Papers by Rachel ten Bruggencate
A B S T R A C T We combine chert provenance and least cost path analyses to investigate Palaeo-Es... more A B S T R A C T We combine chert provenance and least cost path analyses to investigate Palaeo-Eskimo mobility on southern Baffin Island, in the eastern Canadian Arctic. ICP-AES trace element analysis links chert artifacts from coastal and inland sites to quarries in the interior of the study area. Using a multi-criteria cost surface, we model least cost paths between quarry and occupation sites linked by the results of provenance analysis. These pathways will be used to structure a future program of pedestrian survey in the area between the coast and interior of southern Baffin Island.
Southern Baffin Island has been occupied for several millennia, but its enormous size, coupled wi... more Southern Baffin Island has been occupied for several millennia, but its enormous size, coupled with scarcity
of identified inland archaeological sites that can be confidently linked to coastal occupations, makes
modeling ancient seasonal mobility across the region through traditional cost-surface least-cost pathway
approaches impractical. We present a method that combines weighted multi-criteria cost surface analysis
with a watershed function to create a “mobility-shed” of non-winter travel pathways covering the study
area. We evaluate the predictive utility of the resulting pathways for future archaeological survey by
assessing their spatial relationships to known archaeological sites. The results of this comparison suggest that elevation and land cover criteria should be augmented with ethnographic and resource availability
data to model mobility in this region.
The southern Baffin Island chert provenance project was initiated in 2007 to investigate the effe... more The southern Baffin Island chert provenance project was initiated in 2007 to investigate the effects on Palaeo-Eskimo mobility and technological organization of the differential distribution of chert sources in this area of the eastern Arctic. Initial characterization of chert artifacts and sources by secondary ion mass spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) indicated exploitation of both local inland and exotic chert sources by Palaeo-Eskimo toolmakers. Subsequent reanalysis of chert artifacts by ICP-MS demonstrates that data acquired using these techniques cannot be directly compared. ICP-MS trace element data collected from two primary chert sources documented in 2013 showed promise for characterizing these sources. Subsequent reanalysis of source samples demonstrates that initial results were affected by contamination during sample preparation at an external laboratory and should not be used in future studies.
Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) trace element analysis was used to characte... more Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) trace element analysis was used to characterize raw chert
from one secondary (LeDx-42) and two primary (LbDt-1 and LdDx-2) sources on southern Baffin Island,
Nunavut, Canada. Raw chert trace element data are compared to ICP-MS trace element data for chert artifacts
from a nearby Palaeo-Eskimo archaeological site (LeDx-). Geochemical consistencies identified among the analyzed
samples support the inference that Palaeo-Eskimo toolmakers at LeDx-42 exploited LdDx-2 and LbDt-1 as
chert source locations.
Journal of Archaeological Science, Jun 2013
"A technique for establishing source provenance for pegmatite quartz artifacts was developed usin... more "A technique for establishing source provenance for pegmatite quartz artifacts was developed using a quarry sample from the Churchill River basin of northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) was used to quantify Ti, Ge, Th, and U trace element concentrations and Pb isotope ratios, coupled with qualitative visual characteristics to distinguish between pegmatite quartz from different archaeologically exploited sources in the Churchill River basin region. The technique was also applied to a small sample of quartz artifacts recovered from sites in and around the study area in a
preliminary attempt to assign or rule out raw material provenance to characterized sources."
A chert cobble from an archaeological quarry
on southern Baffin Island, Canada, was divided
and c... more A chert cobble from an archaeological quarry
on southern Baffin Island, Canada, was divided
and crushed using five different methods: i)
agate mortar and pestle, ii) stainless steel
shatterbox, iii) tungsten carbide shatterbox,
iv) alumina ceramic shatterbox, and v) zirconia
ceramic shatterbox. Powders produced by
each method were submitted for acid digestion
and analysis by inductively coupled plasma
mass spectrometry. The trace element results
indicate that different crushing media can
contribute significant trace element contamination
to chert during the grinding process.
These results demonstrate the need for an
informed approach to the selection of sample
preparation methods when submitting archaeological
samples for solution or pellet based
geochemical analysis.
Visual and geochemical analyses of 30 pre-contact quartz tools from the Churchill River basin of ... more Visual and geochemical analyses of 30 pre-contact quartz tools from the Churchill River basin of northern Manitoba were used to provisionally assess source provenance based on comparison to local quartz quarry data. The results indicate that tools made from quartz acquired from these quarries were transported and eventually deposited into archaeological sites up to 200 km away. Transport of this quartz, which is of relatively moderate quality, over such distances suggests that stone tool–using hunter–gatherer populations that lived in the Churchill River basin of northern Manitoba were highly mobile. It also indicates that higher-quality raw materials were unavailable in the immediate area.
