Obsidian as an indicator of inter-regional contacts and exchange: three case-studies from the Halaf period

Abstract

AbstractObsidian was used to make tools and luxury items which were widely distributed in the ancient Near East. At most sites it is an imported material and, as such, has been used as an indicator of exchange, although little specific detail of the nature of that exchange is available. Even though methods of provenance analysis for obsidian are well established, often only a few samples per site have been analysed. This means there is not enough information to indicate the relative importance of the obsidian from each source, or to establish whether source preference changed through time or whether obsidians from different sources were treated differently. The restriction in numbers analysed is, at least in part, due to the expense and the destructive nature of provenance analysis and problems associated with obtaining sufficient samples. In an attempt to address these problems case-studies examining the obsidian assemblages from three sites of Halaf date will be used to demonstrate the potential of a method of grouping obsidians based on their physical characteristics, including colour; these groupings are confirmed by geochemical analysis. This allows the entire assemblage to be grouped quickly and cost effectively and, if used alongside techno-typological and spatial studies, enables us to begin to confront some of the issues outlined above.