Splitting hairs - archaeological applications of ICP-MS

The rare earth elements (REE) are the lanthanides (defined as those elements with valence electrons in 4/orbitals), La, Ce, Pr, Nd, (Pm), Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, and Yb. Often included for analysis, because they behave in a chemically similar way, although strictly not REE, are the Group 3 transition metals Y and Lu. The radioactive lanthanide element promethium (Pm) is excluded from analysis, since it is not found in samples because of its short half-life. 

ICP MS - glass and ceramics. Glasses are extremely suitable for REE analysis, since they are made from a mixture of sand and alkali, and it is likely that the REE are characteristic of the sand source used. Similarly, ceramics are also suitable, in that the REE are likely to be characteristic of the clay source. One such study (Ford et al. 2005) has studied South Asian finewares, and has used REE profiles to compare similar vessels made at a range of different sites in Sri Lanka and southern India. 

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