The suitability of XRF analysis for compositional classification of archaeological ceramic fabric: A comparison with a previous NAA study

• Published in: Analytica chimica acta Vol. 558; no. 1; pp. 283 - 289
• Main Authors: Padilla, R., Espen, P. Van, Torres, P.P. Godo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 03.02.2006; Elsevier
• Subjects: Analytical chemistry; Archaeological pottery; Chemistry; Compositional classification; Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis; Exact sciences and technology; Radiochemical methods; Spectrometric and optical methods; Compositional classification; Archaeological pottery; Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis; Nuclear reaction analysis; Performance evaluation; Neutron activation analysis; Radioisotope; X ray analysis; Dispersive spectrometry; Sediments; Certified reference material; Archaeology; Non destructive method; Sensitivity; Energy dispersion; Pottery; X ray fluorescence spectrometry; Comparative study
• ISSN: 0003-2670; 1873-4324
• DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2005.10.077

The main drawbacks of EDXRF techniques, restricting its more frequent use for the specific purpose of compositional analysis of archaeological ceramic fabric, have been the insufficient sensitivity to determine some important elements (like Cr, REE, among others), a somewhat worse precision and the inability to perform standard-less quantitative procedures in the absence of suitable certified reference materials (CRM) for ceramic fabric. This paper presents the advantages of combining two energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence methods for fast and non-destructive analysis of ceramic fabric with increased sensitivity. Selective polarized excitation using secondary targets (EDPXRF) and radioisotope excitation (R-XRF) using a 241Am source. The analytical performance of the methods was evaluated by analyzing several CRM of sediment type, and the fitness for the purpose of compositional classification was compared with that obtained by using Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis in a previous study of Cuban aborigine pottery.