Elsevier

Journal of Archaeological Science

Volume 41, January 2014, Pages 242-250
Journal of Archaeological Science

Obsidian consumption in Chalcolithic Sardinia: a view from Bingia 'e Monti

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2013.08.016Get rights and content

Highlights

  • This study explores obsidian consumption in Chalcolithic Sardinia (3200–2200 B.C.).

  • A total of 154 obsidian artifacts from the site of Bingia 'e Monti was analyzed.

  • X-ray fluorescence (XRF) obsidian sourcing was combined with typological analysis.

  • Obsidian exploitation at this time differs from earlier time periods.

  • Changes through time may be related to a reconfiguration of interaction spheres.

Abstract

This study represents a contribution towards an understanding of the nature of obsidian exploitation in Sardinia during the Chalcolithic (ca. 3200–2200 cal B.C.). A total of 154 obsidian artifacts from Bingia 'e Monti in south-central Sardinia was techno-typologically characterized. Of these, 146 were elementally analyzed employing energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) as a means of sourcing the raw materials. It is argued that the community's residents obtained obsidian directly from Sardinian source areas, then reduced the material on-site for the production of lunates and expedient flake tools. By contextualizing the study within a broader consideration of obsidian distribution and use within Sardinia, it is shown that obsidian exploitation at this time differs from earlier periods, arguably related to a reconfiguration of socio-economic interaction spheres and exchange networks.

Introduction

This paper explores obsidian consumption on the Italian island of Sardinia during the Chalcolithic (ca. 3200–2200 B.C.) through the analysis of 154 obsidian artifacts from Bingia 'e Monti in south-central Sardinia (Fig. 1). While the circulation of Sardinian obsidian in the Neolithic is well documented (Hallam et al., 1976, Le Bourdonnec et al., 2010, Lugliè et al., 2007, Lugliè et al., 2008, Tykot, 1996 inter alia), the use of these raw materials in the Chalcolithic has received far less attention in what appears to be an important transitional period characterized by the decline of long-distance Neolithic exchange networks.

While there are four obsidian sources in the West Mediterranean (Fig. 1), only obsidian from the four subsources of Monte Arci is known to have been exploited by people on the island itself. Despite the presence of Mesolithic populations on Sardinia (see Table 1 for a list of relevant time periods and dates), it is not until the beginning of the Neolithic that we see the first evidence of obsidian use by the islanders (see Lugliè et al., 2007, Lugliè et al., 2008, Tykot, 1996) and the long-distance procurement of Sardinian raw materials by populations on Corsica and mainland Italy (Ammerman and Polglase, 1993, Bigazzi and Radi, 1998, Léa, 2012, Tykot et al., 2003 inter alia). While the long-distance procurement of Sardinian obsidian continues into the Chalcolithic, used by communities on Corsica and mainland Italy (see Bigazzi and Radi, 1998, Hallam et al., 1976, Randle et al., 1993), there is a sharp fall-off in the number of sites at which obsidian has been reported. The declining use of Sardinian obsidian in the Chalcolithic mirrors the diminished exploitation of other West Mediterranean sources in the 3rd millennia B.C. in that obsidian consumption becomes a much more local phenomenon, largely restricted to populations within the immediate vicinity of the various sources.

Through the integration of raw material sourcing and techno-typological analysis, this broad-based artifact characterization study uses the analysis of the Bingia 'e Monti assemblage as a means of undertaking a more general consideration of obsidian consumption in Chalcolithic Sardinia. The resultant data allows it to be argued that the community's residents obtained obsidian directly from the source areas, then reduced the material on-site for the production of lunates and expedient flake tools. It is further posited that the nature of obsidian exploitation on Sardinia during the Chalcolithic differs from that of the Neolithic, a change in tradition that is related to a larger reconfiguration of interaction spheres and exchange networks.

Section snippets

Site background

Bingia 'e Monti is located in south-central Sardinia (Fig. 1). The site was excavated in the years 1983–1985 and 1988–1990, originally led by Dr. Giorgio Murru and later by Dr. Enrico Atzeni and Dr. Alessandro Usai. Its earliest occupation dates to the Monte Claro phase of the Chalcolithic (ca. 2700–2200 B.C.). This initial phase of occupation is represented by two circular residential stone structures that underlay later Nuragic Bronze Age construction (Fig. 2). A Chalcolithic burial was also

The Bingia 'e Monti obsidian study

Obsidian is an igneous rock and a type of volcanic glass that is usually black in color. It is an excellent raw material for the flaking of stone tools and was widely exploited by prehistoric peoples on the island of Sardinia from the Neolithic onwards (Tykot, 1996). The obsidian source at Monte Arci in west-central Sardinia is often classified as a single 'source', but researchers have identified at least nine chemically distinct outcrops (Tykot, 1997), four of which are commonly reported in

Sampling

All of the lithics recovered from the excavation were bagged together according the unit and stratum from which they were recovered. To answer the relevant research questions, just over a third (n = 154) of the obsidian artifacts were randomly selected for analysis. In order to get a representative sample of artifacts recovered throughout the Monte Claro strata, both inside and outside the structures, all of the materials were laid out in their provenience-specific bags and one-third of the

Analytical procedures

The artifacts were analyzed non-destructively at the McMaster Archaeological XRF Laboratory (MAX Lab) using a Thermo Scientific ARL Quant'X EDXRF spectrometer. Before analysis, each piece was given a unique ‘Mac’ number and subsequently cleaned in an ultrasonic tank with distilled water for ten minutes following the analytical protocols and methods devised by Shackley (2005: appendix).

The spectrometer is equipped with an end window Bremsstrahlung, air cooled, Rh target, 50 W, X-ray tube with a

Results

Using the data from Table 3, a bi-variate plot of the elemental ratios of rubidium (Rb) and strontium (Sr) to niobium (Nb) was produced to discriminate the various Sardinian source products (see Freund and Tykot, 2011), and to then to allocate each artifact to the source from which it originated (Fig. 5). Of the 146 artifacts analyzed, 138 were shown to be made of obsidian that came from the SC subsource. Seven artifacts were made of SA obsidian, while only a single artifact's raw material

Discussion

The results from the Bingia 'e Monti study suggest that the residents of the site obtained obsidian directly from the SA and SC source areas. These two raw materials were mainly reduced on-site in exactly the same way using a relatively unskilled percussive technique for the manufacture of simple flake tools. In contrast, SC obsidian was the sole raw material used for the creation of lunates, which is similar to lunate production in the Bronze Age Nuragic period (Freund and Tykot, 2011: 161).

Conclusions

This study represents an initial step towards a more comprehensive understanding of the nature of obsidian exploitation in Chalcolithic Sardinia (ca. 3200–2200 B.C.). Through a multi-facetted analysis of 154 obsidian artifacts from Bingia 'e Monti in south-central Sardinia, this paper argues that the site's residents obtained readily available SA and SC obsidian directly from the source areas and reduced the material on-site. While most of these artifacts can be considered the products of a

Acknowledgments

I gratefully acknowledge Dr. Alessandro Usai for allowing me access to this material, excavated under the auspices of the Regione Autonoma della Sardegna. I also thank the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici di Cagliari for permission to export the artifacts to Canada for analysis; all artifacts have been safely returned. My work in Sardinia was funded by an Edith M. Wightman Travel Scholarship, an Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS), and a McMaster Department of Anthropology Travel Grant.

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