Chert sourcing using LIBS: The case of Cova del Parco, Spain

Julien Le Guirriec (1) , Marta Sánchez de la Torre (2, 3) , Bruno Bousquet (4) , Yannick Lefrais (1) , Xavier Mangado (2, 3) , Cynthia Belén González (2, 3) , François-Xavier Le Bourdonnec (1)

1 Archéosciences Bordeaux
2 SERP - Seminari d'Estudis i Recerques Prehistòriques
3 UB - Universitat de Barcelona
4 ICMCB - Institut de Chimie de la Matière Condensée de Bordeaux

Abstract Cherts originating from carbonate lacustrine environments have been widely exploited by Upper Palaeolithic hunter‐gatherers in the south of the Pyrenees. Archaeo‐petrographic sourcing studies have identified different potential sources but were unable to distinguish them. This study conducted geochemical characterisation of geological and archaeological lacustrine chert samples using laser‐induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), and applied the supervised classification model partial least squares–discriminant analysis to LIBS spectra. The model was able to discriminate geological sources and provide predictions for the origin of a selection of chert artefacts recovered at the Middle Magdalenian level from Cova del Parco (Lleida, Spain).

Keywords: chert sourcing; geochemistry; LIBS; NE Iberia; Upper Palaeolithic

Domains: Archaeology and Prehistory; Materials Science [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]; Geochemistry

Julien Le Guirriec, Marta Sánchez de la Torre, Bruno Bousquet, Yannick Lefrais, Xavier Mangado, et al.. Chert sourcing using LIBS: The case of Cova del Parco, Spain. Archaeometry, 2024, 66 (3), pp.493-505. ⟨10.1111/arcm.12941⟩. ⟨hal-04460598⟩