Quartz and Quartzite lithic raw material studies: problems and challenges
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Publication date
2023
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Abstract
Most of the lithic tools made during
Prehistory in the Iberian Peninsula are mainly
composed of three main siliceous rock types: chert,
quartzite, and quartz. While the methodologies for the
characterization and provenance of raw materials
made on chert (and obsidian) have been developed with
well-established and widely used protocols, the same
does not apply to quartzite and quartz veins. Here we
present recent developments in characterization and
provenance analysis of quartzite and quartz through
two case studies: (1) establishing and testing an
analytical protocol for the quartzite available in the
Côa River Valley region (Portugal) to be applied in
future archaeological studies; (2) understanding the
quartzite variability within the archaeological
assemblage of the El Sotillo site (Spain). These two case
studies allow us to highlight some of the main problems
and challenges linked to the study of quartzite (raw
material and lithic industry) in Paleolithic contexts.