A technique for establishing source provenance for pegmatite quartz artifacts was developed using... more A technique for establishing source provenance for pegmatite quartz artifacts was developed using a quarry sample from the Churchill River basin of northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) was used to quantify Ti, Ge, Th, and U trace element concentrations and Pb isotope ratios, coupled with qualitative visual characteristics to distinguish between pegmatite quartz from different archaeologically exploited sources in the Churchill River basin region. The technique was also applied to a small sample of quartz artifacts recovered from sites in and around the study area in a preliminary attempt to assign or rule out raw material provenance to characterized sources.► SIMS analysis of trace elements and Pb isotope ratios was applied to quartz samples. ► Samples from different archaeological quarries were found to be chemically distinct. ► The same technique was applied to four artifacts from sites around the study area. ► Artefact quartz provenance was tentatively established or ruled indeterminate.
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Papers by Rachel ten Bruggencate
of identified inland archaeological sites that can be confidently linked to coastal occupations, makes
modeling ancient seasonal mobility across the region through traditional cost-surface least-cost pathway
approaches impractical. We present a method that combines weighted multi-criteria cost surface analysis
with a watershed function to create a “mobility-shed” of non-winter travel pathways covering the study
area. We evaluate the predictive utility of the resulting pathways for future archaeological survey by
assessing their spatial relationships to known archaeological sites. The results of this comparison suggest that elevation and land cover criteria should be augmented with ethnographic and resource availability
data to model mobility in this region.
from one secondary (LeDx-42) and two primary (LbDt-1 and LdDx-2) sources on southern Baffin Island,
Nunavut, Canada. Raw chert trace element data are compared to ICP-MS trace element data for chert artifacts
from a nearby Palaeo-Eskimo archaeological site (LeDx-). Geochemical consistencies identified among the analyzed
samples support the inference that Palaeo-Eskimo toolmakers at LeDx-42 exploited LdDx-2 and LbDt-1 as
chert source locations.
preliminary attempt to assign or rule out raw material provenance to characterized sources."
on southern Baffin Island, Canada, was divided
and crushed using five different methods: i)
agate mortar and pestle, ii) stainless steel
shatterbox, iii) tungsten carbide shatterbox,
iv) alumina ceramic shatterbox, and v) zirconia
ceramic shatterbox. Powders produced by
each method were submitted for acid digestion
and analysis by inductively coupled plasma
mass spectrometry. The trace element results
indicate that different crushing media can
contribute significant trace element contamination
to chert during the grinding process.
These results demonstrate the need for an
informed approach to the selection of sample
preparation methods when submitting archaeological
samples for solution or pellet based
geochemical analysis.
of identified inland archaeological sites that can be confidently linked to coastal occupations, makes
modeling ancient seasonal mobility across the region through traditional cost-surface least-cost pathway
approaches impractical. We present a method that combines weighted multi-criteria cost surface analysis
with a watershed function to create a “mobility-shed” of non-winter travel pathways covering the study
area. We evaluate the predictive utility of the resulting pathways for future archaeological survey by
assessing their spatial relationships to known archaeological sites. The results of this comparison suggest that elevation and land cover criteria should be augmented with ethnographic and resource availability
data to model mobility in this region.
from one secondary (LeDx-42) and two primary (LbDt-1 and LdDx-2) sources on southern Baffin Island,
Nunavut, Canada. Raw chert trace element data are compared to ICP-MS trace element data for chert artifacts
from a nearby Palaeo-Eskimo archaeological site (LeDx-). Geochemical consistencies identified among the analyzed
samples support the inference that Palaeo-Eskimo toolmakers at LeDx-42 exploited LdDx-2 and LbDt-1 as
chert source locations.
preliminary attempt to assign or rule out raw material provenance to characterized sources."
on southern Baffin Island, Canada, was divided
and crushed using five different methods: i)
agate mortar and pestle, ii) stainless steel
shatterbox, iii) tungsten carbide shatterbox,
iv) alumina ceramic shatterbox, and v) zirconia
ceramic shatterbox. Powders produced by
each method were submitted for acid digestion
and analysis by inductively coupled plasma
mass spectrometry. The trace element results
indicate that different crushing media can
contribute significant trace element contamination
to chert during the grinding process.
These results demonstrate the need for an
informed approach to the selection of sample
preparation methods when submitting archaeological
samples for solution or pellet based
geochemical analysis.