NEW APPLICATIONS OF LA-ICP-MS FOR SOURCING ARCHAEOLOGICAL CERAMICS: MICROANALYSIS OF INCLUSIONS AS FINGERPRINTS OF THEIR ORIGIN

摘要

This paper presents the latest methodological advances using the LA-ICP-MS technique for differentiating the origin of petrographically and chemically similar ceramic raw materials. Based on several examples form the Armorican Massif (France), from a chronological period extending from the Neolithic to the Second Iron Age, we will show that the comparison of the chemical signatures of minerals included in fired clay with those from clay and source rocks enables us to distinguish productions and to accurately trace the sources of the raw materials used by potters.