影响是：它将提供有关中美洲北部边境和美国西南部地区社会制度的重要信息。 知识的大幅增长将为对这一充满活力的地区的史前史的科学认识进行重大修正提供基础。 美国、加拿大和墨西哥的学生将参加该项目，以加强他们的培训并增加他们对西南部和中美洲史前史重要性的了解。