Geochemical source evaluation of archaeological chert from the Carson mounds site in northwestern Mississippi using portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF)

Abstract

Lithic artifacts made on Burlington chert from the Carson site in northwest Mississippi were geochemically measured using portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF). Burlington chert is visually identifiable based on its whitish and translucent coloring; the raw material and artifacts are usually associated with geologic sources located hundreds of miles to the north of Carson in the Central Mississippi Valley (CMV). Burlington chert is generally used to make microlithic tools that are found at large Mississippian centers in the CMV such as Cahokia, Zebree, and Labras Lake, all located upriver of the Lower Mississippi Valley (LMV) and of Carson. Herein we report on geochemical sourcing of Burlington chert from Carson; 99 samples were analyzed from elite and non-elite contexts. Geochemical data were generated using pXRF technology and are used to evaluate models of trade and exchange in the LMV during the Mississippi period (1200–1540 CE). Preliminary findings indicate that Burlington chert did not originate exclusively from sources controlled by Cahokia (namely the Crescent Quarry), but rather, from a wide-ranging territory. Therefore, we propose that multi-agent, multi-source trade networks brought Burlington chert to Carson. Consequently, we suggest future testing should explore using additional geologic and archaeological samples the hypothesis that multiple, imbricated networks of trade and exchange were responsible for bringing Burlington chert to Carson.