Obsidian distribution patterns

One-half of the obsidian recovered at Tal-e Malyan was from the Kafteri Phase ca. 2000 b.c., contemporaneous with Ur III in Mesopotamia. Gomparison of the source distribution patterns between the earlier Banesh Phase and the later Kafteri Phase shows distinctly different patterns of source utilization. Unfortunately, contemporaneous obsidian artifacts from Tepe Yahya were not available, so these changes could not be monitored in the south central highlands. 

Data generated by XRF and LA-ICP-MS are presented in Figure 4. Although the X-axis and Y-axis scales differ for the LA-ICP-MS data (ratios) and the XRF data (ppm), it is clear that the separation suggested by XRF is in fact real when the LA-ICP-MS data are taken into account. Future research will include the analysis of artifacts, thereby enabling archaeologists to examine prehistoric human resource procurement patterns and the spatial distribution of these obsidians. 

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