Crossing the Borders: New Methods and Techniques in the Study of Archaeological Materials from the Caribbean

Geochemical Techniques in Discriminating Chert Materials / 45
The quality, appearance, and composition of chert changes with time and is a
function of the early processes of genesis in the rock of formation, but also of later
processes that occur during burial, erosion, exposure, weathering, and even after
the manufacturing into artifacts. In order to improve the understanding of the
variability of the different cherts, the investigation of the prearchaeological history
of chert, and of the related petro- physical and geochemical properties needs
to be addressed.
Therefore, in this study four aims were specified. The first objective was to
map available chert sources and determine the relation between the quality, geological
environment, and the geologic history. Second, the morphological and geochemical
characterization of source materials had to be specified with the aim
to identify objective criteria by which sources can be discriminated. In close relation
to this source characterization, which focuses on the geochemistry of the
chert, it was also attempted to find explanation(s) for why sources differ chemically.
This provides a stronger empirical basis for source discrimination, and may
yield guidelines for future research. Finally, a number of artifacts were analyzed
and the sources were specified using multivariable statistical techniques.
Cherts in the Region
The Caribbean in general and the Lesser Antilles in particular host a wide variety
of chert types, on a restricted number of islands though. In the northeastern Caribbean
chert only occurs on Puerto Rico, St. Martin, St. Kitts, Antigua, La Désirade,
and Martinique (Bérard 1999a, 1999b; Bérard and Vernet 1997; Bodu 1984;
De Mille 1996; Knippenberg 1997, 1999a; Murphy 1999; Pantel 1988; Pike and Pantel
1974; Walker 1980a, 1980b). Macroscopically, the Lesser Antilles cherts can be
distinguished on the basis of form and texture. They have been divided into three
general groups based on color. These groups include (1) a multicolored chert, ranging
in color from white, yellow, brown, gray, to almost black. This group represents
most of the varieties used during the prehistory in the northern Lesser Antilles.
It consists of nodular chert, which is often called flint when formed in limestone,
of tabular chert, of irregularly silicified volcanic rock, and of silicified corals or
wood; (2) a light to dark gray- green colored chert that is rare among flaked material
in the northern Lesser Antilles. It predominantly can be found at Puerto Rican
sites (Rodríguez Ramos 2001a), and its only known source locality is the tabular
chert from the Mariquita Chert Formation in southwest Puerto Rico (Volckmann
1984a, 1984b); and (3) a red- colored chert, which is also rare among flaked material
from northwestern Lesser Antilles sites, yet more common than green chert. To
the contrary, on Martinique, red- colored (nodular) jasper is the most widely used
material (Bérard 1999b; Bérard and Vernet 1997), and it is also found on St. Martin
(Christman 1953). Furthermore, red- colored, tabular, radiolarian chert is found
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