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The Lake Krasnoe obsidian source in Chukotka (Northeastern Siberia): geological and geochemical frameworks for provenance studies in Beringia

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Abstract

Basic data on the geology and geochemistry of obsidian from the Lake Krasnoe source in Chukotka (Northeastern Siberia) are reported for the first time. The data are based on 2009 fieldwork and analytical studies of igneous rock samples. The lake shore and surrounding parts of the Rarytkin Range were thoroughly examined. Two geochemical types of rhyolitic obsidian were recognized for the first time: (1) metaluminous obsidian related to the fine-grained crystalline rocks and (2) peralkaline obsidian corresponding to ignimbrite ash-flows or lapilli-tuffs composition. Both types are related to the final phase of acidic volcanism in the Western Kamchatkan-Koryak Volcanic Belt. Based on the results obtained, we conclude that accumulation of obsidian pebbles in the lake’s modern beach deposits is related to silicic melts that erupted during the late Eocene-early Oligocene in the form of extrusive domes or pyroclastic flows, which are now either covered by Quaternary sediments or located below the water level. The Lake Krasnoe obsidian was intensively used by the ancient populations of Chukotka as a raw material for making stone tools. It was also occasionally transported to Alaska across the Bering Strait in later prehistory. The distances between source and utilization sites are up to 700–1100 km. Geochemical data for Lake Krasnoe obsidian, based on neutron activation analysis and X-ray fluorescence that are presented here, can now be used for provenance studies in the Northeastern Siberia and adjacent regions of northern North America.

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Acknowledgments

This study was conducted with financial assistance from the U.S. Civil Research and Development Foundation (grants RG1-2538-VL-03 and RUG1-7097-NO-13, 2004–2014); Smithsonian Institution (MCI 6328, 2009; with assistance provided by Dr. R.J. Speakman); the Tomsk State University Program “Academician D.I. Mendeleev Fund” (2015–6), Russia, for Laboratory of Mesozoic and Cenozoic Continental Ecosystems, and the Japan Society for Promotion of Science (2016). Analyses conducted by Archaeometry Lab at MURR were supported by a grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF-1415403). We are grateful to Dr. J.D. Reuther for supplying us with data on the geochemistry of the Deering site obsidian, and to Dr. R.J. Speakman for participation in joint fieldwork and analysis of materials from Kamchatka relevant to this study. Finally, we thank two anonymous reviewers for useful comments and remarks.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Far East Geological Institute, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 159, Prospekt 100-letiya Vladivostoku, Vladivostok, Russian Federation, 690022

    Andrei V. Grebennikov, Vladimir K. Popov, Sergey Y. Budnitskiy & Evgeniy A. Nozdrachev

  2. Far Eastern Federal University, 8, Sukhanov St, Vladivostok, Russian Federation, 690950

    Andrei V. Grebennikov

  3. Sobolev Institute of Geology and Mineralogy, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Koptyug Ave. 3, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

    Yaroslav V. Kuzmin

  4. Laboratory of Mesozoic and Cenozoic Continental Ecosystems, Tomsk State University, Lenin Ave. 36, Tomsk, 634050, Russia

    Yaroslav V. Kuzmin

  5. Research Reactor Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA

    Michael D. Glascock

  6. Chukotka Laboratory, Northeastern Multidisciplinary Research Institute, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Energetikov St. 15, Anadyr, 689000, Russia

    Margarita A. Dikova

Authors
  1. Andrei V. Grebennikov
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  2. Yaroslav V. Kuzmin
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  4. Vladimir K. Popov
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  6. Margarita A. Dikova
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  7. Evgeniy A. Nozdrachev
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Correspondence to Andrei V. Grebennikov.

Electronic supplementary material

Table S1

Obsidian compositions determined by X-ray fluorescence. (DOC 243 kb)

Table S2

Concentrations for short-lived elements measured by INAA in obsidian source specimens from the Lake Krasnoe area. (DOC 83 kb)

Table S3

Concentrations for long-lived elements measured by INAA in obsidian source specimens from the Lake Krasnoe area. (DOC 119 kb)

Table S4

Descriptions of obsidian artifacts from Chukotka and their source assignments. (DOC 160 kb)

Table S5

Concentrations for short-lived elements measured by INAA in obsidian artifacts from Chukotka. (DOC 138 kb)

Table S6

Concentrations for long-lived elements measured by INAA in obsidian artifacts from Chukotka. (DOC 85 kb)

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Grebennikov, A.V., Kuzmin, Y.V., Glascock, M.D. et al. The Lake Krasnoe obsidian source in Chukotka (Northeastern Siberia): geological and geochemical frameworks for provenance studies in Beringia. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 10, 599–614 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-016-0379-z

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