Geochemical analysis of radiolarite samples from the Carpathian basin

A very important raw material of the prehistoric age, radiolarite was inves tigated in this work. Samples from geological and archaeological sites of t he Carpathian basin, Greece and Austria were analyzed by ion beam methods, namely proton-induced gamma-ray emission (PIGE) and proton-induced X-ray em ission (PIXE) techniques. Our aim was to study to what extent we are able t o classify the specimens with various macroscopical features and different source areas. In order to answer this question, a cluster analysis was carr ied out on the concentration data set deduced from the analysis. Correlatio ns between the elemental compositions and the source regions are establishe d. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.