This much anticipated volume is the culmination of a series of projects that began in 1968. In that year, Eiler Henrickson collected hundreds of native copper samples from Michigan as part of a study designed to identify the type of geological ore from which copper artifacts from around the world were derived. At the same time, Rip Rapp was seeking to establish the source of Aegean bronze and copper artifacts. The two scholars soon joined forces and attempted a provenance study of smelted artifacts. Unfortunately, their preliminary analyses indicated that smelting and/or alloying significantly altered the trace-chemical compositions of artifacts, making identification of the geological sources of the copper difficult or impossible. Rapp and Henrickson then rededicated their investigations to sourcing artifacts crafted exclusively from North American native copper. This book, the first large-scale geoarchaeological study of native copper deposits in Canada and the United States, reports on both the successes and uncertainties born of this important research. The volume specifically aims to (1) determine the extent to which native copper sources can be chemically distinguished; (2) present a methodology for trace-element sourcing; (3) provide colleagues with raw trace-element data to foster additional research; and (4) offer an additional method by which archaeologists can examine ancient trade networks. Although the work reported here is neither theoretical nor very anthropological, it offers a sophisticated methodology that enables the advancement of both theory and anthropology. As such, it fills an important void in the literature and will be warmly welcomed by scholars with an interest in archaeometry, exchange networks, and ancient metals.
Chapter 1 introduces the reader to the intricacies of provenance studies. While it may appear relatively straightforward to locate, sample, and chemically characterize geological and archaeological materials and then assign the most likely geological origin for each artifact, it is a complex process. Rapp and his colleagues candidly reveal that, as with any long-term provenance study, they faced problems with the variability of geologic materials, with the standardization of analytical procedures carried out over a long period, and with the appropriateness of statistical assumptions. It is their hope that future refinements will be made to this pioneering research.
Chapter 2 describes how copper is formed and provides an excellent overview of native copper deposits in North America. The authors remind us that while the world's largest native copper deposits come from the Lake Superior district, this area also includes many distinct copper-bearing localities in Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Ontario. More importantly, they describe less celebrated, though impressive, native copper occurrences throughout the rest of North America from the Arctic to the Appalachians. Minor shortcomings in this chapter include the print quality of the graphics and the occasional typographical error (e.g., Ohio is mislabeled in Figure ).
In Chapter 3, the authors report that while they have collected native copper samples from 75 different North American deposits, they have obtained trace-element fingerprints for 17 different sources (seven from the Great Lakes, five from the Northeast, three from Arizona, and one from Alaska). Obtaining chemical signatures for all localities was not feasible because extracting the minimum number of samples necessary (ten) was not always possible. As a result, they argue that there are several geological sources that indigenous peoples could have utilized that have not yet been fingerprinted. The remainder of the chapter describes all 17 analyzed deposits.
The advantages and limitations associated with the use of instrumental neutron activation analysis