GEOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF FLINT ARTIFACTS BY INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA-MASS SPECTROMETRY WITH LASER SAMPLING (LA-ICP-MS): RESULTS AND PROSPECTS

Abstract

Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry with laser sampling (LA-ICP-MS) was applied in the chemical characterization of lint artifacts of different geologic and geographic provenance in order to examine the mode and extent of chemical variability inside the pieces, and to find out any key parameters for provenance studies. The chemical variability of flint within the tools was found to be high due to sedimentary and diagenetic processes.However, this varability was low if compared to the variability existing between different geologic formations,and between different stratigraphic levels and outcrops of the same formation.Therefore,despite the chemical variability which requires a representative number of micro-samplings to be performed, LA-ICP-MS may provide a great deal of geochemical information in the field of lint provenance studies.