Vanishing River: Attached Report: A Comparison of Inductively Coupled Plasma Spectroscopy Extraction Techniques

This report presents the results of an experimental study
of ceramics from the Lower Verde Archaeological Project
(LVAP) designed to test the effectiveness of inductively coupled
plasma spectroscopy (ICPS) as a tool for sourcing the
locale of ceramic manufacture. A major theme of LVAP
research was to explore the parameters of human interaction
and exchange within the lower Verde region and adjacent
areas of desert Arizona (Ciolek-Torrello et al. 1992). It is
necessary to understand exchange, as one component of the
larger economic system, to comprehend social and economic
organization (Bishop et al. 1982; Fry 1980; Plog 1986; Renfrew
1975; Weigand et al. 1977). One primary research question of the LVAP ceramic research concerned identifying the
origins of ceramics; determining the kinds of pottery that
were produced locally and those that were made elsewhere;
assessing the direction, volume, and mechanisms of exchange,
and discovering if change through time in ceramic
exchange was evident (Ciolek-Torrello et al. 1992).
In this attached report, the authors focus on the methodological aspects of
ICPS as a technique for assessing ceramic composition. They
are concerned with comparing the two different techniques—
weak-acid extraction and total dissolution—and
the results each method produces using the same data set.
After describing our methods, the techniques are contrasted
from two perspectives: (1) the effects of refiring on elemental
concentrations, and (2) comparison of cluster membership
achieved by using the two extraction techniques. The authors conclude
with a brief discussion of the archaeological implications
of the study.