ANALYSIS OF MEXICAN OBSIDIANS BY IBA TECHNIQUES

Motivated by archaeological interest, an interdisciplinary work is pre sented, which consists of the characterization of obsidian samples fro m different mineral sites in Mexico, undertaken by Ion Beam Analysis t echniques to assess elemental compositions. The oxygen concentration i s obtained by means of the O-10(d,p)O-17 reaction, and other elements, ranging from K to Br, were analyzed by PIXE using an external beam fa cility. The determination of the Na, Al and Si content were carried ou t by PIGE analysis, RES analysis (using alpha particles) was employed to determine the O, Si and Fe concentrations. (C) 1998 Elsevier Scienc e B,V.Motivated by archaeological interest, an interdisciplinary work is presented, which consists of the characterization of obsidian sampl es from different mineral sites in Mexico, undertaken by Ion Beam Anal ysis techniques to assess elemental compositions. The oxygen concentra tion is obtained by means of the O-16(d,p)O-17 reaction, and other ele ments, ranging from K to Br, were analyzed by PIXE using an external b eam facility. The determination of the Na, Al and Si content were carr ied out by PIGE analysis, RES analysis (using alpha particles) was emp loyed to determine the O, Si and Fe concentrations. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.