title: Characterization of Archaeological Sediments Using Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) and Portable X-ray Fluorescence (pXRF): An Application to Formative Period Pyro-Industrial Sites in Pacific Coastal Southern Chiapas, Mexico.
abstract: Archaeological sediments from mounds within the mangrove zone of far-southern Pacific coastal Chiapas, Mexico, are characterized in order to test the hypothesis that specialized pyro-technological activities of the region's prehistoric inhabitants (salt and ceramic production) created the accumulations visible today. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) is used to characterize sediment mineralogy, while portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) is used to determine elemental concentrations. Elemental characterization of natural sediments by both instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and pXRF also contribute to understanding of processes that created the archaeological deposits. Radiocarbon dates combined with typological analysis of ceramics indicate that pyro-industrial activity in the mangrove zone peaked during the Late Formative and Terminal Formative periods, when population and monumental activity on the coastal plain and piedmont were also at their peaks.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Integrative Research in Materials, Environments, and Society (IIRMES), California State University, Long Beach, CA, USA hector.neff@csulb.edu.
authors.forename: Hector
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Neff
authors.affiliation: Institute for Integrative Research in Materials, Environments, and Society (IIRMES), California State University, Long Beach, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Scott J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Bigney
authors.affiliation: Institute for Integrative Research in Materials, Environments, and Society (IIRMES), California State University, Long Beach, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Sachiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sakai
authors.affiliation: Institute for Integrative Research in Materials, Environments, and Society (IIRMES), California State University, Long Beach, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Paul R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Burger
authors.affiliation: Institute for Integrative Research in Materials, Environments, and Society (IIRMES), California State University, Long Beach, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Garfin
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Richard G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: George
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Brendan J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Culleton
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Douglas J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Kennett
keywords: Archaeology; FT-IR; Fourier transform infrared; Micro-archaeology; Pyro-technology; Sediments; XRF