Stone Quarries and Sourcing in the Carolina Slate Belt

Abstract

Abstract : This study investigated potential sources of lithic raw materials utilized by prehistoric hunter-gathers in the vicinity of Fort Bragg in the North Carolina Sandhills. The study was designed to achieve two main objectives: (1) to evaluate the effectiveness of a range of mineralogical and chemical techniques for "fingerprinting" potential sources of raw materials and (2) to apply these techniques in determining for sources of ancient stone tools found at Fort Bragg. Seventy-one rock samples from 12 different quarry zones, along with nine prehistoric artifacts, were examined using five different techniques: petrography, neutron activation analysis (NAA), neodymium-isotope analysis. x-ray fluorescence (XRF), and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Each technique provided useful information, but there were significant discrepancies among the assignments of geological sources using the different lines of evidence. The two most useful techniques proved to be petrography and Nd-isotopic analysis. although the elemental data were also very helpful in certain cases.