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

Geochemical Techniques in Discriminating Chert Materials / 47
Figure 4.2. Geological map of Antigua showing the three main geological regions and
the location of flint and chert sources, including the location of an artificial flint scatter
at Hughes Bay, a limestone present- day quarry site at Piggotts Hill, and chert outcrops at
Buckleys and Willis Freeman (geological map based on Multer et al. 1986:Figure 2.1).
roscopic, microscopic, and chemical analysis (Table 4.1). Basically, three types of
context of occurrence were distinguished: (1) a primary, in which chert is still
present in the host- rock; (2) a secondary, where chert occurs ex- situ, for instance as
loose surface scatters along beaches and cliffs, in eluvial soil, or alluvial deposits;
and (3) a tertiary context, where chert occurs as scattered flaked artifact material.
After macroscopic classification, during which color, type of cortex, texture,
presence of inclusions, luster, and grain size were specified following a predefined
set of attributes, at least four subsamples of each type of chert were processed into
about 30 µm thin sections, and analyzed by means of a standard polarizing light
microscope.
For all sources on Antigua, the relation with the rocks in which the chert was
formed could be well established. Five of the sources belong to the Antigua Formation.
At the three sources of Long Island, Little Cove, and Soldier’s Point, chert oc-
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